Do you remember the good old days? When E3 used to happen and then be reported about a week or so later with all of the latest news in Nintendo Official Magazine? Or what about during the N64 Magazine or NGC where you'd also get a video or a DVD with the latest footage on in all of its blurry 240p glory.

Yes... it's hard to deny that in the age we live in now, we are rather spoiled when it comes to game coverage, particularly during E3 as there are numerous avenues providing live streams of the entire event, from all of the press conferences to most of the goings on on the main show floor.

But in recent years, especially now as it seems more companies are taking the approach of having pre-recorded footage and with the rise of mobile technology enriching or encroaching on our everyday lives (depending on your viewpoint) there seems to be something which is occuring more often with each passing day in the industry and certainly each year when E3 comes around; and that's leaks.

No, not that kind of leek Farfetch'd... you're alright.

Sadly it's getting increasingly difficult for any company to keep something as a genuine surprise, even Nintendo it seems isn't immune as we've just learned that potentially there are people in the know who have seen the content of the Nintendo Direct due to air on Tuesday at 5PM UK time and are apparently planning on leaking the details over the course of the next couple of days.

Thank you to forum member and regular contributor to the site Hero-of-Time for the heads-up on this as it has allowed us at N-Europe to be prepared for this possibility and react accordingly by doing what we've always tried to do most of the time which is to not report on rumours and speculation.

Generally speaking, leaks are part of this as well and while we have reported on some leaks in the past, we'd rather not when it comes to things that are definitely intended to be a surprise, as is the case with this upcoming Nintendo Direct which many are looking forward to including ourselves, our forum members and our readers.

So we will do our very best to only cover what's happening either as it's happening or shortly after but nothing will be intentionally reported on related to Nintendo if it looks like it has come from a leak related to the presentation or otherwise. We'll be doing what we can to actively avoid coming across any spoilers ourselves, because no one wants say... the next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate dlc character(s) reveal spoiled or the next big Nintendo game, whatever that might be.

Nope, sorry Banjo-Kazooie no Smash for you! Not until if/when it's official.
(we genuinely don't know in this case, image purely used for illustrative purposes)

In the meantime, how can you avoid any potential leaks yourself before the big Nintendo Direct on Tuesday? Well here are a few general tips* you could try in an attempt to remain spoiler-free...

• Don't check any videogame news sites. (apart from N-E of course)
• Try to avoid forums. (even our forum as well, just in case)
• Absolutely avoid social media like the plague. (potentially a good "general" tip)
• Selectively watch YouTube videos to avoid spoiler-laden videos being "helpfully" suggested. (or avoid YT)
• Go and do something which doesn't involve using the internet. (It is possible)
• Lose your phone on purpose. (Or just don't use it)
• Hibernate during "the quiet bits" of E3. (Oh wait, nevermind)

*Disclaimer: N-Europe does not completely endorse the above tips, they are only suggestions, some of them are tongue-in-cheek and are only intended as a general guideline, N-Europe does not take any responsibility for any loss or damage or anything negative or positive as the direct or indirect result of following these tips... (yep, that should just about cover us.)

But in all seriousness, even though it's "only videogames" as some might say, it is nice to at least have some surprises in life and when it comes to E3, being a Nintendo fan or a fan of videogames in general, it can be like looking forward to a special event that only happens once a year. So it's nice to have these things to look forward to and while we can't promise that even our forums will be completely leak or spoiler-free we do at least have designated threads for anything which falls into those categories, plus spoiler-tags which we do attempt to make use of.

On the main site though you'll only see us reporting on news as and when it happens during E3, so you can still look forward to our coverage of all the main events (check our Roundup article for what's happening or the latest Nintendo PR) starting tonight with the Super Mario Maker 2 Invitational, Splatoon 2 & Super Smash Bros. Ultimate World Championships 2019 which are all taking place from around 19:00 BST / 20:00 CET and should be great fun to watch, enjoy and for us to report from after the event has passed.

Keep checking back with us at N-Europe for more Quality Nintendo Coverage and we hope that you get to enjoy E3 2019 along with all the surprises which make the event such a special occasion for us all.

Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or join in with the discussion on our forum.