Nintendo always has something big in development, and the Direct is a time-honored tradition that gives fans invaluable insight into what the video game giant is planning. 2022 has seen a few excellent Nintendo Directs so far, including a February presentation that revealed remarkable 2022 releases such as Nintendo Switch Sports and Mario Strikers: Battle League while setting up other heavy-hitters like Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Nintendo is usually pretty consistent when it comes to releasing large-scale Directs, but the last few months have been a little less explosive than fans might have expected, between Nintendo's long list of projects and the time of year.
E3 2022 was sadly canceled, meaning many studios have poured resources into major independent presentations released in June or appearances at Geoff Keighley's Summer Game Fest. So far, however, Nintendo has done neither. June 2022 hasn't been totally devoid of Nintendo presentations, but there definitely hasn't been anything on the scale of Nintendo's usual E3 presentation. The recent lack of first-party game coverage from Nintendo means that several major games that fans would like to see release in 2022 and beyond have been kept out of the spotlight.
Nintendo Has Had an Oddly Quiet June
June 2022 looks like it'll contain a total of two Nintendo Directs, which sounds impressive on paper, but feels less impactful when considering their topics. The Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Direct was certainly exciting, giving fans lots of new insight into Monolith Soft's next RPG about a month before it releases. Nintendo also has plans to release a Nintendo Direct Mini focused on third-party Switch titles. The third-party focus could mean that just about anything appears there, including the rumored Persona Switch ports, but Nintendo's own major games definitely won't play a part.
Two Nintendo Directs that cover a single first-party Nintendo game and a few third-party games try but fail to make up for the lack of an E3-style Nintendo presentation. Nintendo is usually a cornerstone of June's explosion of video game news, but this year, it has seemingly sidelined itself while Summer Game Fest raises the voices of AAA studios and indie studios alike. The limited Nintendo news is especially noticeable in the wake of the impressive Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, where huge titles like Starfield, Overwatch 2, and Diablo 4 all reared their heads. Nintendo's fans were left craving a presentation on the same scale.
Nintendo Games That Need Coverage
There are still lots of Nintendo games slated for 2022 that could stand to get some major information revealed. For instance, while Pokemon Scarlet and Violet got a new trailer at the start of June, the Generation 9 Pokemon games are still shrouded in mystery, despite only being five months away from release. Bayonetta 3 could use some attention too, since the long-awaited return of Bayonetta still lacks a hard release date. Splatoon 3 may have its own release date locked down, but fans could still use a little more coverage of the colorful shooter in the coming months.
Aside from these planned 2022 releases, there are valuable 2023 releases and long-lost games that need attention. The status of Metroid Prime 4 ought to be confirmed now that Metroid Dread has helped a new generation develop a taste for the franchise. Pikmin 4's fate has also remained in doubt for many years, even as the mobile game Pikmin Bloom flourishes. Even though it's far off, the sequel to Zelda: Breath of the Wild ought to show up in a new Direct; fans have endured the painstakingly slow stream of details for long enough.
Considering just how many first-party games of note Nintendo has to cover, it's somewhat shocking that it didn't release a major Direct around the time of Summer Game Fest. The last all-purpose Nintendo Direct was in February 2022, and while that show was impressive, its intended window of coverage has run out. Fans need more details about the second half of 2022 now that the first half has passed, and June would've been the ideal time to release a new major Direct. Hopefully Nintendo's strange silence is merely a sign that it'll release a large-scale Direct in July, rather than competing for coverage in June, but this month's two small Directs may mean fans have more waiting to do.