How Nintendo could make their Directs more interesting

[Jumpin]

I’ve considered a rating system based on what I want in a Direct.

1. Announcements - are there announcements (games, game features, other deals) done in a way more exciting than an announcement off a list or press headline?

2. Features - Did I learn anything interesting or compelling about the game?

3. Experience - Did I learn anything interesting about the experience of the game?

4. Entertainment - was it entertaining?

5. Rewatch - would I watch it again?

For this latest Direct, I’d probably give it a 0.5 or 1 out of 5.

The 0.5 or 1 is because I think the Mario RPG and Star Ocean announcement made a difference. But O.5 because it’s hard to justify a full 1 when Mario RPG and Star Ocean combined to about 5% of the Direct. Other than that, the answer would be no for every question.

Now, that’s not to say I didn’t like the games shown. But I didn’t like how they were shown. The Direct felt anemic and bloated at the same time.

Some examples of 5 out of 5 for me would be the Breath of the Wild, the Switch unveil, and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I’m not a Pokémon fan, but I’d also score those Directs highly because they got me buying multiple Pokémon games when I’d never have considered them before. The Switch unveil was short (around 5-7 minutes long), but I watched it again multiple times, it was entertaining, it explained the experience, it explained the features, and it was basically packed full of announcements that made a huge difference. But in short, I feel I got substantially more out of that 5-7 minute Switch unveil than I did out of the last 30-45 minute Direct.