Nintendo Direct April 2017 Announced: Where and when to watch online

Nintendo Direct video announcements are among the best recent company traditions. Once every few months, the folks at Nintendo take to the internet to talk to their fanbase directly. Nintendo Direct livestreams in the past have brought great announcements from new Super Smash Bros characters to emphasizing what indie games we can expect on the Switch. 

While the rumors of an April 1 Nintendo Direct didn't pan out for obvious reasons (Who would believe anything that happened on April Fools?), there will be an April 2017 Direct event for fans to look forward to.

Nintendo Direct April 2017 livestream: Where and when to tune in

Nintendo took to Twitter to bring us a specific date for when we can expect more Switch game details. The April 12 Nintendo Direct may give us enough news to tide us over until E3 2017, the gaming industry's biggest trade show and convention in North America, in June. 

Nintendo Direct April 2017 livestream: What to expect

Judging by Nintendo's Direct image, we can definitely expect news about Arms. The Switch-exclusive fighting game that lets you use motion controls to punch your friends (in the game) is set to release sometime this Spring. We could see a clear launch day for this game come during the April 2017 Direct announcement.

This Nintendo Direct may give us more details about Splatoon 2, which is also prominently featured on the event poster. The first-party shooter game carried out its successful global beta last month and the official game will be out this summer. With some time to kill between now then, Nintendo could be looking to start that Splatoon 2 hype train in earnest.

What we'd like to see are some details regarding Virtual Console for those of us looking to play legacy games. We're hopeful that Nintendo could use the Direct livestream to announce that stores will finally receive a steady stream of stock, so fans can actually buy the system. Finally, perhaps Nintendo will hint at what we'll see at E3, where Nintendo will likely make its big announcements. We're not expecting Pokémon Stars, but we can dream.

Check out more Nintendo Switch news and coverage

Looking for more Nintendo Switch news? Check out how blind gamers are using the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo's left Joy-Con issue turns out to be a hardware problem — find out how to solve it. Find out how to buy a console amidst the recent restock. Learn why the Switch cartridges taste so bad. Check out our comparison photos sizing up the Switch to the Wii U GamePad (part one and part two), or find out how to make use of ethernet without the dock and the best way to get alerts when new stock arrives.