History WebVideo / NintendoDirect

Nintendo Directs are known for not being publicly announced too far in advance, with announcements that one will be aired usually coming no more than two days prior, resulting in both a lot of predicting when the next one will happen and a concentrated two-day burst of hype when one is announced. Traditionally, the only exception to this are the ones done for the yearly UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo, thanks to Nintendo always maintaining a "Tuesday at 09:00 Pacific Time" slot just before the opening of the trade show.

* '''Nintendo Direct E3'''[[note]][[IHaveManyNames Or E3 Digital Event. Or Nintendo Direct @ E3. Or Nintendo Spotlight E3.]][[/note]]: From 2013 to 2021, Nintendo forewent the usual E3 stage press conference format in favor of having a Nintendo Direct in conjunction with ''Nintendo Treehouse Live''; a three-day showcase of recently announced titles hosted by members of Nintendo of America's localization team, with in-depth gameplay footage, interviews with developers, and an extra announcement or two. Most of these included at least one gaming tournament as well.

* '''Nintendo Direct E3'''[[note]][[IHaveManyNames Or E3 Digital Event. Or Nintendo Direct @ E3. Or Nintendo Spotlight E3.]][[/note]]: Since 2013, Nintendo has forgone the usual E3 stage press conference format in favor of having a Nintendo Direct in conjunction with ''Nintendo Treehouse Live''; a three-day showcase of recently announced titles hosted by members of Nintendo of America's localization team, with in-depth gameplay footage, interviews with developers, and an extra announcement or two. Since 2015, Nintendo's E3 events have usually included at least one gaming tournament as well.

* '''[[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]''': Focus on a specific title or franchise. The most frequent examples of this are the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Directs held by The Pokémon Company, with that franchise near-exclusively having major gaming announcements delivered in this format (until 2020, when TPC branched out into ''Pokémon Presents'' and expanded to add content not related to the mainline games (outside of the franchise's [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries animated show]])), and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', with new fighters and gameplay features for each new title getting extensively detailed by longtime game producer Creator/MasahiroSakurai.

** The first few Nintendo Directs were plain, with Nintendo executives Reggie Fils-Aimé (for the Americas), Satoru Shibata (for Europe/Australia), and UsefulNotes/SatoruIwata (for Japan and global presentations) explaining a game or product against a white background and no music. It wasn't until around the E3 2013 Direct that efforts were made to develop a more lively, unified look; in addition, region-specific General Directs that are hosted by that branch's CCO or marketing head were slowly phased out by end of the decade, with such presentations now being limited to Indie World showcases.

''Nintendo Directs'' are online presentations produced by Creator/{{Nintendo}} where news about upcoming video games, events, and other things concerning the company are relayed [[TitleDrop directly]] to its fanbase. They began on October 21, 2011, with only Japan and North America receiving the presentations before expanding to other regions. Worldwide directs were presented by CEO Creator/SatoruIwata until his death in 2015, after which other Nintendo executives such as Creator/YoshiakiKoizumi and Shinya Takahashi would take up the role. Meanwhile, regional directs are generally hosted by that branch's CCO or marketing head.

* '''General Directs''': Cover a wide variety of games and topics, lasting from thirty minutes up to an hour. On occasion, extra focus is given to one or two major upcoming titles. Currently, Nintendo can be expected to have at least three of these a year, each of which mainly focus on announcing content for the subsequent four-to-six months. [[note]]Since 2017, there has been a General Direct within the first quarter of the year (usually February), June (the below-mentioned E3 Direct), and September (corresponding with the Tokyo Game Show).[[/note]] There are also shorter "Mini" variants that can run for as little as ten minutes.

* AscendedMeme: The second Doug Bowser was announced as Reggie Fils-aime's replacement as President of Nintendo of America, the Internet began pointing out that Bowser had the same name as Mario's nemesis. Later, during the E3 2019 Direct (the first where Bowser was presenting), he's introduced by having the King of Koopas appear before Doug Bowser arrives, complaining about a "mix-up". (Due to Bowser being known as Koopa in Japan, the Japanese version had to explain the joke afterward.)

** "But before we go", or some variation thereof, referring to the final (often internet-breaking) announcement of the Direct.
* DreamWithinADream: At the end of the ''VideoGame/TomodachiLife'' Direct Bill dreams that he is standing at a pier when a giant Reggie head rises from the sea. He is then awoken by Reggie, only to be awoken again this time by a production-crew member who tells him that he passed out.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first few general Nintendo Directs were plain, with just Reggie, Shibata, or Iwata explaining a game or product against a white background. Most of them also differ from region to region. It wasn't until roughly midway, around the E3 2013 Direct, that had a more unified look with beats of lively presentation that is more similar to the tone of modern Nintendo Directs.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: This is common when ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' is involved, due to the MassiveMultiplayerCrossover nature of the games allowing for hints for future content. For example, the August 2018 ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' Direct used the ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''-based Smashville and VideoGame/LuigisMansion stages to highlight the new "stage morph" feature. The following September 2018 Direct was bookended by announcements for new installments in both series.

* InsistentTerminology: Nintendo Directs have an odd tendency to refer to the games they discuss as "the (name of the game) game" or something similar, which while grammatically correct (and not exclusive to Nintendo Directs, e.g. "Music/TheBeatles' ''Music/{{Revolver|BeatlesAlbum}}'' album") is generally considered clunky and antiquated. Consequently, Directs can occasionally lapse into long-winded phrases like "the ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass'' DLC for the ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' game".

** The E3 2019 video had a mistaken identity skit that didn't quite translate into Japanese, as it's based on the fact that the president of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, shares his name with the ''Super Mario'' villain. Bowser's Japanese name is Koopa, so this joke was lost without a translator's note.

* InsistentTerminology: Nintendo Directs have an odd tendency to refer to the games they discuss as "the (name of the game) game", which can lead to long-winded phrases like "the ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Booster Course Pass'' DLC for the ''Mario Kart 8 Deluxe'' game".

* AscendedMeme: The second Doug Bowser was announced as Reggie Fils-aime's replacement as President of Nintendo of America, the Internet began pointing out that Bowser had the same name as Mario's nemesis. Later, during the E3 2019 Direct (the first where Bowser was presenting), he's introduced by having the King of Koopas appear before Doug Bowser arrives, complaining about a "mix-up".

** The E3 2019 video had a mistaken identity skit that didn't quite translate into Japanese, as it's based on the fact that the president of Nintendo of America, Doug Bowser, shares his name with the ''Super Mario'' villain. Bowser's Japanese name is King Koopa, so this joke was lost without a translator's note.

* {{Retool}}: The April 2017 saw the debut of a "headline-centric" presentation format that delivers information in a more fast-paced, trailer-focused manner; in sharp contrast to prior Directs, which would spend time after each every trailer both discussing what they just showed and building up what we're about to see, as well as on long comedy skits. Red and white also became the predominant color scheme over blue and white.

** Bill stealing Reggie's Donuts.

* BilingualDialogue: When Yoshiaki Koizumi introduced Doug Bowser, Koizumi spoke Japanese while Bowser spoke English, yet the two carried on a brief conversation just fine.

** "Directly to you" as part of the introduction, along with a MemeticHandGesture of extending both hands forward while tilting the hands upright, palms parallel to each other, was this during the Creator/SatoruIwata-era of presentations.

* MemeticHandGesture:
** Putting both of your hands at the sides of your face and pointing outward with them when saying the phrase "directly to you" was this during the Wii and Nintendo 3DS[=/=]Wii U eras.
** Raising a hand to snap your fingers to introduce a new game or change focus, emulating the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch "click".

** "Directly to you" as part of the introduction.
*** "Directly" itself became a word associated with the Directs thanks to Creator/SatoruIwata, along with a MemeticHandGesture of extending both hands forward while tilting the hands upright, palms parallel to each other.

** "Please understand" was used by Satoru Iwata at the end of apologies for product delays and issues

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: There have been a few times that the ''Nintendo Direct'' format is used to promote non-video game Nintendo projects; the December 2020 Direct about the new Ride/SuperNintendoWorld zone at Ride/UniversalStudios Japan, and the October 2022 and November 2022 Directs focused on ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' from Creator/IlluminationEntertainment.

* '''[[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]''': Focus on a specific title or franchise. The most frequent examples of this are the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Directs held by The Pokémon Company, with that franchise near-exclusively having major gaming announcements delivered in this format (until 2020, when TPC branched out into ''Pokémon Presents'' and expanded to add content not related to the mainline games (outside of the [[Anime/PokemonTheSeries animated show]]])), and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', with new fighters and gameplay features for each new title getting extensively detailed by longtime game producer Creator/MasahiroSakurai.

* '''[[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]''': Focus on a specific title or franchise. The most frequent examples of this are the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Directs held by The Pokémon Company, with that franchise near-exclusively having major gaming announcements delivered in this format, and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', with new fighters and gameplay features for each new title getting extensively detailed by longtime game producer Creator/MasahiroSakurai.

* '''[[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]''': Focus on a specific title or franchise. The most frequent examples of this are the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' Directs held by The Pokémon Company, with that franchise near-exclusively having major gaming announcements delivered in this format, and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', with new fighters and gameplay features for each new title getting extensively detailed.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nintendo_direct_vector.png]]

Nintendo Directs are known for not being publicly announced too far in advance, with announcements that one will be aired usually coming no more than two days prior, resulting in both a lot of predicting when the next one will happen and a concentrated two-day burst of hype when one is announced. The only exception to this are the ones done for the yearly UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo, thanks to Nintendo always maintaining a "Tuesday at 09:00 Pacific Time" slot at the trade show.[[note]]Though ever since 2017, one can expect a Nintendo Direct within a month after the company's February earnings report, and within two weeks before Tokyo Game Show.[[/note]]

* '''General Directs''': Cover a wide variety of games and topics, lasting from thirty minutes up to an hour. On occasion, extra focus is given to one or two major upcoming titles. Currently, Nintendo can be expected to have at least three of these a year, each of which mainly focus on announcing content for the subsequent four-to-six months.[[note]]However, when there's no E3, Nintendo has traditionally opted to skip doing a General Direct for that quadrimester entirely.[[/note]] There are also shorter "Mini" variants that can run for as little as ten minutes.
* '''[[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]''': Focus on a specific title or franchise. The most frequent examples of this are ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', with that franchise near-exclusively having major gaming announcements delivered in this format, and ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'', with new fighters and gameplay features for each new title getting extensively detailed.

Nintendo Directs are known for not being scheduled too far in advance, with announcements that one will be aired usually coming no more than two days in advance. The only exception to this are the ones done for the yearly UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo, thanks to Nintendo always maintaining a "Tuesday at 09:00 Pacific Time" slot at the trade show. This results in both a lot of predicting when the next one will happen and a concentrated two-day burst of hype when one is announced.

* '''Nintendo Direct E3'''[[note]][[IHaveManyNames Or E3 Digital Event. Or Nintendo Direct @ E3. Or Nintendo Spotlight E3.]][[/note]]: Since 2013, Nintendo has forgone the usual E3 stage press conference format in favor of having a Nintendo Direct in conjunction with ''Nintendo Treehouse Live''; a three-day showcase of recently announced titles hosted by members of Nintendo of America's localization team, with in-depth gameplay footage, interviews with developers, and an extra announcement or two. Since 2015, Nintendo's E3 events have also included at least one gaming tournament as well.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: There are two times so far that the ''Nintendo Direct'' format has been used to promote non-video game Nintendo projects; the December 2020 Direct about the new Ride/SuperNintendoWorld zone at Ride/UniversalStudios Japan, and the October 2022 Direct focused on ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' from Creator/IlluminationEntertainment.

* LargeHam: The ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForWiiU'' 50-Fact Extravaganza is hosted by the [[Creator/XanderMobus game's announcer]] who is just as hammy as in ''Smash''.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: There are two times so far that the ''Nintendo Direct'' format has been used to not promote a game, but purely on a non-game project Nintendo is involved in. There was direct late December 2020 that focused on the new Ride/SuperNintendoWorld zone at Ride/UniversalStudios Japan. Then there is the October 2022 direct focused on the ''WesternAnimation/TheSuperMarioBrosMovie'' from Creator/IlluminationEntertainment.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: There are two times so far that the ''Nintendo Direct'' format has been used to not promote a game, but purely on a non-game project Nintendo is involved in. There was direct late December 2020 that focused on the new Ride/SuperNintendoWorld zone at Ride/UniversalStudios Japan. Then there is the October 2022 direct focused on the ''Super Mario Bros.'' CG movie from Creator/IlluminationEntertainment.

* FormulaBreakingEpisode: There are two times so far that the ''Nintendo Direct'' format has been used to not promote a game, but purely on a non-game project Nintendo is involved in. There was direct late December 2020 that focused on the new Ride/SuperNintendoWorld zone at Ride/UniversalStudios Japan. Then there is the October 2022 direct focused on the ''Super Mario Bros.'' CG movie from Creator/{{Illumination}}.

* {{Retool}}: The April 2017 saw the debut of a "headline-centric" presentation format that delivers information in a more fast-paced, trailer-focused manner; in sharp contrast to prior Directs, which would spend time after every trailer both discussing what they just showed and building up what we're about to see. Red and white also became the predominant color scheme over blue and white.

Nintendo Directs are known for not being scheduled too far in advance, with announcements that one will be aired usually coming no more than two days in advance. The only exception to this are the ones done for the yearly UsefulNotes/ElectronicEntertainmentExpo, thanks to Nintendo always maintaining a "Tuesday at 09:00 Pacific Time" slot at the trade show. These two facts combined result in both a lot of predicting when the next one will happen and a concentrated two-day burst of hype when one is announced.

* '''General Directs''': Cover a wide variety of games and topics, lasting from thirty minutes up to an hour. On occasion, extra focus is given to one or two major upcoming titles. Currently, Nintendo can be expected to have at least three of these a year, each of which mainly focus on announcing content for the subsequent four-to-six months. There are also shorter "Mini" variants that can run for as little as ten minutes.

* '''General Directs''': Cover a wide variety of games and topics, lasting from thirty minutes up to an hour. On occasion, extra focus is given to one or two major upcoming titles. Currently, Nintendo can be expected to have at least three of these a year, each of which mainly focus on announcing content for the subsequent four-to-six months. There are also shorter "Mini" variants can run for as little as ten minutes.

[[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] and [[Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment Sony]] [[FollowTheLeader would create their own equivalents]] in the following years: ''[[https://news.xbox.com/en-us/insidexbox/ Inside Xbox]]'' starting in 2018 and ''[[https://www.playstation.com/en-us/state-of-play/ State of Play]]'' in 2019, respectively. Software publishers would follow the trend with their own online presentations: Creator/{{Ubisoft}} (''Ubisoft Forward'') and Creator/SquareEnix (''Square Enix Presents''), both debuted in 2020.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: It's common for a Nintendo Direct to end with a Nintendo rep saying "we have one more thing to show you", followed by a really big announcement. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', for instance, was announced this way at the end of the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct with a teaser trailer that showed the [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} Inklings]] would be added to the roster, and ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'''s first teaser trailer was also heralded with the same message.

* FiveSecondForeshadowing: It's common for a Nintendo Direct to end with a Nintendo rep saying "we have one more thing to show you", followed by a really big announcement. ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', for instance, was announced this way at the end of the E3 2018 Nintendo Direct with a teaser trailer that showed the [[VideoGame/{{Splatoon}} Inklings]] would be added to the roster, and ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'''s first two teaser trailers were also heralded with the same phrase.

* AscendedMeme: The second Doug Bowser was announced as Reggie's replacement at Nintendo of America, the Internet began pointing out that he had the same name as Mario's nemesis. Later, during the E3 2019 Direct (the first where Bowser was presenting), he's introduced by having the ''actual'' Bowser appear before Doug Bowser arrives complaining about a "mix-up".
-->'''Yoshiaki Koizumi''': Are you two related?
-->'''Doug Bowser''': No, but we get that a lot.
* {{Bilingual Dialogue}}: When Yoshiaki Koizumi introduced Doug Bowser, he spoke Japanese, while Mr. Bowser spoke English (and King Bowser growled).

* LostInTranslation: Occasionally the jokes made in the videos don't translate well, and have to make use of a translator's note in order to explain the joke to the Japanese or English audience.
** The E3 2019 video had a mistaken identity skit that didn't quite translate into Japanese, as it's based on the fact that the president of Nintendo of America shares his name with the ''Super Mario'' villain. Except, Bowser's Japanese name is King Koopa.
** One ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' Direct has Sakurai jokes that putting [[Franchise/{{Tekken}} Kazuya Mishima]] into the game was a MissionFromGod. The joke requires you to be familiar with Japanese kanji, or at least know that one of the kanji that spells out "Nintendo" can be translated into "heaven."