Nintendo Confirms Today's E3 Direct 2019 Conference Length [Update]

Update: As Nintendo said, the E3 Direct came in at around 40 minutes, but those last few were particularly exciting. The show started out with a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character reveal: Dragon Quest's Hero. But at the end, it teased Banjo Kazooie before confirming Banjo is coming to Smash. But that wasn't even the biggest news, as that was then followed by a teaser video for a Zelda: Breath of the Wild sequel.

E3 2019 doesn't officially begin until the show floor opens later today, June 11, but nearly all of the industry's biggest publishers have already held their E3 press conferences, including Google, EA, Microsoft, Bethesda, Ubisoft, and Square Enix. Nintendo will air its annual pre-recorded Direct in just a few short hours, and now, the Mario and Zelda company has revealed how long the broadcast will last.

Nintendo of America's official Twitter account confirmed today's Direct will run for "around" 40 minutes. The company had previously said the broadcast would focus on Nintendo Switch games coming in 2019, but this is the first confirmation of how long it would be, and its fairly lengthy runtime suggests it'll be packed with news and announcements.

One thing we can expect for certain from the Direct is the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character. Following the World Championship tournament that took place on June 8, game director Masahiro Sakurai revealed via a video message that the next DLC fighter would be revealed during Tuesday's broadcast, although he didn't share any other details beyond that, so the character's identity remains a mystery.

Beyond that, it's still unclear what we'll see during today's Direct. Nintendo had confirmed that several of this year's biggest Switch releases--namely Luigi's Mansion 3, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening--will be playable on the show floor, so it's safe to say all of those games will be featured in some capacity in the Direct.

Nintendo's E3 Direct presentation airs at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST on June 11. You can find out when and how to watch Nintendo's E3 Direct here. Nintendo also aired a Pokemon-focused Direct on June 5, which revealed a ton of new details about Pokemon Sword and Shield. You can catch up on all the Pokemon Direct news and rewatch the broadcast here.

E3 2019 Conference Schedule

• Tuesday, June 11, 9 AM PT -- Nintendo Direct Showcase

More E3 news:

• New Xbox console, Scarlett, revealed
• Xbox Scarlett details: 8K, 120 FPS, SSD
• Elden Ring is From Software and George RR Martin's new game
• Cyberpunk 2077 release date announced
• Final Fantasy VII Remake release date announced
• Marvel's Avengers revealed