NintendObs Thinks: Nintendo Direct setbacks that need to stop in 2022.
More news, less marketing. That's really what I'm asking.
Reminiscing about its reveals, this latest September Nintendo Direct was pretty good. Kirby and the Forgotten Land out of the blue stood as the show stealer. Hyrule Warriors Age of Calamity got its Wave 2 detailed with a launch date. Triangle Strategy also got more details and a release date. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will reveal its final DLC Fighter really soon. Animal Crossing New Horizons will have an entire Nintendo Direct this month dedicated to its big November update. Monster Hunter Rise is getting a massive expansion under the moniker of Sunbreak. Splatoon 3, Return of the Mammalians, how did I even dare forget? And Bayonetta 3 finally showed its first gameplay footage after four years of waiting.
The reason I highlight these highlights is to specify that in terms of what was interesting — though obviously with the trimestrial nature of these events one could have only wanted more — I’m not here to complain. What I will rant about however is moreso some of the other types of games Nintendo chose to feature, and how these decisions are not only insulting to a live audience who dedicated roughly an hour of their time, ears and eyeballs to Nintendo, but may as well be damaging in the long term to the anticipation of future Nintendo Directs.
In truth, and I’ve seen this trend since Nintendo Direct E3 2021, I am tired of Nintendo effectively relying on secure end-of-the-show reveals to excuse shifting the format from a Nintendo and Nintendo partners celebration of what they do best on Nintendo consoles, to an advertising effort of third-party multiplats or exclusives that would have never been seriously considered if they weren’t promoted on Nintendo Direct. At E3 2021, the final drop that excused it all was the first gameplay reveal of the Sequel to The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild. In this latest edition, it was the one for Bayonetta 3. And now I shall explain in details what I believe, no matter the circumstances, should be entirely unexcusable.