On February 8, Nintendo Direct shined a light on what Nintendo fans can look forward to in 2023. The event revealed new insights into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the launch of Game Boy games on Nintendo Switch Online. Moreover, such announcements were closely followed by a large audience across live-streaming channels. Here’s everything you need to know about Nintendo Direct February 2023.
Exciting game announcements for Nintendo fans
Most Nintendo gamers were excited to get a new gameplay trailer for the highly anticipated The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. The sequel to the award-winning game The Legend of Zelda” Breath of the Wild will release on May 12 this year and retail for $69.99. However, Nintendo also revealed a collector’s edition for $129.99 during the event.
Another big reveal was the release date of Pikmin 4: July 21, 2023. The Pikmin series consists of multiple real-time strategy video games in a charming setting. In addition to the well-known Pikmin, this sequel will feature a dog-like companion to help us through our journey.
Nintendo Direct announced news for another loved game with playful graphics: Splatoon 3. The game will receive an Expansion Pass in Spring 2023. This collection of DLCs will feature various known characters and places, including Squid Sisters and Splatoon 1’ Inkopolis. Moreover, a second wave of DLCs is planned to drop in the future.
The final highlight of the event was the upcoming launch of old and beloved Gameboy and Gameboy Advance titles on Nintendo Switch Online. You can now play games, such as Tetris, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, and Mario Kart: Super Circuit, on your Switch together with your friends. More titles will be added in the future for ultimate nostalgia.
However, this wasn’t everything discussed during Nintendo Direct. The event included additional announcements about Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Metroid Prime, and more.
Impressive viewership numbers
With so many featured franchises, it’s not surprising that Nintendo Direct gained significant attention from the gaming community. In total, more than 700 channels featured Nintendo Direct, either on Nintendo’s official channels or on those of content creators. At its peak, Nintendo Direct reached 2.6 million viewers. Most impressive are the viewership numbers from Nintendo’s official NA YouTube channel. Throughout its two hours of Air Time, the stream maintained over 400,000 Average Viewers and ended at nearly 1 million Peak Viewers. Nintendo’s official Japanese and Spanish streams also attracted many fans. They peaked at 420,000 and 100,000 viewers, respectively. Although not as successful as on YouTube, Nintendo’s English stream on Twitch achieved 70,000 in peak viewership.
Nintendo Direct was co-streamed by several notable creators, further increasing the audience reach for the Japanese developer. For example, variety streamer alexelcapo experienced massive viewer growth during his Nintendo Direct watch party. He ended at 47,000 Peak Viewers. Similarly, 34,000 PV watched Nintendo Direct with Brazilian streamer alanzoka. LIRIK’s and elxokas’ co-streams were also notable. Both creators have about 3 million Twitch followers and usually stream a variety of games. LIRIK’s broadcast peaked at 32,000 viewers, followed by elxokas’ stream with 29,000 PV.
Nintendo Direct’s viewership statistics show how brands can draw more attention to their products through co-streaming. Furthermore, with frequently updated franchises and high fan loyalty, Nintendo appears to be on the right track. It will most likely continue to attract Twitch and YouTube viewers throughout 2023 as its most-anticipated games hit the market.
