Rumor: Nintendo Direct June 2020 Not Happening as Japan Struggles With Work Disruption

Those of you looking forward to the E3 2020-adjacent Nintendo Direct, the usual annual summer video presentation, are going to have to find the hype elsewhere. Reports from various sources are suggesting that Nintendo has allegedly called off its June 2020 Nintendo Direct, despite the fact that plans to have one were in motion. As you may expect from news like this, Nintendo not having a June 2020 Nintendo Direct presentation in order is largely due to fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. [Thanks, VentureBeat!]

We can turn to Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat for the full details on what’s supposedly happening. According to this report, Nintendo has allegedly been contacting its development and publishing partners to let them know plans have changed. According to this report, much of that has to do with how poorly Japan is adapting to the current work from home demands caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Due to cultural differences, Japan’s business technology situation simply isn’t set up for telecommutes.

Despite Japan’s reputation for technological advancement, many business and home computer setups are not set up for work. Business IT structure reportedly hasn’t changed much from the 90s, due to a big cultural focus on face-to-face business. Nintendo apparently is struggling to figure out producing quality presentations without a studio to work in.

This could explain the way Nintendo has been doling out news since the March 2020 Nintendo Direct, which itself was classified as “mini.” Content was certainly in the works for June, but the way it’s disseminated could end up being very different.