Two livestreams, two different lengths. Nintendo has scheduled the Legend of Zelda 40th Anniversary Celebration special for 10am ET on September 8, running about 30 minutes; the following day, September 9, at the same time, comes the full Nintendo Direct, stretched out to 45 minutes. A one-day gap, a 15-minute difference in length—but the setup itself hints at Nintendo's intent to keep "nostalgia" and "product lineup" separate.
The September 8 Zelda special is nominally celebrating the series' 40th birthday, but Engadget writer Lawrence Bonk figures most of the stream will likely still be devoted to the Ocarina of Time remake announced back in June—currently Nintendo's only confirmed N64 remake project in the works. As for whether a new entry might get teased, Bonk thinks it's too early for that; a mainline sequel following up Tears of the Kingdom probably won't be announced at this stage, though a short teaser for the Zelda movie isn't out of the question.
The real main event is the September 9 Direct. In its 45-minute runtime, besides the Ocarina of Time remake possibly closing out as the year's big finale, there are also a few already-dated titles waiting for their final trailers: Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave, launching September 17, and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, arriving October 22 as a Switch 2 exclusive that carries over the Wii Sports name. On the cross-platform front, Bonk also flags Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World and Final Fantasy Resonance as possible reveals for this Direct.
The real suspense lies in whether Nintendo will use the remaining time to drop a surprise. Switch 2 has been out for over a year now, and there's still been no news of new entries in flagship series like Mario, Animal Crossing, Super Smash Bros., or Pikmin—a point Bonk's report specifically calls out. After the stream wraps, a two-hour Treehouse gameplay showcase is set for 10:45am on September 9, which typically dives straight into hands-on play of whatever's just been announced.
