Looking Back on the First Nintendo Directs Ten Years Later 

I miss the skits, as dumb as most of them were, I miss em now that they're gone, the Reggie Iwata smash "fight" is still amazing

when Nintendo had interesting personalities. Iwata had one of the greatest sense of humours. and Reggie was willing to sacrifice his dignity for a joke.

I like the current Direct format, but I wish they'd bring back the skits. I loved the Robot Chicken and Muppet bumpers from E3 2014 and 2015, and the little announcement videos they did with Reggie and Bill goofing off around the office were great too. I'm not saying they have to completely change the current format, I'd just like to see a bit more humor for the bits between headline segments and big announcement, instead of just having Mr. Koizumi standing in front of a background and talking.

The one thing I miss the most from the old Directs was Iwata's "direct" gesture.

Its really weird for me to think back and remember how people actually didn't like Directs for a time, specifically when Nintendo announced that they would do Directs instead of live E3 shows.

As a 10yr old who didn’t have a smartphone in 2011, streaming services on the 3DS were awesome!

E3 2013 was one of the most wonderfully shocking moments in Nintendo history for me. I'd have never predicted that we'd get another DKC game, let alone that it would bring DIXIE KONG back to the series after almost 20 years! I was so, SO unbelievably hyped! And then I saw how the internet at large reacted.

Man, the "what's wrong with you?" from Reggie never gets old lmao

Honestly, I would not mind if you took quick looks back at other nintendo directs. would be a fun series!

I miss the more personality-filled Directs. Nowadays, they are almost strictly news-based, which is just less fun.

I miss the goofy Iwata and Reggie directs :(

I would love to see a Part 2 of this that covers the directs of 2014-2016, and then a Part 3 that covers the era of Switch directs, starting with the Switch presentation in Jan 2017 and up to the most recent direct.

1:18 - 1:22 ok not gonna lie, that part was absolutely hilarious lol

It's so weird to think that there's a lot of people now (even some Xenoblade fans) who won't be familiar with Operation Rainfall. There was once a time when I was fully convinced that Xenoblade would never come to North America. It's hard to believe how far the series has come since then.

It says a lot when company execs are willing to do weird skits, stare at bananas, and become lego-fied for presentations.

Happy birthday to the blue monster himself! 🥳

While one part of me really appreciates how modern Directs cut to the chase and get right to the meat... another part of me does miss the goofy skits, especially at E3.

I miss Iwata and Reggie. Nintendo Directs feel soulless without them. Obviously they’re just commercials at the end of the day but it’s the little details that made each of them memorable.

Its funny how Directs had the most personality during the dark age of Nintendo.

My favorite is still Iwata coming out with Bananas. They don't make them the same anymore. Remember when Miyamoto tried to vacuum Iwata? Let's not forget that beautiful ASMR WiiU unboxing. (Forgot if this was on a direct.)

Arlo said he had to "Shoot an ad for Skillshare" after his last video...the synergy is off the rails!

I do like the more streamlined Directs, but it's hard to deny the charm of Reggie or Iwata hosting them.

Wow, mentioning operation rainfall hit me with some nostalgia that I didn't even realize I had.

Reggie is missed every day. I frequently pray at my Reggie shrine to get Reggie to come back to us. So far it hasn't worked, but there's no way I'm stopping. Not until Reggie comes back.

It just feels like Nintendo went from being a relatable and fun game company into a truly corporate figure that did everything by the book and nothing else. Back then you never knew what was coming, it was like when children are trying to entertain adults, you don't know what they're going to do and that's half the fun of it. That energy just died so quickly out of nowhere and even tho they try to regain that feeling every now and then it feels cringe in the way a game trailer with players "really talking during the game session" instead of cringe in the way someone is just having fun.

I can't help but smile every time I see Iwata and Reggie battling to death

I didn’t get a proper smart phone until 2018, so I actually used the 3DS video service and watched Netflix on it quite a bit. I wish that the Switch would get some of the video services I use so that I wouldn’t have to buy a smart TV or one of those dongle things.

Pushmo already has a sequel on Switch It’s called Catherine Full Body

The other place to watch the early Nintendo directs was on the Wii’s “Nintendo channel.” I remember waking up one morning and turning on the Nintendo channel to catch up on “Nintendo Week” and seeing that first direct pop up in my feed.

Directs have always been like a event whenever they get announced. Even if they are just ads at the end of the day, nothing can really rival the community reactions and experience people share afterwards of a Nintendo direct even now. I do hope they continue to use this format and refine it for a good long while.

I want more Bowser presence to be in at least the E3 Directs. It's always Mario.

I remember backlash from the news that nintendo would no longer have live shows. They claimed that multiple smaller updates would not be worth forgoing one big presentation. They all quickly changed their opinions after about a year.

that "OW" was so genuine I hope you recover

I actually did just that a couple of years ago. I was looking to make some of my last purchases on the 3DS's eshop for all time sake. Suddenly I felt like watching the first Nintendo Direct just to go back and... it was kinda boring. It wasn't even nostalgic, because then I realized that I didn't start watching directs until 2013, around the time Sm4sh was revealed. So that was awkward.

I remember watching them at ustream on my phone during the wii u era

Can't believe its been 10 years already. Can I just say I still want a tv series with those Star Fox puppets from that one Direct.

Rewatching the old Directs here and seeing that old post-direct interface with the Nintendo logos and links really takes me back...it's crazy how I can be nostalgic for 2011 Also you should totally react to an old direct, I'd love to see that haha

Arlo i love you so much man. Your videos and love for nintendo, as well as your open mindedness and overall positive attitude really does put me in a really good mood. Just keep being you, you beautiful little puppet.

Please cover more eras of directs! It’s really nice to relive the memories, as well as see your perspective on the transition of form between them!

I miss Iwata. I always enjoyed seeing him on the directs when I was a kid and the iconic "directly" thing he did. He was my favorite.

2013 was a pretty good year for games in general, but it's definitely the time where the Directs solidified their identity.

I REALLY miss the stupid Direct Shenenagains. Especially Bill with the donuts

Please do this again in the future!

I'd really love to see you do more of these old direct retrospects

The banana! I'm going to assume that's a reference to Iwata randomly staring at a banana bunch.

I can’t believe directs are 10 years old. I remember the first direct I saw had the “Year of Luigi” content back in middle school, now I’m in college

The Tomodachi Life Direct gives me such nostalgia. It's so fun, Nintendo nowadays wouldn't do that kind of stuff, I feel.

So uh……any thoughts on Dread?

Happy birthday Arlo!

Happy birthday buddy!

I think I'll always prefer the giant stage shows Nintendo used to do at E3, when they revealed monster titles and had a live crowd reaction. The Directs were a fun extra way to reveal games, and the skits were amusing, but especially in the post-Iwata/Reggie era they all just seem a bit soulless to me. I suppose it's still better than randomly dropping trailers with little fanfare, though.

Doug Bowser made the “Hey my names Bowser like the Mario villain.” joke and than never appeared in a direct again.

That ending! Am I legally allowed to be in love with an arlo? He's just so playful! Love all strange sounds, intros and outros. I genuinely hope that his podcast does not get a sponsor because I love those parts.

Happy birthday Arlo!!

14:38 WAIT that never happened in wind waker???

I honestly miss a lot of the charm of the older directs. I don't know if anyone remembers Nintendo Week on the Nintendo Channel on the Wii, but those every week were SO good in my childhood. Showing off stuff every week was such a blast.

I remember watching these on my 3ds XL I got for my birthday alongside a copy of Link Between World's. What a time especially the smash reveal and watching the announcement of the 3ds version on the device was pure gold. It may not be my favorite but I was super excited for smash on the go.

An underrated Direct moment happened in the Wii Fit U Direct. Where the Wii Fit Trainer began to do an exercise pose, where she teaches the audience how to do the “Directly” pose. It was so cool. I miss this era too.

Hey Arlo, I loved this. Reactions and that are much faster I get that but this was nice and more positive and I liked seeing you just talking about something you enjoy.

6:00 THANK YOU! Pushmo is so much fun and I’d love to see it on Switch in some form

i only started watching directs this year (only just got a switch in 2020) so its really interesting to me to see things like this

Man I miss how fun and silly these were. Maybe a little cringe and awkward but I have way more memories from pre switch era directs

Happy Halloween Arlo!

Might I offer a slight correction here, Arlo? Prior to the popularity of video services and streaming, E3 wasn't the ONLY way us Ancient Gamers got our gaming announcements. We also had GAMING MAGAZINES! Nintendo Power, GamePro, Game Informer, and many more, all of which would give us regular updates on upcoming games (often with a full spread of cool screenshots and information). E3 definitely felt like the place where the biggest games of the year would get announced, but it wasn't our only source for such info!

1:26 14:51 This is officcially a haloween special.

15:20- And with this one little moment, this officially became a Halloween video.

….it was kinda a shock when I realized a lot of people probably don’t get the ending bit. The E3 2012 Direct began with Iwata just…holding a banana and staring at it. He then puts it down before beginning as usual.

I know I always say this, but I love listening to Arlo cover old stuff

If Pushmo ended up on Switch it would be an instant buy for me tbh.

Happy birthday Arlo 💜🎉🥰

I like the more streamlined directs of nowadays, with the cool reveal trailers. But I do miss the shenanigans of back in the day

Happy birthday Arlo

Happy Birthday Arlo

Directs, the one area where Nintendo was ahead of the competition

5:30 foreshadowing of Reggie being replaced by Bowser

nicely done my good man. Thank ya sir.

Can’t wait for that full Metroid Dread review my boi!!!!🔥🔥🔥🔥

Happy Halloween 🎃 Arlo!

I miss the charm and personalities of Iwata, Reggie and Shiggy all together having fun with the skits in the directs, Iwata san rest in piece.

15:18 The Banana! My favorite skit!

I love it when arlo is in a goof mood :)

This just reminds me that Iwata is dead... And now I'm sad :(

I like your videos about gaming in general, tend t skip the ones about current happenings cus I likely already saw it elsewhere.

Arlo waiting till the end to flex his Monkey Ball Banana Saver was the biggest act of self restraint I’ve ever seen

I remember seeing that first Direct on the Nintendo Channel on the Wii.... or rather scrolling past it, I don't think I actually watched it. Honestly the thing I always remembered that channel for the most was one video where they announced a Legend of Zelda FlipNote(?) competition and had a tutorial on drawing Link and Toon Link. I don't draw, but for some reason that tutorial combined with the example FlipNote at the end always stuck with me. Years later I searched for it on the Nintendo RU-vid and lo and behold, I found it. I'll always remember that video. Anyway, about the actual Directs I think the first time I really started watching them was on the WiiU (and maybe the 3DS?), since they were usually featured on the eShop. God I really miss those skits they used to do. Especially the way they announced Mii Fighters. I really like having Miis in Smash and the way they announced it with a mock fight between Reggie and Iwata is just the best thing ever to me. Everything about it is just perfect. Even the slight awkwardness just reminds you these aren't professional actors, they're *CEOs* who did not have to go this far at all but totally did, and I legally *have* to give them respect for that. You can just tell that everyone from Iwata, Reggie, and the effects team are trying their darndest to make this over-the-top fight. I love everything from Reggie's flurry of punches at Iwata, to the transition to the actual Mii fight, to Amiibo Mario avenging Iwata. This will forever live on in my heart as the peak of Nintendo skits. I can respect people that prefer the straight-to-the-point nature of recent directs, but you gotta understand that these skits can actually make me enjoy a direct even when it's a game I don't care about. I will *never* forget the way they announced Star Fox Zero, or Bill getting possessed by a Yokai and eating all the donuts, even though I've never touched either series.

I love the way the directs are now with the switch generation. The “one more thing” is one of my favorite things in gaming.

It took until some time in 2013 for them to become truly special but man when that finally happened it was 4 or so years of the absolute best presentations in the history of the industry. I'm glad that Directs have a formula that is functional these days but the dev speech segments (Splatoon dev talk in the aquarium, Wooly World in a craft store etc), skits and personality is sorely missed.

Okay, the ending of that video was hilarious.

I like how during the Wii U's failed life, Nintendo pulled out all the stops with not just directs, but everything they did and made them awesome and high quality. And then now that the Switch is a monumental success, they have reverted to putting in the bare minimum amount of effort(if even that) into pretty much everything

Robot Chicken E3 and the 2016 Breath of the Wild E3 were by far my favorite digital presentations we've received. "Where's Mother 3??" and "What about F-Zero??" is so iconic haha.

I really miss the skits they did with Reggie and Bill Trinen, and Ocassionally Iwata and Miyamoto.

I loved seeing the personalities of those featured in the Directs. Modern ones are too professional and cold in feeling

Is it crazy to say that I could see Arlo fitting in on the set of a Direct and not looking out of place at all?

I've never actually seen a live direct. I always just catch up from the summery videos that come out on RU-vid

Wow I remember watching all of these lol. 2013 was one of the best years for directs

That "ridiculous stand" that came with kid Icarus is what I've been using for my switch instead of the flimsy kickstand for years!

It did. The 3d was awesome. I loved it.

I'm still waitin for that metroid dread video, im guessin theres some passion bein put into it

What is the music that begins playing around 8:00? I really love it

This deliciousness is Arlo at their best.