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Discussion Nintendo Direct will be 10 years old by October 21

lexony

lexony

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I know it is a bit early but just saw this on Twitter and wanted to share it:


The very first direct which started it all:


And the somewhat complete playlist

If I counted it right, today there are around 128 presentations labeled as directs.

Truly an achievement. Which one is your favorite direct?
 
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Damn, I almost certainly wasn't around for the start but I don't think I've missed many.

I think my favourite is still January 2013. At the time it just seemed so crazy, didn't age the best considering how long so many of those games actually took to come out but it's definitely the one I have the fondest memories of.
 
Does not feel like very long.

I've watched all of them except for the game-specific ones I don't care about and some of the indie game ones. I was way more into them during the Wii U era despite them probably being better now, though. Back then there was just a dearth of stuff to care about and I was more involved in gaming hype cycles.

My favorite is still probably the E3 2014 one, where they completely stole the show. January 2013 was also really good; it was basically a panic direct done in response to the Wii U performing poorly where they announced several games fairly far in advance (Xenoblade Chronicles X sticks out). Those were some of the last times I was truly excited for something in gaming, along with Persona 5's prerelease cycle.
 
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My favorite General Direct is hard to pin down, but the Smash Directs have always been my favorite. Most other game-centric Directs I'll skip and get the highlights but Smash would get me up at 7 in the morning. The August 2018 Smash Direct is definitely the pinnacle:



Tons of great reveals in terms of characters and content, the final one of course being my favorite, given that it was the character I voted for in the ballot.
 
Remember when people were saying that these were a stupid idea that would never match the hype of a live presentation and would cause a deflation of consumer interest, even 5 years into their existence?

I have fond memories of people being wrong about that. After all, a commercial is a commercial.
 
It's honestly hard to believe it's been so long. They've come a long way since then. I had forgotten that they were a lot more dry early on.

I'm not sure if it's right to attribute the inception of using pre-recorded videos as a marketing tool in gaming to Nintendo, but it sure feels like many other video game companies started doing it (even if it took quite a few year).
 
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I miss Iwata a lot. But it really is crazy to remember people sort of bashing the format, especially when it replaced Nintendo's E3 live presentations, and then Direct-like pre-edited showcases ended up becoming the norm and standard for everyone.
 
Mekanos said:
My favorite General Direct is hard to pin down, but the Smash Directs have always been my favorite. Most other game-centric Directs I'll skip and get the highlights but Smash would get me up at 7 in the morning. The August 2018 Smash Direct is definitely the pinnacle:



Tons of great reveals in terms of characters and content, the final one of course being my favorite, given that it was the character I voted for in the ballot.
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This direct was fucking AMAZING
 
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I remember when people originally laughed at them for it. Claiming they were doing it cause they had bad relationships with the gaming media.
Then when they decided to replace a floorshow in E3 for a Direct, people also over reacted and doomposting was on the rise.

10 Years later, Nintendo proved to be the right one, as most mayor publisher have also created their own version of a direct (a pre recorded stream to deliver news direct to its userbase/Audience)
 
Terrell said:
Remember when people were saying that these were a stupid idea that would never match the hype of a live presentation and would cause a deflation of consumer interest, even 5 years into their existence?

I have fond memories of people being wrong about that. After all, a commercial is a commercial.
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I'll take a direct to the point Direct that some execs trying to be funny for 2 hours on stage, so yeah, Directs are great and it is very funny how other companies have tried (and failed miserably) to copy them.
 
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Terrell said:
Remember when people were saying that these were a stupid idea that would never match the hype of a live presentation and would cause a deflation of consumer interest, even 5 years into their existence?

I have fond memories of people being wrong about that. After all, a commercial is a commercial.
Click to expand...

I was one of these people saying this for a while, and I still think there's something special about a lot of old 2000s press shows. Like, the excitement in the room at the 2004 Twilight Princess unveiling is something special, and has never been recaptured by a Direct. Yes, all of this is ultimately a commercial, but still.

That being said, the industry is different now. Nintendo did a stage show for their full Switch unveiling and I.....realized it probably would have worked better as a Direct. That was my turning point where I went "okay, I was probably wrong about this".
 
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I'm not going to lie I miss the old E3 format. The excitement from a major reveal has never been quite matched from a direct. But I understand Directs are the way of the future.
 
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garf02 said:
as most mayor publisher have also created their own version of a direct (a pre recorded stream to deliver news direct to its userbase/Audience)
Click to expand...

Mircosoft and Sony are still way behind on making their "Direct" as good how nintendo does it. Just shows how nintendo has perfected the format.
 
In 2020, I think Nintendo intended to end the conventional Direct. It seems a natural to me they had plans to use Super Nintendo World as a location to do a live event to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of Mario, announce the then-new park, and do it during both 2020 E3 and the Tokyo Olympic Games... Who could ask for more attention? Then Covid struck and everything got scrapped.

I think that played a big part in why 2020's announcements got so ragged, because they had already planned to do a big event and had to cobble together "partner directs" and other announcements to make up for it. I mean, if I had a huge theme park based on my games, I'd want to make a big deal out of it, right? What better place to hold a major event?

I would not be surprised if Nintendo went to a new live format for their future announcements as soon as they can use Super Nintendo World safely. An E3 2022 Showcase might be the most obvious choice. If there is a Next-Gen Switch to announce by March 2022 they could do that, too.
 
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Terrell said:
Remember when people were saying that these were a stupid idea that would never match the hype of a live presentation and would cause a deflation of consumer interest, even 5 years into their existence?

I have fond memories of people being wrong about that. After all, a commercial is a commercial.
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I was one of them.
Thankfully, it clicked to me quickly and understood the concept.
The directs are the future, and better than most live presentations.
 
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Nintendo Direct as a concept was ahead of its time. And to this day no company has managed to do it as well as Nintendo. Iwata deserves credit for starting something that excites and brings people together.
 
Yep, they were way ahead of their time, and all major publishers followed their lead. Why risk the gaming media mangling your announcements by releasing press material to IGN et al when you can just... go direct? Why risk the disappointment of a botched live reveal (Wii Music, Skyward Sword), when you can just do everything in a polished, controlled environment?

They built up a huge amount of goodwill with Iwata and Reggiie's charisma, and more importantly exposed fans of certain Nintendo series who weren't fans of most Nintendo franchises (and might not have even been aware of them) to those franchises.

Basically, they took fans of some Nintendo games who would tune in for potential news on that game, and turned them into... Nintendo fans. And there's a difference. And while they always had a hardcore group who would buy anything first party, they managed to increase it hugely using directs. As Directs became a social media event, this effect only grew and grew.

Incredibly, Sony copied them and got to that same place. Where there are now Playstation fans who are eager for news on ANY first party game, and will try anything Sony studios puts out. And I can go even further (!) and say that reading these tea leaves is what caused Microsoft to buy Bethesda!

Nintendo you beautiful butterfly, you.
 
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CMM1215 said:
God this ages me like milk LOL
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Don't feel too bad, I'm from a time when Space World was still a thing. Hell, I'm from a time when the only way you heard about what happened at industry trade shows was in a print magazine.

Come children, gather around the fire and let me tell you the tale of the proto-Nintendo Direct, when Nintendo sent you a pre-recorded VHS tape with your magazine subscription to show you upcoming game releases.
 
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I was kind of onboard with the idea from the beginning. Before the Direct you saw Nintendo experimenting with other presentation styles (remember the 2011 3DS reassurance presentation right before TGS including Fire Emblem Awakening and Monster Hunter) so the Direct was a cool way to get more information more regularly. I always believed this to be the biggest problem in the industry; getting out information on a regular basis in a sufficient way.

It was a Japan exclusive at first, but with online buzz spreading NoA quickly adopted it. When it finally appeared at E3 as Nintendo Spotlight, it was still a work in progress. It did not help Nintendo was in one of their weakest periods third party wise, so everyone was being critical. Still, the rise of these presentations slowly made me even more critical of live presentations.

I mean Nintendo had their share of mishaps; remember Wii Music, the not so smooth demo of Skyward Sword or Nintendo Land fireworks? Looking over at the neighbours you saw simulate trends which were just as annoying. At Sony’s end they let in fans which was grating. People being annoying during announcements (YEAH HANNAH MONTANA PINK PSP!) and what not. Don’t get me started on Microsoft and the constant clapping and wooping of their employees which became a parody.

During the Switch era though Nintendo truly perfected the Direct presentation. They are mostly snappy, to the point and they give third party partners spotlight time as well. I’m fairly certain this is one of the reasons as well why more third parties have shown up during the Switch generation.

So here’s to more Directs in the future!
 
Sadist said:
During the Switch era though Nintendo truly perfected the Direct presentation. They are mostly snappy, to the point and they give third party partners spotlight time as well. I’m fairly certain this is one of the reasons as well why more third parties have shown up during the Switch generation.
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Yeah. Production wise the Directs in the Switch Era are a big step up. They are a bit like a reboot and formats like State of Play got really inspired by it.

To answer my own question: personally I think the best Direct, at least during the Switch era, Was the E3 2019 one. It featured countless games of different genres, had two smash reveals and a big surprise trailer at the end.
 
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It's amazing going back and seeing how they have developed these over the decade. From experimental measure at communicating directly to consumers, to a standard that the whole industry has seemingly adopted. The way they have streamlined recent directs so that it's non-stop announcements makes them increasingly exciting.

May just be recency bias but their E3 2021 Direct is perhaps my favourite. So many games there I'm looking forward to
 
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I still miss the Iwata era of skits and random foolishness in Directs:

miyamoto-sucking-iwata_qez5.gif


The Switch-era Directs are certainly more packed, but they don't have the same level of charm as the 3DS and Wii U era. Koizumi constantly asking "How is everything?" isn't the same as Iwata staring randomly at bananas.

iwata+banana.gif
 
JazzPotatoes said:
I still miss the Iwata era of skits and random foolishness in Directs:

miyamoto-sucking-iwata_qez5.gif


The Switch-era Directs are certainly more packed, but they don't have the same level of charm as the 3DS and Wii U era. Koizumi constantly asking "How is everything?" isn't the same as Iwata staring randomly at bananas.

iwata+banana.gif
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If they continued the goofy stuff people would say they are just a cheap copy of Iwata's style, which is what they would objectively be. Koizumi doesn't have that sort of charm.
 
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Rhisiart said:
I miss Iwata a lot. But it really is crazy to remember people sort of bashing the format, especially when it replaced Nintendo's E3 live presentations, and then Direct-like pre-edited showcases ended up becoming the norm and standard for everyone.
Click to expand...

They have changed massively since the early days but I still find peoples obsession with stage shows bizzare when your literally watching a stream at home. With a direct I have never had to complain about a stupid camera cuts/panning shots away from action or long drawn out moments.
 
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Oh shit 10 years already.

Man i still remember the constant laughts and doomposting, specially when Nintendo decided to stop doing live conferences.

I enjoy that format a lot, no awkward applauses, no unexpected errors (those Skyward Sword sync issues should have never happened, it soured the whole show that year), no padding. Everything is well done.
 
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To me it seems so much longer than 10 years, the Wii seems so long ago, but it's discussing 3ds games not ds ones so that must have been around for longer than I remember, haven't turned mine on since Samus returns.

And as I'm thinking of Ds games..... man I wish Advance wars reboot camp had dual strike in it as well.
 
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