A series of Nintendo Direct events are set to take place tomorrow, as creatively announced today through Swapnote messages sent out to 3DS owners. This is the third time Nintendo Direct is taking place and as Nintendo of America and Europe will each be hosting their own videos, as opposed to a broadcast only in Japanese, we should be getting much more information that is of interest to those outside of Japan.

The trend seems to be for Nintendo to showcase content through Nintendo Direct every two months. The first one took place in October, and although it did not bring with it any earth-shattering revelations, there were some newsworthy announcements. We received details on the 3DS system update adding 3D movie recordings and new StreetPass content, specifics on Mario Kart 7's online functionality, and new games were announced for Japan.

December's Nintendo Direct was far less interesting to the non-Japanese crowd. It spent a great deal of time on Kiki Trick for Wii, announced release dates for a bunch of 3DS games in Japan, and coincided with the release of several 3DS game demos on the eShop (also only in Japan). Numerous game trailers were shown and the upcoming Fire Emblem game for 3DS was described as an original title and given the subtitle Fire Emblem: Kakusei, which translates to Fire Emblem: Awakening.

In both cases, the events were announced only a few days in advance, so the short notice for tomorrow's broadcast is insignificant. What is hard to ignore is tomorrow is the proper launch of PlayStation Vita in North America and Europe, with Australia following one day later. That means Nintendo has a perfect opportunity to steal some of Sony's thunder by making a big announcement of some sort. It's not what Nintendo Direct has been used for the previous two times, but this seems like as good a time as any for that to change. If that is what Nintendo has in mind, what could Nintendo be planning to announce?

Among the most popular theories is Nintendo will finally announce the redesigned 3DS that has been rumored since last August. It was late that month when a report emerged suggesting an accessory would be released adding a second analog stick to the current system; just a few weeks later we were going hands-on with it. The same report also suggested a rebranded 3DS was to be released in 2012 with less emphasis placed on the 3D effect (and presumably an integrated second analog stick). Having seen how many people decline to use 3D (in an attempt to avoid headaches or simply for lack of interest), Nintendo has not focused on that feature as much post-launch. It has even said it may create games that do not feature 3D.

Even with this in mind, it seems very unlikely a redesigned 3DS is to be announced tomorrow. According to what Nintendo president Satoru Iwata had to say to investors and analysts late last month, 3DS hardware will finally become profitable again by the end of September. Dropping the price of the system last year caused the company to go from making a profit on each system sold to losing money on each one, a position the company was unaccustomed to and one which is contributing to its first annual loss in 30 years. Besides the fact that 3DS in its current form and price is selling quite well, a redesigned system could cost Nintendo more to produce. That means profitability on new hardware isn't a guarantee, and there is no reason to sacrifice that with 3DS now being (in the eyes of many) a desirable system, something it was not last summer at $250 with very few games worth playing.

Not only that, but announcing a 3DS Lite-esque system less than a year after the original system's launch would undoubtedly anger early adopters. Getting burned in such a way is one of the risks of buying hardware early, but those people have already had their patience tested when a significant price drop was announced just a few months after the system's release. Now revealing their device is soon to be outdated would only frustrate them further. I know I personally wouldn't be pleased with the news.

There is also the matter of what a redesigned system would really accomplish beyond integrating a second analog stick. The Circle Pad Pro is not so bad and certainly makes Resident Evil: Revelations more pleasant to play. However, between the insubstantial support it is receiving -- it's sold only through GameStop in the U.S. and only a small handful of games are using it -- and the question of where the CPP's second set of triggers would be located, a redesigned system this early in the 3DS' life cycle seems unlikely.

So where does that leave us as far as announcements tomorrow? Leaving aside the possibility that there simply won't be anything big, the Nintendo Network could be fleshed out and there are plenty of games that could be unveiled to convince potential Vita buyers to instead pick up a 3DS. A new Pokemon RPG would be big news, as would an Ocarina of Time-style remake of The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. (The latter will probably come later, unfortunately, as Nintendo does not want to do back-to-back remakes.) Luigi's Mansion 2, Animal Crossing, Mario Tennis, Theatrhythm Final Fantasy, Paper Mario, and Fire Emblem are all without release dates in the west and represent possible announcements. In the west Monster Hunter is not the sensation it is in Japan, though we could still hear about a release of Monster Hunter 3G (released in Japan in December), while Japan's Nintendo Direct could provide news on Monster Hunter 4.

Keep in mind those are only possibilities for 3DS. Wii U news isn't expected until E3 comes along in June, but Wii does have some life in it yet. Plenty of details on Dragon Quest X, which enters beta this week, remain unknown, and Nintendo of America may follow the lead of NoE and decide to publish another Operation Rainfall game, Pandora's Tower or (more likely) The Last Story. Either way that would be welcome news tomorrow.

Luckily we don't have long to wait to find out what Nintendo has in store. Feel free to share your predictions in the comments below and set your alarm clock for tomorrow morning, February 22, if you want to take in the Nintendo Direct events. Nintendo of Japan's is set for 8:00 PM JST (6:00 AM Eastern, 3:00 AM Pacific), Nintendo of Europe's will follow at 1:00 PM CET (7:00 AM Eastern, 4:00 AM Pacific), and Nintendo of America's will take place at 9:00 AM Eastern, 6:00 AM Pacific.