Rate the April 12th Nintendo Direct!

[Asriel]

I thought it was decent, I gave it 7. Good to see no signs of panic as with the early 2013 Direct for Wii U. The vast majority of content will be out by September, and the only late year announcements were for 3DS and third party products, which means E3 will give Switch's end of year line up a good showcase.

I was impressed with the quick-fire announcements for 3DS, particularly pleased to know Miitomo and Monster Hunter Stories are coming West, and glad that Pikmin and Ever Oasis will be out in June/July.

I don't own a Switch yet, but I am glad to see the amount of content gradually diversifying. Good that Arms and Splatoon will be out by July, but I'd prefer a breakdown of the different modes/content in each game rather than an in-depth analysis of one or two aspects. Nintendo aren't helping the impression that Arms isn't very substantial, and that Splatoon 2 is a rehash rather than a 'true' sequel. Personally I think both games look very stylish and will definitely grab Splatoon 2 when I do get a Switch.

All in all, pretty good. 3DS continuing to tick along, with localisations helping to fill out the release schedule. Switch shaping up as I expected this year, with Nintendo leading the charge and indies/download titles doing a lot to plug the gaps. One final negative is no word on Virtual Console.

Sets the stage for a big E3. Hopefully for Switch's sake, Pokemon Stars and Smash Bros Switch are both real, and join Fire Emblem Warriors, Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and Super Mario Odyssey in the September to December release window.