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Sounds Like No Nintendo Direct E3 Briefing This Year

Nintendo will instead host a Treehouse Live event where it will provide a "world's first in-depth" presentation for the new Legend of Zelda game.

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Nintendo today announced its plans for E3 2016--and a traditional Nintendo Direct briefing was not part of it. In a statement, Nintendo explained that it will instead host a Nintendo Treehouse: Live event on Tuesday, June 14, starting at 9 AM PST. Nintendo COO Reggie Fils-Aime will kick off the broadcast, though it sounds like the company will only discuss the upcoming Legend of Zelda game during the show.

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This broadcast will provide the "world's first in-depth look at the game," Nintendo said. Nintendo developers will also appear during the stream to talk about the title. Additionally, videos that contain "behind-the-scenes info and plenty of fun" will be aired across across Nintendo's YouTube and Twitch channels, as well as Nintendo's E3 site.

As mentioned last month during an earnings briefing, The Legend of Zelda's Wii U version will be Nintendo's sole focus at E3 this year. Here's why, according to the statement:

"To ensure attendees are able to truly experience the freedom of exploration the game offers, The Legend of Zelda for Wii U will be Nintendo's focus of the show this year, and will be the only playable game in Nintendo's booth via extended demos."

The new Legend of Zelda game is also coming to the NX, but this version will not be shown publicly at E3. In fact, Nintendo does not plan to talk at all about NX during the event. The system goes on sale in March 2017, while the new Legend of Zelda is scheduled to arrive in 2017.

GameSpot has contacted Nintendo in an attempt to get confirm that the company is not holding a Nintendo Direct briefing this year or any details on why. In recent years, Nintendo has held pre-taped Nintendo Direct briefings instead of live shows like those from Sony, Microsoft, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, and Ubisoft.

Finally, Nintendo announced a sweepstakes where one person will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two to Los Angeles to play the new Legend of Zelda game. To enter, all you have to do is send a message to @NintendoAmerica with a note explaining "what The Legend of Zelda series means to [you]." Be sure to use the hashtag #MyZeldaLegend and #NintendoSweepstakes, too.

The winner will be chosen at random, and the contest closes May 10. Full contest details and rules can be seen here.

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