Nintendo Direct 2019 news as Switch Pokemon demo revealed ahead of YouTube stream.

FANS are hopeful that tonight’s Nintendo Direct 2019 event will be filled with exciting news from the company’s biggest franchises. And today has already seen one big announcement regarding Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu on Nintendo Switch ahead of the YouTube stream.

Today should see plenty of Nintendo Switch game news announced for fans.

The Nintendo Direct streaming event is being hosted on YouTube and will be available to watch at 10pm, GMT.

And before the big reveals and announcements get underway, Nintendo has announced something new for their Switch console owners.

A new Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu demo is available to download for those who haven’t played it yet.

The new demo version of the game can be downloaded for free from the Nintendo eShop, ahead of tonight’s big Nintendo Direct event.

“In the demo players can guide Pikachu or Eevee through Viridian Forest and experience catching Pokémon in a whole new way,” an announcement from Nintendo reveals.

“In the full version of the game, players can explore the Kanto region with a friend or go solo, use the Poké Ball Plus or a Joy-Con to catch dozens of varied Pokémon, and connect to the Pokémon GO app to transfer Pokémon.

“In a story based on Pokémon Yellow: Special Pikachu Edition brought to the living room in high definition, fans of Pokémon and newcomers alike will need to work with their partner Pikachu or partner Eevee to thwart the dastardly plans of Team Rocket, who wish to take advantage of Pokémon for their nefarious ends.

“Get the feel for what’s it’s like to be a Pokémon Trainer and guide Pikachu or Eevee through Viridian Forest by downloading the free demo version of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! & Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! out now on Nintendo eShop.”

However, while today has already featured news for Pokemon fans, there's no guarantee there will be any featured during the Direct.

When it comes to tonight’s event, Nintendo has announced it will run for around 35 minutes and will focus mainly on Switch games.

The only confirmed title that is part of the Direct is Fire Emblem: Three Houses.

Fans are also expecting an announcement regarding the release of the Assasin’s Creed 3 remaster on Switch.

Other potential projects could include Pikmin 3, while fans are also hopeful for some more ambitious third-party ports to be announced.

It has long been rumoured that Switch Online fans could soon be getting SNES games to play.

Evidence was found by data miners, which now appears to have been removed.

Dataminer @itssimontime posted on Twitter earlier today: “All SNES game strings have been removed from the latest NES Online update.”

The news has sparked speculation among Switch fans about why Nintendo has removed any mention of these SNES titles from Switch-files.

One fan tweeted: “Probably it's going to be its own app”.