History WebVideo / NintendoDirect

* 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.

[[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.

* {{Bilingual Dialogue}}: When Yohiaki Koizumi introduced Doug Bowser, he spoke Japanese, while Mr. Bowser spoke English (and King Bowser growled).

** "Please understand" at the end of apologies for product delays and issues. Was retired upon Iwata's death.
** "But before we go", or some variation thereof, referring to the final announcement of the Direct, usually internet-breaking ones.

* 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, estimated 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.

* LostInTranslation: The Doug Bowser joke doesn't quite translate well into Japanese, as Bowser the character is named King Koopa over there. The Japanese version of the Direct has notes during the scene for those not in on the joke.

** Putting both of your hands at the sides of your face and pointing outward with them when saying the phrase "directly to you."
** Raising a hand to snap your fingers while saying some variant on "Let's switch." Or just finger snapping when introducing a Switch game.
* {{Retool}}: The April 12, 2017 Direct saw the debut of a headline-centric presentation format that delivers information in a more fast-paced, trailer-focused manner; this is in sharp contrast to prior Directs, which would spend some 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.

[[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 ''[[WebVideo/StateOfPlay State of Play]]'' in 2019, respectively.

''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 Creator/SatoruIwata until his death in 2015, after which Creator/YoshiakiKoizumi took up the position. Meanwhile, regional directs are generally hosted by that branch's CCO or marketing head. 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 over the course of twenty minutes or more. On occasion, there may be one or two particular titles that are given extra focus. There is also the ''Nintendo Direct mini'', which, as the name suggests, it is a shorter variant.
* '''[[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]''': Focus on a particular title or franchise.
* '''[[IndieGame Nindie Showcases/Indie World]]''': Technically seen as a different web series by Nintendo, these focus on upcoming titles made by independent developers being released on the Nintendo eShop. Similar are '''Partner Showcases''', which share news on third-party games in general.
* '''E3 Digital Event''': [[IHaveManyNames Or Nintendo Direct @ E3. Or Nintendo Spotlight E3. Or Nintendo Direct E3.]] In any case, 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.
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[[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 ''[[WebVideo/StateofPlay]]'' in 2019, respectively.

[[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 ''[[WebVideo/State of Play]]'' in 2019, respectively.

[[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 ''State of Play'' in 2019, respectively.

* E3 Digital Event: [[IHaveManyNames Or Nintendo Direct @ E3. Or Nintendo Spotlight E3. Or Nintendo Direct E3.]] In any case, 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.

* General Directs: Cover a wide variety of games and topics over the course of twenty minutes or more. On occasion, there may be one or two particular titles that are given extra focus. There is also the ''Nintendo Direct mini'', which, as the name suggests, it is a shorter variant.
* [[ADayInTheLimelight Specialized Directs]]: Focus on a particular title or franchise.
* [[IndieGame Nindie Showcases/Indie World]]: Technically seen as a different web series by Nintendo, these focus on upcoming titles made by independent developers being released on the Nintendo eShop.

''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 Creator/SatoruIwata until his death in 2015, after which Creator/YoshiakiKoizumi took up the position. Meanwhile, regional directs are generally hosted by that branch's CCO or marketing head. 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.[[note]]These days, fans can generally expect at least one general Direct during each of the company's fiscal quarters, though.[[/note]]

** The E3 2014 and 2015 Directs also engaged in this, with the former having animated sequences by ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'', and the latter having [[Franchise/TheMuppets Muppet]] versions of Iwata, Miyamoto, and Reggie in place of live action appearances.

* 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, estimated 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 Nitnendo Directs.

** "But before we go", or some variation thereof, referring to the final announcement of the Direct, usually [[ShockingMoments internet-breaking ones]].

** "But before we go", or some variation thereof, referring to the final announcement of the Direct, usually an
[[ShockingMoments internet-breaking one]].

** "But before we go", or some variation thereof, referring to the final announcement of the Direct, usually an [[ShockingMoments internet-breaking one]].

* [[IndieGame Nindie Showcases]]: Technically seen as a different web series by Nintendo, these focus on upcoming titles made by independent developers being released on the Nintendo eShop.

* WhamEpisode: Pretty much the definition of many episodes for one reason or another, with them being listed on the "Moment of Awesome" page over [[Awesome/NintendoDirect here]]. But the two biggest ones, filled to the brim with wham moment after wham moment, are:
** The "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MzG6lDA1A0 Wii U Direct of January 2013]]". Considered the first ''big'' Direct, this was Nintendo's attempt at restoring faith in the UsefulNotes/WiiU, which had a disappointing launch a few months prior. The presentation announced the return of UsefulNotes/VirtualConsole, new information about ''VideoGame/TheWonderful101'' and ''VideoGame/Bayonetta2'', confirmation on the development of what would become ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'', ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' and ''VideoGame/MarioKart8'', and the reveals of what would become ''VideoGame/YoshisWoollyWorld'', ''VideoGame/TokyoMirageSessionsFE'', and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'', in addition to a HD remake of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''.
** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GisRY6h100U Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 2014]]". Bookended with brand-new ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U'' news and character reveals, this Direct saw the announcement of Toys/{{amiibo}}, the return of ''Yoshi's Woolly World'', ''Bayonetta 2'', and ''Xenoblade Chronicles X'' with gameplay trailers and release windows, and the reveals of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', and brand-new IP ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''. Oh, and a hint that a new ''Franchise/StarFox'' game was in development. All this interspersed with various ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' skits mocking game journalists, Nintendo fans, and Nintendo themselves, as well as short "developer story" segments.

* DreamWithinADream: At the end of the ''VideoGame/{{Tomodachi Life}}'' 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.

* LargeHam: The ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. for Wii U]]'' 50-Fact Extravaganza is hosted by the [[Creator/XanderMobus game's announcer]] who hams it up just as much as he does in the games.
* LostInTranslation: The Doug Bowser joke doesn't quite translate well into Japanese, given that his name over there is "King Koopa". The Japanese version of the Direct has notes during the scene for those not in on the joke.

* TeasingCreator: Towards the end of the December 2013 installment, Iwata declares that there's only one game left to showcase... and ends up actually showing two: ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU'' and ''VideoGame/MarioKart8''. This is due to the ''Smash'' trailer [[BaitAndSwitch starting off with an animation of Kirby landing on Rainbow Road and interacting with the racers]], as if he's going to be in ''Mario Kart''. Iwata then admits that the ''Smash'' trailer starting off with that scene was an unplanned coincidence on Creator/MasahiroSakurai's part.

** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GisRY6h100U Nintendo Digital Event @ E3 2014]]". Bookended with brand-new ''Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U'' news and character reveals, this Direct saw the announcement of Toys/{{amiibo}}, the return of ''Yoshi's Woolly World'', ''Bayonetta 2'', and ''Xenoblade Chronicles X'' with gameplay trailers and release windows, and the reveals of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'', and brand-new IP ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}''. Oh, and a hint that a new ''Franchise/StarFox'' game was in development. All this interspersed with various ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken'' skits mocking game journalists, Nintendo fans, and Nintendo themselves, as well as short "developer story" segments.

[[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] and [[Creator/SonyInteractiveEntertainment Sony]] would create their own equivalents in the following years: ''[[https://news.xbox.com/en-us/insidexbox/ Inside Xbox]]'' starting in 2018 and ''State of Play'' in 2019, respectively.