With December finally upon us, our minds wander over the past 12 months, looking back on a surprisingly jam-packed year of gaming. We've had surprise drops, indie hits and more than a few big names flooding the Switch in its twilight year, but we can't help but feel that something was missing: where were the Directs?
Okay, we understand that behind the scenes Nintendo's big players have probably been working full steam ahead on 'Switch 2' for most of the year (as evidenced by a look at the developer roster for this year's first line-up – above), but the lack of showcases was…noticeable.
Take, for example, this last third of the year. Nintendo has given us a Direct every year since 2017 without fail, but 2024 broke the chain. October was packed with surprise Alarm, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition and Nintendo Music announcements, but it was just a hint of window dressing that never materialized. Even November, a month where Direct or even Indie World seemed to have no meaning, went empty-handed.
In fact, Nintendo has been keeping uncharacteristically schtum all year. 2024 brought us only one full Direct in June, with the Partner Showcase taking the usual full slot in February and the standard April Indie World appearing before the pair team up for a back-to-back presentation in August. We've also had a few generously labeled “Directs” in the form of a tour of the Nintendo Museum in August and a highlight of Super Nintendo World in November, but nobody's really I'm counting them, aren't I?
Compare that to last year three Nintendo Directs, two Indie worlds and two special presentations for Movie Super Mario Bros and Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and things are definitely starting to feel a little more diluted.
And so, like Leia Organa to Obi-Wan Kenobi, we look to December as our only hope. Kind of the announcement is not a complete dream. December's Indie World was a mainstay of the 2019 to 2021 calendar year, and even earlier we had less formally structured announcements like 'Inside the House of Indie'. Of course, 2023 hasn't coughed up anything significant in the last month, but that's not enough to turn our backs on 2024 completely.
Of course, the 'Switch 2' announcement is the big thing we're all expecting in early 2025 (at least until March 31st), but there's still room for the 'Switch 1' game lineup to fill out a bit before that. So far, Nintendo is bringing us Donkey Kong Country Returns HD in January and Xenoblade in March, with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: ZA also coming at some point this year.
A hardware announcement will improve things – although that surely has to wait until next year – but it would be nice to have a few more things to look forward to as we head into the opening months, wouldn't it?
But what do you think? Are we finally getting Direct this month or are we barking up the wrong Christmas tree? You can share your gut reaction in the following poll, then elaborate on your prediction in the comments.
