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What to expect from Nintendo Direct on January 11

Can Nintendo match its 2017?

What to expect from Nintendo Direct on January 11
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Rumour has it that Nintendo will be holding its next big Direct event on January 11th.

There have been several sources pointing to this date, so we're pretty confident that something is afoot.

The latest clue comes from Amazon. The online retail juggernaut recently accidentally published placeholders for 18 unnamed Switch games that are set to be announced at a future event.

So what can we expect Nintendo to announce at its next event? Here are a few possibilities, mixed in with a few hopes.

EA games

Rumours of January Nintendo Direct event have been circulating since November, when a leaked EA document suggested as much.

This means that we can expect a major presence from the American publishing giant at Nintendo's January 11th event.

The main EA game that featured in that leak was Fe, a pretty-looking 3D action adventure game set in a fantastical world filled with giant monsters and glowing skies. Will EA bring more of its squillion-selling sports series over to Switch too?

More Metroid Prime 4 news

The next biggest game in the pipeline for the Switch now that Mario Odyssey and Breath of the Wild are out the door is Metroid Prime 4.

However, all we have for this forthcoming game is a title. We're not counting on footage on January 11, but we're sincerely hoping for some kind of proper unveiling.

It would be a very good way to assure Switch owners that 2018 is going to be as packed full of quality as 2017 - or at least give them something to look forward to in 2019.

Nintendo mobile's second phase

Nintendo hit the mobile gaming ground running in late 2016 with Super Mario Run, and we were fans of Fire Emblem: Heroes and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, even if both were flawed.

Read more: What to expect from Nintendo on mobile in 2018

So what's next for Nintendo on mobile? There are rumours of a mobile Zelda game, but Kirby's casual adaptability and Pikmin's touchscreen-friendly mechanics would also make sense.

Switch online plans to be finalised

The Nintendo Switch has been such an immediate success that it's sometimes easy to forget that the console is essentially unfinished. In particular, Nintendo's online service is a bit of a joke, with an effective 'coming soon' status present since launch.

Nintendo has filled this hole in its latest console offering with the promise of a paid service in future and the provision of free online play in the meantime. But we expect the company to announce serious progress on a proper social and matchmaking service at its next Direct.

New first party Switch games

We know that Metroid Prime 4 is in the works, but we have to believe that the company will have some more first party Switch game announcements for us at its forthcoming Direct event.

What could those games be? A new Super Smash Bros. seems like a good bet, though we could equally see the Wii U version getting the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe treatment.

We also know that a new Pikmin game is in development on Switch, so a proper announcement and trailer of that would be sweet.

Read more: 9 Switch games to look forward to in 2018
Jon Mundy
Jon Mundy
Jon is a consummate expert in adventure, action, and sports games. Which is just as well, as in real life he's timid, lazy, and unfit. It's amazing how these things even themselves out.