According to YouTube’s statistics, with a bump from its 10-year-anniversary, the first English-language Direct video has racked up around 195,000 views. (Like Disney, it vigilantly guards its intellectual property with litigation it has hounded streamers, fan creators, various types of modders, competitive tournaments, and sites that housed emulation copies of older games.)īut what is surprising is Nintendo Direct’s popularity. It’s not surprising that Nintendo would produce 40-minute ads for itself: Why rely on third parties, when you can skip the “press” part of “press release” entirely? Nintendo had for years already covered its own games and devices in its own magazine, Nintendo Power the Direct videos, which began in 2011, updated that approach for new media channels, offering exclusive information thanks to Nintendo’s relentless dedication to controlling its image and catalog. Disney Magical World 2: Enchanted Edition will once again allow you to interact with your favorite Mouse properties. Square Enix is making a Mario Kart clone with Final Fantasy characters. The next opportunity to purchase something involving your most-beloved fictional characters is teased: A new Metroid is upon us. Much like Apple or Facebook events, the Direct streams consist of sales pitches, preview reels, and details of the many partnerships being formed. On its official website, Nintendo Direct is described as “Exclusive Nintendo news - broadcast directly to you, the player.” They are, in essence, extended ads for Nintendo products.