@TBone:
That's what I mean though, we've only had 1 'proper' direct. The Smash Bros one doesn't really count as it's just one title. Same for the Tomodachi Life, epic though it was. In 2013, by this time, we'd had 5 directs. This year, we've had 2, including Smash.
And to clarify what I mean by missed announcements:
-Sonic Boom
-Indie eShop sale (at least in EU)
-GBA dates (they actually did a trailer for this!)
-Mario Kart items trailer (that hit with the presser)
-Character and date announces from Smash Direct
-Tomodachi Life
I personally think that they're holding back on announcements to deliver at E3. And I also think that we won't see much of Smash (at the conference), given the scale of the direct; maybe just a character announce and actual release dates.