Guessing that Nintendo Direct rumors and speculations would been left behind in 2019 would’ve been a poor bet to take, because here we are just days into 2020 and it looks like we’ve already got our first indication of a Direct happening soon. News of some new Nintendo Switch SKUs that have appeared within GameStop’s database is making the rounds online this week, and if past instances like this are anything to do off of, it appears as though the next Nintendo Direct may take place in January.
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The tweet below from Twitter user YuYuKamii is what’s at the center of the Nintendo Direct rumors with a spread of updated GameStop SKUs showing a bunch of unnamed Nintendo Switch games. The named games towards the end don’t reveal anything new, but it’s the ones that people don’t know about that have fueled the idea that a Nintendo Direct might happen soon.
GameStop system doing it’s usual pre-direct new SKU listings 😏.
We starting 2020 strong 👀~ pic.twitter.com/CA2whpU0l7
— FADEL – Master Of Hype (@YuYuKamii) January 1, 2020
As others have pointed out online, GameStop SKU updates have happened in the past ahead of Nintendo’s reveals. It happened last year in June before E3 took place which would be an obvious spot for Nintendo to reveal games, but it’s a trend that hasn’t gone unnoticed with this latest news.
Additional indicators that we might be getting a Nintendo Direct soon come from new game ratings and products that have appeared in the Nintendo Switch’s online store. Just this week, Metro Redux was rated for the Nintendo Switch by PEGI. It’s a game that’s been leaked before, though it’s new rating may be pointing to a reveal by Nintendo which would have no better home than a Nintendo Direct. There’s also the fact that the Challenger Pack 5 for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is currently up in the Switch’s online store as an individual purchase. It has an estimated release date of February 29th which is almost certainly just a placeholder for now, but the timing lends itself to the Direct speculations.
Last but not least, Nintendo has some maintenance scheduled for this month that should be happening soon. Two different instances of maintenance will take place, one of them on January 6th with the other happening on January 8th. They could be just routine maintenance and be nothing of importance, but it’s worth pointing out given the rumors.
Nintendo hasn’t officially revealed anything about its Direct plans, though expect an announcement setting the time and date if one really is happening this month.
