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January and February 2022 May Be Primetime for Nintendo

Even as every company tried to make the most of a difficult year, Nintendo famously had a particularly difficult 2020. Usually, it's pretty vocal about its projects, checking in with fans via Nintendo Directs every few months, but it didn't reveal much throughout 2020. Instead, Nintendo released Direct Minis sporadically, giving fans snippets of information about Nintendo games but keeping fans in the dark on a lot of important projects. Even as the Switch continued to prosper, the Nintendo brand lagged behind in other ways. That's why it's such a big deal that Nintendo released another Nintendo Direct in February 2021, restoring a sense of normalcy.

In 2021, Nintendo has said plenty about its plans, including the reveal of Skyward Sword HD and new details on various Pokemon games coming out in late 2021 and early 2022. The February Direct and the Direct at E3 2021 are important guideposts directing Nintendo back into its usual habit of releasing Nintendo Directs. If the return of the Direct pattern means anything, then fans should also keep an eye on the first two months of early 2022. Nintendo still has a lot of major projects in development that it hasn't discussed recently, making them perfect for a Nintendo Direct released in January or February.

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Ever since Nintendo started to make Nintendo Directs in late 2011, there's always been a Direct of some kind in either January or February, if not both. It's a logical time to discuss Nintendo products, starting off a new year strong and telling Nintendo fans what to expect during at least the first half of that year. Even when a Direct is focused on an IP like Pokemon or Fire Emblem, a Direct taking place in January or February is a great way to ensure that the Nintendo brand loses no momentum when moving out of the holiday season.

Nintendo's difficultly last year cast some doubt on what the future of Nintendo Directs looks like, but now it seems Nintendo still wants to use the Direct format. That means the odds are very high that one of the first months of 2022 will contain a Direct. It's already having a strong 2021 between completed releases like Skyward Sword HD and upcoming products like the Switch OLED. The natural progression is to reiterate that Nintendo is back on its feet by putting out a Direct at the very beginning of 2022. Even if the company publishes a Direct or two before the end of 2021, January and February are too important to skip.

Part of the reason an early 2022 Direct is so important is that Nintendo has a lot of IPs to reestablish. Pokemon's treatment in 2021 between Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl as well as New Pokemon Snap has been a positive step. The Legend of Zelda's anniversary celebrations also brings Zelda back into the limelight on top of a freshly revealed Breath of the Wild 2 trailer. Nintendo's major brands are pretty stable right now, but there's plenty of other affiliated franchises that Nintendo might decide to address in early 2022, as it's a possible release window for the Breath of the Wild sequel.

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Splatoon 3 is a great example of a game Nintendo hasn't revisited as soon as players expected. While fans know Splatoon 3 is coming out in 2022, Nintendo has yet to announce an official release date. By next February, a year will have passed since the game got announced; it was one of Nintendo's biggest reveals at the February 2020 comeback Direct. If the developer doesn't have anything to say about it by the end of 2021, Splatoon 3 could be the star of a January or February Direct, getting some new gameplay reveals and a release date a year after it was announced.

Splatoon is only the beginning of Nintendo's missing projects. Metroid Dread, one of Nintendo's biggest E3 2021 announcements, is already generating a lot of hype for the long-awaited Metroid Prime 4. It wouldn't be surprising if Metroid Prime 4 made an appearance at an early 2022 showcase in the wake of Metroid Dread's release, ending the long drought of Metroid Prime news. Similarly, Bayonetta 3 hasn't been the focus of Nintendo publicity in a long time, aside from Platinum Games' insistence that progress on the game is still going well. Maybe a January Direct could establish Bayonetta 3 as one of the Switch's star titles in 2022.

Beyond that, early 2022 would be the perfect time to bring long-neglected Nintendo franchises back into the spotlight. Pikmin 4 on Nintendo Switch would be a welcome announcement in early 2022, as would a new game for Kirby, F-Zero, Star Fox, or any of Nintendo's smaller IPs. Any of the aforementioned franchises could start 2022 off strong, indicating a shift away from certain franchises and back to some others that deserve more attention.

Nintendo fans were pretty upset about Nintendo's lack of Directs during 2020. Their disappearance resulted in more than a lack of information about the company's games. Many feared that Nintendo games were getting delayed across the board by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving little to no content to make Directs with, but 2021 feels much more like a normal year for Nintendo. Announcements may not be as omnipresent as they were in some previous years, but 2021's presentations still give the sense that Nintendo has adapted to the pandemic and gained control over the obstacles that it imposed.

Ideally, 2022 installs an even better sense of normalcy than the events of 2021. January and February are so historically important to Nintendo that at least one of the two months ought to contain a Nintendo Direct. It'd especially make sense to release a Direct in late January or early February after Pokemon Legends: Arceus comes out. Once that final installation in the Pokemon anniversary comes out, the time will be right to move on to new projects. Nintendo Directs are a delightful way for the studio to reach out to fans and give them a sense of what Nintendo is up to. Now that it's clear that Nintendo won't discard the Direct format after 2020's difficulties, it only seems right that January and February regain their traditional importance to the annual Direct cycle.

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