Summer brings with it a host of games conferences, with publishers, developers, and platforms vying for the finite attention of gamers. While many criticize the detrimental effect of this gaming news avalanche on game sales, the fact remains that the most well-constructed showcases typically come out on top. Consumers still tune in to find out about which big releases are getting hyped for the upcoming year, proving that although the monolithic E3 may be dead, gaming showcases are not.
The most recent Nintendo Direct represents what gamers want out of these announcements: Condensed schedules featuring major headlines with transparency from the companies they trust. In this article, we’re looking at the success of Nintendo Direct in the live-streaming space, as well as how other game showcases performed.
The Summer 2024 Nintendo Direct Surprises With Big Titles Despite No Switch 2
The most recent Nintendo Direct was predicted to be lackluster: Nintendo had already confirmed that there would be no information about the Switch’s successor (releasing in 2025), and so pundits predicted an underwhelming line-up of remasters and remakes to round out the Switch’s lifecycle. But Nintendo proved them wrong, bringing in 2.1M hours watched during the 47-minute showcase – that means a massive average concurrent viewership of 2.6M viewers. Impressively, this number almost reached the heights of Nintendo’s COVID-era Direct viewership of 2.2M hours watched.
There are likely three major reasons this Nintendo Direct performed so strongly. Firstly, Nintendo’s transparency around the lack of Switch 2 news helped to cool viewers’ expectations. Secondly, the lack of Switch 2 content no doubt piqued the curiosity of both Nintendo fans and pundits who wanted to see how Nintendo would finish out the Switch’s lifecycle. Thirdly, and most importantly, Nintendo managed to hit the mark with an interesting array of new first-party titles such as Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Super Mario Party Jamboree, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond.
Loyal streamers are, of course, an integral part of Nintendo’s continued success. Unsurprisingly for a Japanese publisher, VTubers are among the most popular streamers covering Nintendo’s content. Sakura Miko and Usada Pekora were the top two most-watched co-streamers for this most recent Nintendo Direct, with roughly 24K hours watched each. While high for just 47 minutes of airtime, it took a wide spread of co-streamers to reach the total co-streaming hours watched of 551K (31% of total hours watched).
Microsoft Relies on Tentpole IP To Command Viewers’ Attention
When comparing the Nintendo Direct to competitors’ showcases, it becomes clear that something is working for Nintendo. This summer’s Nintendo Direct beat out the next best showcase, the Xbox Games Showcase, by roughly 350K average viewers. However, Xbox’s longer airtime of 107 minutes did bring in far more hours watched than the Nintendo Direct at 4.1M. Xbox has a lot more pageantry around their game releases, plus more padding due to the live nature of their presentations. The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 announcement was a big win for the console which will hopefully bring players back from competitors like XDefiant.
Among the other showcases, there were a few standout moments and unique cases. Nicholas Cage’s on-stage appearance at his character reveal for Dead by Daylight mirrored earlier A-list celebrity cameos like Keanu Reeves for Cyberpunk 2077. Devolver Digital held their own showcase, proving the publisher’s impressive library of titles and securing their foothold as a big-name company. The Wholesome Direct promoted cozier titles to a niche audience, giving indie games a chance to shine amidst AAA titles.
While many speculators felt that 2024 was a weaker year in terms of quality game reveals, streaming performance shows that these showcases remain a mainstream avenue for finding out about more games. As such, it’s crucial to be abreast of upcoming gaming events, particularly ones outside the packed summer schedule.
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