Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa confirms the format for Nintendo Direct could evolve in the future.
There has been plenty of online discussions about the format after the video game giant pushed back the June Direct schedule.
Possible change
Furukawa told company shareholders that the Direct format might change, although Nintendo Directs are of course a powerful form of communication for the brand.
“We feel Nintendo Directs are an incredibly effective way to present information directly to our customers in a very straight-forward way.”
“Inversely, times change and so does the most effective way to promote products, so there is a chance that a new, better way to present this information comes about. So we always like to examine all of the possible ways to communicate this information to customers.”
He acknowledged the success of the current Direct format, but also commented on future communications.
As times change, Directs could likely be scrapped to pave way for “better” methods.
Since 2013, Nintendo has streamed regular Direct presentations to update consumers all over the world on its product plans.
Now, complications around remote working made the company decide to push back its scheduled events for this year.
Pushed back
Nintendo decided to push back the schedule for Direct, which was supposed to happen in June. This is due to strict lockdown measures to curb the spread of the pandemic in Japan, shortly after the cancellation of E3.
Way before the cancellation of E, many AAA developers talked about whether they should gather in a single event along with other high-profile companies in the gaming industry.
It has been more than 10 months now since Nintendo hosted a proper Direct.
The latest one was in September 2019, which focused on titles like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Pokémon Sword and Shield.
When is the next Nintendo Direct?
In case you’re wondering when’s the next Direct going to be, it won’t be at least until late August or early September according to various sources.
Furukawa also confirmed the company’s decision to cancel every physical event for the rest of the year, including the plans for Mario’s 35th anniversary.
This pushed the video game giant to look into other ways of revealing its next roster of games to the public.
He also provided an official statement on where Nintendo stands in terms of game delays brought by the pandemic.
“In normal years, we would show off the games presented at E3 to our shareholders. However, due to the Coronavirus, E3, as well as other large game events, have been cancelled for the time being and we have no plans to hold any events of that nature as well.”
“Instead we are trying to be flexible in thinking of new ways to present information about our products, so please stay tuned.”
Fortunately, the brand’s games planned for release remains unaffected— regardless of slight concerns moving forward.
