VentureBeat reported on April 30 that Nintendo wouldn’t be holding June’s Direct broadcast because of work-from-home complications. Now, VentureBeat has released a follow-up: “Nintendo isn’t planning a Direct at all for now.”
The company reportedly told development partners with announcements to not wait for the Nintendo Direct. This is backed up by the fact that Nintendo released a trailer for Paper Mario: The Origami King last week to be launched this summer. It was likely the game would’ve been announced in the June Direct.
Instead of games being announced in one broadcast, fans can expect titles to appear throughout the summer one by one with surprise announcements.
As for the rumored games to come, VentureBeat points to Pikmin 3 Deluxe, 3D Mario remasters, and Super Mario 3D World Deluxe as the next ones to be announced. The report says there might be “some surprises” beyond this, but Nintendo may have to wait until it can start doing Directs again.
Nintendo hasn’t officially confirmed the Direct cancelation yet. But VentureBeat’s reporter Jeff Grubb has a good record when it comes to predictions, including the Paper Mario: The Origami King announcement.
Although many events have been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, the company intended to continue with the Direct. Every year since 2013, Nintendo has held a June Direct to release information about new games and consoles, accompanying E3’s flow of releases.
