Pokémon's on the agenda for Nintendo's next video missive, due on January 8 at 6am EST, 11am UK, noon CET, and 8pm Japanese time.

Pokémon is one of Nintendo's best-known franchises. ©All rights reserved

As yet, neither the Wii U nor Nintendo 3DS have received a full-blown, traditional Pokémon game.

The portable 3DS was able to benefit from the "Pokédex 3D" and "Pokémon Dream Radar" app downloads, but much of its Pokémon catalog comes via backward compatibility with standard DS games, including the 2012 releases of "Pokémon Black 2" & "White 2."

Previous episodes of Nintendo Direct, presented by regional presidents Satoru Iwata, Reggie Fils-Aime and Satoru Shibata, have tended to focus on a range of talking points.

While "Brain Age: Concentration Training," "Dragon Quest X" and "Animal Crossing: New Leaf" were subject to game-specific webcasts in Japan, so far only "New Super Mario Bros. 2" has received the same treatment worldwide.

Nintendo Direct via Nintendo America: nintendo.com/nintendo-direct
Pokémon Direct via Nintendo UK: nintendo.co.uk/Misc-/Nintendo-Direct/Nintendo-Direct/Nintendo-Direct-638747.html
Pokémon Direct via Nintendo Japan: nintendo.co.jp/pokemon/direct20130108/index.html