I suppose this may be the reason. Thankfully April is big with 2 FF and DD.

Ehh, I really don't think so. Nintendo has already had some questionable directs and they haven't had a noticeable impact on the system. Of course, future prospects for a system are always important, but given that they've already announced Animal Crossing, Luigi's Mansion 3, Pokemon Gen 8, Town, Fire Emblem and Yoshi for 2019, it's not like a bad direct would put in question the Switch's future. 

It really just comes down to not having anything to show I think, although I wouldn't be surprised if we got something later this month.

- Different versions of a game can have different features look at several Wii U multiplatform releases.

- Different versions can also have different modes again Wii U versions of games showed this.

- Multiplatforms can come out at different times so, look at Switch versions.

- All versions of a game are tracked differently on VGC.

- No Sakurai said he considers them separate projects not that the games aren't one installment.

- A tonne of different versions have different graphics etc...

Ultimate isn't a port because it's a new installment, 3DS/Wii U are the same installment on different platforms which is why people refer to Ultimate as the 5th installment you've not said anything to disprove this.

The are claims that a Direct is planned for the 7th of February.

Now that the year ended, I just want to share with you my top games in Switch for the 2018. It was an amazing year to me:

1. Xenoblade Chronicles 2 + Torna. An experiencie to me only beneath BotW. What a great way to link to the first one.
2. Fortnite. While currently I’m not playing it, I was addicted to it and became my most played game in the year in just few months, surpassing BotW.
3. Dark Souls Remastered. Not my first souls experiencie, but I loved it. I may prefer to Bloodborne. And now it made me want to try Demons Souls.
4. Octopath Traveler. I’m on my way to finish it, but the combat or battle system is very enjoyable to me.
5. Hollow Knight. What a surprise this game is. Neither have finished but what I’ve played feels to me like a contender to be at the same level to Super Metroid.
6. RE Revelations 2. Even when I saw the entire play through of the game before, playing it is a good experience. I was tense all the time even playing on easy. The ending with Natalia is still a no to me. Alex won, damn.

While I don't post there, I do keep an eye on Resetera (especially when Directs are rumoured) to see what kind of different 'leaks' are being circulated - and to see the often hysterical 'Nintend00med' responses to a lack of Direct news. There's been a thread running the last few weeks about Nintendo's first party releases in 2019, filled with Direct speculation, and Emily Rogers posted there this week with some interesting tidbits. This post in particular stood out to me.

Responding to people who are now claiming to be disappointed in 2019's potential line-up, Rogers posted the following comparison:

"Before claiming that 2019 is not the return of 2017's lineup, please take a minute to think about what you're saying.

2017's lineup:

• Five "brand new" first party releases: Zelda BOTW, ARMS, Splatoon 2, Mario Odyssey, and Xenoblade Chronicles 2
• Other Nintendo published exclusives: Fire Emblem Warriors.
• Two Wii U ports: In April, we got Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. In September, we got Pokken Tournament DX.
• The biggest game in May was...an enhanced port of Super Street Fighter 2?
• In November, we got two ports of Bethesda games: Doom + Skyrim.
• 1 Ubisoft exclusive: Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle
• eShop exclusives: Snipperclips, Flip Wars

2019's lineup:

• Five first party releases: Luigi's Mansion 3, Fire Emblem, Animal Crossing, Pokemon, Yoshi's Crafted World.
• Other Nintendo published exclusives: Daemon X Machina, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Travis Strikes Again, Fitness Boxing.
• More unannounced Nintendo surprises: Does anyone truly believe that Nintendo would reveal their entire 2019 lineup before 2019 had even started? They still have a few more surprises up their sleeves.
• Wii U ports: New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe. And at least one or two more Wii U ports are coming.
• eShop exclusives: Yes.
• Third Party Support: 2018's third party support was significantly better than 2017's. Expect 2019's third party support to be even better than 2018's. There's still more third party stuff that hasn't been announced yet.
• Indie support: Way better than 2017's indie support. Just to name a few games: Wargroove, Untitled Goose Game, Toe Jam & Earl, Mineko's Night Market."

I hope Nintendo feels the need to “compensate” us with some port for the Switch: Super Metroid, Samus Returns, Other M and the Prime Trilogy.

2019's lineup looks solid to me so far; Yoshi's Crafted World, Team Sonic Racing, Luigi's Mansion 3, Doom Eternal, and Trine 4 are on my to-buy list, and I'm sure they'll be at least one other game yet to be announced that I'll pick up.

Not quite the second coming of 2010 but already way better than last year or any year of the Wii U sans 2014.

https://gonintendo.com/stories/327310-rumor-details-on-metroid-prime-4-s-rough-development-retro-s-n?fbclid=IwAR0PKXtDzL7n39OCZ2R0FEpo33VdPitidC_zusTIx9kjL_RgnjNjc8DxqwA

- the problem came from Nintendo's experimental ad-hoc development process
- Metroid Prime 4 was being made in parts in different countries
- some studios were progressing smoothly with the project, while others were having a lot of trouble
- Nintendo started to think that the game needed to be all under one roof to set things straight
- Retro made the pitch for their involvement and put together a demo that Nintendo liked

That's not the only project Metroid fans have been hearing about, though. There have been long-standing rumors of the Metroid Prime Trilogy coming to Switch, as well as other Metroid-related projects in the works. Khan elaborates on those situations as well.

- the Metroid Prime Trilogy Switch port has been completed for quite some time
- it was originally going to be announced last month
- there's more Metroid stuff in development

Nintendo Switch eShop Best-Sellers as of 1/26/19