A Nintendo Direct refers to a series of informative video presentations created by Nintendo at irregular intervals to announce and demonstrate new game titles for their systems. It originally began in 2012, which at the time were presenting games for the Nintendo 3DS and Wii.
In regards to the Super Smash Bros. series, several newcomer announcements have been made in several Directs. Presentations solely dedicated to Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have also been made.
Videos
General Nintendo Directs
This is a list of Smash-related announcements that have appeared in standard Nintendo Directs.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
- June 21, 2012 - Nintendo of America employee Nate Bihldorff reveals that the next Smash Bros. title will be developed by Bandai Namco.
- June 11, 2013 - At the E3 Direct, Satoru Iwata reveals the first trailer for 3DS/Wii U, which introduced Villager and Mega Man as its first newcomers. Wii Fit Trainer would be revealed later in the day at Nintendo's booth at the show floor. A complimentary Developer Direct was also released, with Masahiro Sakurai going into detail regarding the game's visuals and the newcomers' movesets.
- August 7,2013 - Luigi is revealed as a playable character as part of The Year of Luigi.
- October 1, 2013 - Sonic is revealed as a playable character with an accompanying mini-trailer.
- December 18, 2013 - Rosalina & Luma are announced as newcomers with their reveal trailer.
- February 13, 2014 - Little Mac is announced as a newcomer with his reveal trailer.
- June 10, 2014 - At the E3 Direct, Mii Fighters and Palutena are announced with their respective reveal trailers, alongside the introduction of amiibo. Pac-Man would be revealed later in the evening at a separate press-only Roundtable.
- August 29, 2014 - A Japanese-only Direct announces Shulk as a playable character with his reveal trailer, who had been leaked only days prior.
- November 5, 2014 - Duck Hunt's reveal trailer is released; it is the final trailer for the base game newcomers to be shown. The trailer also coincides with the announcement that the original Duck Hunt game would be coming to the Wii U Virtual Console.
- April 1, 2015 - Mewtwo is properly revealed with its reveal trailer; Lucas and the first batch of Mii Fighter Costumes are also announced as the game's first DLC contents. The Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot is also announced.
- May 7, 2015 - At the Splatoon-centric Direct, DLC Mii Fighter Costumes modeled after the Inklings is revealed.
- November 12, 2015 - Cloud is announced as the next DLC fighter with his reveal trailer. A final Smash-centered Direct is also announced for December.
- April 12, 2017 - The final amiibo for 3DS/Wii U, being the ones for Cloud, Corrin, and Bayonetta, are unveiled. This would be the final announcement regarding the game.
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- March 8, 2018 - At the very end of the Direct, a then-untitled new Smash Bros. game is announced for the Nintendo Switch with a teaser trailer. The reveal also seemingly confirms the Inklings as its first newcomers.
- June 12, 2018 - The title is fully announced as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate in a 25-minute dedicated segment during the E3 Direct. Alongside every previous fighter returning, Inklings, Daisy, and Ridley are fully confirmed as the first newcomers.
- September 13, 2018 - A special Nintendo Switch bundle is shown-off that features Smash Bros.-themed Joy-Cons and Dock. Isabelle is also announced as a newcomer with her reveal trailer, which also doubled as the reveal for a new Animal Crossing game.
- February 13, 2019 - v3.0.0 and Joker are teased two months prior to their release.
- June 11, 2019 - At the E3 Direct, Hero and Banjo & Kazooie are announced as the next DLC fighters with their respective reveal trailers.
- September 4, 2019 - Terry is announced as the next DLC fighter with his reveal trailer. A "Mr. Sakurai Presents" presentation dedicated to Banjo & Kazooie immediately followed the Direct.
- March 26, 2020 - At the Mini Direct, it is revealed that a character from ARMS would be joining as the first fighter in Fighters Pass Volume 2. The identity wouldn't be announced until the following June during a "Mr. Sakurai Presents" presentation, which would be dedicated to Min Min.
- February 17, 2021 - Pyra and Mythra are announced as the next DLC fighters with their reveal trailer.
Smash Bros.-focused Directs
April 8, 2014 - "Super Smash Bros. Direct"
- Zero Suit Samus, Sheik, Yoshi, and Charizard are confirmed to return for Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. Greninja is announced as a newcomer with his reveal trailer at the very end of the presentation.
- Several stages both new and old were unveiled, as well as the introduction of Omega Forms.
- Regarding online, the modes For Fun and For Glory are introduced, including their respective details, as well as Global Smash Power.
- Smash Run is properly unveiled as an exclusive mode for the 3DS version.
- Several new items, Assist Trophies, and Poké Ball Pokémon are also shown off.
October 23, 2014 - "Super Smash Bros. for Wii U: 50-Fact Extravaganza"
- Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings' reveal trailer is properly released. Mewtwo is announced as the game's first DLC fighter.
- The full stage list for the Wii U game is unveiled
- New modes, namely Special Orders and Smash Tour, are properly unveiled, as are the return of Events and Stage Builder.
- A special CD soundtrack is announced exclusively for Club Nintendo members.
June 14, 2015 - "New Content Approaching"
- Roy and Ryu are announced as the next DLC characters for 3DS/Wii U and released the same day alongside Lucas and Wave 2 of new Mii Fighter Costumes.
- Suzaku Castle, a new stage packaged with Ryu, is detailed. Sneak peeks at Peach's Castle and Hyrule Castle are also shown.
December 15, 2015 - "Final Video Presentation"
- Cloud, who was revealed in a separate Direct a month prior, is detailed as well as his stage Midgar. Both were released following the presentation alongside Wave 5 of new Mii Fighter Costumes.
- Corrin and Bayonetta are announced to be the final newcomers of 3DS/Wii U, with the latter having won the Fighter Ballot. Both get a demonstration of their moves as well as Bayonetta's stage Umbra Clock Tower. A final wave of Mii Fighter costumes are also announced.
August 8, 2018 - First Ultimate Direct
- Simon, Richter, Chrom, Dark Samus, and King K. Rool are all revealed as newcomers with their respective trailers. Simon and Richter are given a dedicated brief gameplay demonstration, which also includes a look at their stage Dracula's Castle, the new Assist Trophy Alucard, and the boss Dracula.
- Several returning stages are shown off, as well proper looks at Final Destination and New Donk City Hall. Stage Morph is also revealed.
- Several new modes are announced, namely Squad Strike and Smashdown. The Final Smash Meter is also shown off for the first time.
- Several new items, Assist Trophies, and Poké Ball Pokémon are also shown off. Rathalos is among the Assist Trophies revealed, who will also be appearing as a boss.
- The game's Main Menu is shown off at the end.
November 1, 2018 - Second Ultimate Direct
- Ken and Incineroar are announced as the final base game newcomers for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Piranha Plant is later announced as the game's first DLC character, as well as the reveal of the Fighters Pass.
- World of Light is announced as the game's solo campaign alongside the reveal of Spirits and its related modes. Other modes introduced are Mob Smash, as well as Battle Arena and Elite Smash for Online.
- New Mii Fighter Costumes for the base game are introduced. Additional Assist Trophies are also shown off.
Trivia
- In the first Smash Bros. Direct:
- Diddy Kong and Lucario's portraits on the battle U.I. use their Brawl renders as placeholders.
- The English translation states that Assist Trophies would "figure into All-Star Mode". This is a translation error, as in the original Japanese video,Masahiro Sakurai refers to the Assist Trophies of consisting of an "all-star cast".
- Waluigi is erroneously given the Wario series symbol instead of the Mario one.
- In the "50-Fact Extravaganza":
- Skyworld is erroneously classified as a The Legend of Zelda-series stage.
- The English translation states that Ridley will transform into Meta Ridley in the Pyrosphere stage. This is a mistranslation, as the Japanese version names the alternate form as "Black Ridley" (which could be another name for "Dark Ridley" in a similar vein to Dark Pit, who is named Black Pit in Japanese).
- In the "Final Video Presentation", a bonus segment showcasing the different voice clips used for Bayonetta's palette swaps is added in the Japanese version.