Cameron NorrisFans of the hit game Super Smash Bros: Ultimate are eagerly awaiting the announcement of the next DLC character in the Fighters’ Pass.
When the Fighters’ Pass was announced, fans were told the five characters included would be released by February 2020. That means, within eight weeks, we’ll have seen the fifth and final Fighters’ Pass DLC character for the game.
However, there are some questions about who, exactly, that character will be. After all, if their release is only two months away at most, that’s not a lot of time to reveal them and drive hype for their release. Now that the Game Awards have come and gone with nary an announcement in sight, fans are wondering: When is the next Nintendo Direct?
What Is Nintendo Direct?
For those out of the loop, Nintendo Direct is an online presentation put together by Nintendo to show off new games ahead of their release. Generally speaking, Directs are the biggest source of news for Nintendo, straight from the source.
Nintendo fans typically get hyped up around the time a new Direct drops, and predicting what they might contain is a favorite pastime of Nintendo enthusiasts.
History Shows a Trend
In the Nintendo Switch Era, Nintendo has tended towards running roughly four main Directs per year: one in January or February, one in the spring, one in the summer for E3, and then one in the fall around September. Since our most recent Direct was in September, and Smash Bros DLC Fighter 5 releases in February at the latest, we can draw some educated conclusions.
While the first Direct of 2019 was in February, prior Directs after the holiday season had tended towards airing in January. We’re hoping that the February date of this year’s Direct doesn’t start a trend: waiting five whole months just to find out that nothing major was releasing on the Switch until June was somewhat heartbreaking.
What Does 2020 Hold?
At present, it’s not very clear what Nintendo’s plans for 2020 are. While we know that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is launching in March, beyond that it’s unclear what the company has planned. Many are dreading another mostly empty first half of the year, similar to how 2018 and 2019 unfolded.
The only other games confirmed for 2020 from Nintendo themselves are the remake of Xenoblade Chronicles and Tokyo Mirage Sessions FE Encore, which is a port of a Wii U game. Metroid Prime 4 restarted development early in 2019, so it’s unlikely to show in 2020.
Other games fans are dying for updates on include Bayonetta 3, Pikmin 4, a new Star Fox title, a proper Paper Mario entry, and a revival of the long-dormant F-Zero franchise.
Whether such games will be appearing next year is uncertain, but that won’t stop enthusiasts from speculating about what the year ahead might hold!
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