It happened back in October 2011. Satoru Iwata stood in front of a white background, adjusted his glasses, and pointed his fingers toward the camera. "Directly," he said. That single moment changed how every single person in this industry gets their news. Before that, we were stuck waiting for E3 or reading leaked scans from Japanese magazines that took weeks to translate. Now? We just wait for a tweet from a red-branded account and lose our collective minds at 10:00 AM ET on a Tuesday.
But if you’re looking for a list of Nintendo Directs that actually makes sense, you’ve probably realized it's a mess. There isn't just one type of show. You have the "General" Directs, the "Mini" ones that usually drop when Nintendo is feeling shy, the "Partner Showcases" that people weirdly complain about, and the hyper-focused deep dives like the Super Smash Bros. or Pokémon Presents streams. Honestly, trying to track every single broadcast since 2011 is like trying to catalog every star in the sky while someone is throwing Blue Shells at your head.
Why the List of Nintendo Directs Is Longer Than You Think
Most people think there are maybe forty or fifty of these things. Nope. If you count every regional variation from Nintendo of Japan, Europe, and America, the number balloons into the hundreds. We aren't just talking about the big June shows.
The first official Nintendo Direct on October 21, 2011, wasn't even the global explosion we know today. It was a humble beginning focused on the 3DS. It feels like a lifetime ago. Back then, the Wii U hadn't even launched yet. Imagine that. Since then, the format has evolved from Iwata’s charming, low-budget presentations to the high-octane, polished sizzle reels we see during the Switch era. The pivot happened because Nintendo realized they didn't need the middleman anymore. They didn't need a press conference at the Nokia Theatre to reach you. They just needed a YouTube link.
The Era of the Wii U and 3DS (2011–2016)
This was the "Directly to You" era. It was personal. We saw Iwata staring at a bunch of bananas to promote Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. We saw him engage in a literal "Matrix" style fight with Reggie Fils-Aimé to announce Mii Fighters in Smash. It was weird. It was quirky. It was peak Nintendo.
During these years, the list of Nintendo Directs was dense. Because the Wii U was struggling, Nintendo had to communicate constantly to keep the momentum alive. You had the Year of Luigi (2013), which was basically a year-long fever dream of green-themed content. You had the Pikmin 3 deep dives. If you look back at the 2013-2014 schedule, they were pumping these out almost every month. It was a survival tactic.
🔗 Read more: Lust Academy Season 1: Why This Visual Novel Actually Works
The Switch Transition and the "Partner" Pivot
When the Switch launched in 2017, the vibe shifted. The Directs became events. They became "appointments." You didn't just watch them; you reacted to them. Think back to the September 2018 Direct—the one delayed by an earthquake in Hokkaido. When it finally aired, we got the Luigi’s Mansion 3 reveal and the shocker that Final Fantasy VII, IX, X, and XII were coming to a Nintendo console. That was the moment the "Third-Party" barrier finally crumbled.
Then came 2020. Everything changed. The world stopped, and so did the big General Directs. For over a year, we lived on a diet of "Partner Showcases" and "Minis." Fans were frustrated. They wanted the big first-party hits. But Nintendo was smart—they used that time to highlight indies through the Indie World showcases, which honestly deserve their own spot on any serious list of Nintendo Directs. Without those smaller streams, games like Hades or Hollow Knight might not have reached the same legendary status on the platform.
Breaking Down the Different Flavors of Directs
You can’t just put them all in one bucket. It doesn't work. If you're building a spreadsheet or just trying to remember when Metroid Prime 4 was first teased (it was E3 2017, by the way—a "Spotlight," not a traditional Direct), you need to categorize them.
The General Directs
These are the big ones. Usually 40 to 50 minutes long. They happen roughly three times a year: February/March, June (the E3 slot), and September. If you're looking for the "main" history, this is your core list. These contain the "One More Thing" reveals that keep the internet humming for weeks.
The Mini Directs
Don't let the name fool you. Sometimes a "Mini" packs more punch than a full show. The March 2020 Mini dropped out of nowhere with Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition and Bravely Default II. These are usually shadow-dropped—no 24-hour warning, just a random tweet at 9:00 AM saying "Watch this now."
💡 You might also like: OG John Wick Skin: Why Everyone Still Calls The Reaper by the Wrong Name
The Developer Stories and Treehouse Live
These aren't technically Directs, but they are essential DNA. After a big June Direct, the Treehouse Live segments provide hours of raw gameplay. For the hardcore fans, these are better than the trailers. You get to see the actual UI, the frame rates, and the mechanics that trailers hide behind clever editing.
Notable "Single-Game" Deep Dives
Sometimes a game is so big it needs its own 20-minute block. We’ve seen this repeatedly:
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Masahiro Sakurai basically took over the channel for years.
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons: The February 2020 dedicated Direct was basically a relaxation tape for a world about to go into lockdown.
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder: A late-cycle showcase that proved the Switch still had legs.
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom: Eiji Aonuma sitting in a field playing with the "Ultrahand" for ten minutes. Pure gold.
The Strategy Behind the Scarcity
Why doesn't Nintendo just tell us the schedule for the year? Because hype is a currency. By keeping the list of Nintendo Directs unpredictable, they ensure that every time a "Nintendo Direct" trend starts on social media, the entire gaming world stops to look. It’s a masterclass in marketing. Sony and Microsoft have tried to copy it with "State of Play" and "Developer_Direct," but they rarely capture that same "anything can happen" energy.
There’s a common misconception that Nintendo is "quiet" if we go three months without a show. Usually, they’re just waiting for the right window. They don't want to announce a game that’s three years away (unless it's Metroid Prime 4 or Bayonetta 3, apparently). They prefer the "six-month window"—announce it in February, play it in July.
How to Find a Verifiable Archive
If you are a completionist trying to watch every single one, you have to be careful. YouTube is full of "re-uploads" that cut out segments or change the music due to copyright. The only real way to see the history is through the official Nintendo YouTube channels.
📖 Related: Finding Every Bubbul Gem: Why the Map of Caves TOTK Actually Matters
- Go to the "Live" or "Videos" tab on the Nintendo of America channel.
- Use the search filter for "Direct."
- Cross-reference with the "Nintendo Direct Archive" on their official website (though they sometimes delist older ones).
Interestingly, the Japanese versions often have different hosts and sometimes even different games. For example, some JRPGs that never leave Japan get huge segments in the Japanese Directs while being completely absent from the Western ones. If you're a fan of niche titles, those are the hidden gems of the list of Nintendo Directs.
Essential Takeaways for the Modern Fan
Tracking these shows isn't just about nostalgia. It's about seeing the roadmap of where gaming is going. We are currently in a transition period. As rumors of the "Switch 2" or whatever the successor is called continue to swirl, the frequency of General Directs might slow down, replaced by more "Partner Showcases." This happened at the end of the 3DS era, too.
To stay ahead of the curve, don't just look for the big announcements. Look at the placement. The game that opens the Direct and the "One More Thing" at the end are the priorities. Everything in the middle? That’s the "filler" that often contains the most interesting experimental titles.
Actionable Steps for Tracking Future Directs:
- Ignore "Leakers": 99% of them are guessing based on historical patterns. If a "leak" says a Direct is on a Monday, it's probably fake. Nintendo almost always favors Tuesdays or Wednesdays.
- Watch the Japanese Twitter (@Nintendo): They often post the announcement a few minutes before the English accounts.
- Check the ESRB Ratings: If a bunch of games suddenly get rated, a Direct is usually within 14 days.
- Archive Your Favorites: Nintendo has a habit of "privating" old videos once a console generation ends. If there’s a specific presentation you love, find a way to save that memory.
The list of Nintendo Directs is a living document. It’s a timeline of our lives as gamers over the last decade plus. From the low-res 360p streams of 2011 to the 4K-ready showcases of today, these broadcasts have defined what it means to be a Nintendo fan. We’ve seen legends like Iwata pass the torch to the next generation, and while the "Directly" gesture might be gone, the spirit of that direct-to-consumer connection is stronger than ever. Keep your eyes on the official channels—the next entry in the list is always just around the corner.