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A Nintendo Direct event is rumored this month. Expect some release dates

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Nate Barrett/Digital Trends

Nintendo’s 2019 schedule isn’t set in stone right now, with only a few of its games having final release dates or even windows, but that could change this month. The company is rumored to hold one of its digital Nintendo Direct events, and we suspect we’ll learn more about its plans for the year.

According to Gaming Intel, Nintendo will hold the next Nintendo Direct event in January, possibly on January 10, and we’re looking forward to hearing about some previously announced games. These could include titles like Yoshi’s Crafted World, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Daemon X Machina, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, and Bayonetta 3.

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Most of these games have vague 2019 release windows, but as we move further into the year, we’re sure to get more specifics. This will likely also include news on the Switch-exclusive Pokémon role-playing game that’s in the works, which will be aimed at the more traditional crowd rather than the casual players of Pokémon: Let’s Go.

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As Twitter user and market researcher Stealth pointed out on Twitter, however, last year’s Nintendo Direct event in January was also used to announced completely new games.

If there is a Nintendo Direct within the next few weeks (which I think we all believe), it is bound to be an insane one. Last year's January Direct revealed 6+ games for the first time, this should be no different. Will not be one to miss.

— Stealth (@Stealth40k) January 3, 2019

If you don’t remember, this event is where we learned about Dark Souls Remastered on Switch for the first time, as well as the Switch ports of Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and Hyrule Warriors. Mario Tennis Aces also made its debut during this event, as did DLC for Super Mario Odyssey and Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle.

With the success of the Switch and last year’s Mario Tennis Aces, it seems likely that a new Mario Golf game is coming to the system, as well — whether or not that will be announced during the Nintendo Direct this month remains to be seen. Other franchises we haven’t seen in a while include Advance Wars and Kid Icarus, though the chance of those coming back are fairly low, as Intelligent Systems is busy on the Fire Emblem series and Kid Icarus: Uprising director Masahiro Sakurai is also in charge of Super Smash Bros. We could hear about Metroid Prime 4, but since we have seen zero footage of it thus far, don’t expect to get a release date just yet.

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Gabe Gurwin
Gabe Gurwin
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Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…
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