Nintendo Switch gamers still holding out hope for a January 2019 Nintendo Direct have been given an update about one shock rumour.
It has long been rumoured that the House of Mario were planning a Nintendo Direct for January 2019.
However, so far a Direct hasn’t come – with fans instead getting an Indie Highlights presentation where the Wargroove release date was announced.
It’s still possible that a Nintendo Direct could take place during the final week of January 2019.
And there are rumours swirling around online that a Nintendo Direct could go live to coincide with the Super Smash Bros Ultimate 2.0 launch.
The Super Smash Bros Ultimate 2.0.0 patch is launching next week but an official release date hasn’t been revealed.
It could be that a Nintendo Direct will rundown the features coming in Smash Bros 2.0.0 before the patch properly launches.
Last time a Nintendo Direct was held in January it went live on a Thursday.
Nintendo Direct January 2019 – This shock Nintendo Switch rumour is NOT coming true
So, if Nintendo follows a similar release pattern, then the Nintendo Direct for January 2019 could drop on Thursday 31 January 2019.
Whether the long-rumoured Nintendo Direct for January 2019 goes live in the coming week remains to be seen.
But if it does it looks like one heavily rumoured announcement will not be revealed during it.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa recently gave an interview with The Sankei News which revealed a number of interesting things.
Nintendo Direct January 2019 – A January 2019 Direct has long been rumoured
Nintendo has long been rumoured to be having a new Nintendo Switch in the works that could launch in 2019.
Rumours have claimed the next Switch model could be a handheld only version and that it will also have a improved display.
But in a recent interview, Furukawa-san brushed aside suggestions that a new Nintendo Switch could be in the works.
The Ninty bigwig also said that a Switch price cut was not on the horizon.
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As revealed in a post by Nintendo Everything, Furukawa-san spoke about a Switch successor when asked if the console could hit its sales targets.
Nintendo is hoping to sell 20million Switch units for the current fiscal year.
Furukawa-san said: “It is an extremely ambitious, but worthwhile achievement.
“So, we will maintain this goal.
“Nintendo Switch is our primary sales objective, and we are not considering a successor or a price cut at this time.”
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So, it looks like fans holding out hope for a Direct reveal of the Switch 2 (or ‘New’ Nintendo Switch) are set to be disappointed.
The next Nintendo Direct also looks unlikely to show anything on Metroid Prime 4, with Ninty recently revealing development is getting a shake-up.
In a video that went up online on Friday Shinya Takahashi, senior managing executive officer for Nintendo, revealed a Metroid Prime 4 release date delay.
Takahashi-san said: “We decided to have the producer, Kensuke Tanabe, work in trust and collaboration with the studio that developed the original Metroid Prime series, Retro Studios in the United States.
Nintendo Direct January 2019 – An upcoming Direct could reveal more on Fire Emblem
“By collaborating and developing with Retro Studios, we believe we can make this game something that will meet our fans’ expectations.
“We did not make this decision lightly.
“This change will essentially mean restarting development from the beginning, so the completion of the game will be delayed from our initial internal plan.
“We strongly recognise that this delay will come as a disappointment to the many fans who have been looking forward to the launch of Metroid Prime 4.
Nintendo Direct January 2019 – Metroid Prime 4 is unlikely to feature in a Direct for awhile
“I’d like to extend my deepest, heart-felt apologises to everyone that the launch will be delayed.
“It will be a long road until the next time we will be able to update you on the development progress, and development time will be extensive.
“However, we will continue developing the game so that when it is completed, it will stand shoulder to shoulder with the past Metroid Prime series titles.”
There are plenty of high profile first party games in the works that could get announced during an upcoming Nintendo Direct.
Animal Crossing Switch, the new Fire Emblem and Pokemon Gen 8 are all pencilled in for a 2019 release.
So a Direct at the start of the year would be the perfect way to build anticipation for these titles ahead of release.
• Stay tuned to Express.co.uk for all the latest Nintendo Switch news