At its peak, some 3.1 million people streamed Nintendo's showcase during E3 2021 (where it notably debuted The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 gameplay), higher view numbers than for any other publisher present at the digital convention. The next closest competition, Microsoft's split Xbox and Bethesda presentation, racked up 2.3 million peak viewers.
Nintendo had several new games to show, capped by the first substantial footage from the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Other highlights included the resurrected 2D Metroid Dread game and more first-party titles reveals like Super Mario Party Superstars and WarioWare: Get It Together. As expected by most in the gaming press, the company didn't show off its anticipated "Nintendo Switch Pro" console, which is rumored to serve as an interim update until a higher-powered Switch successor is ready. The Switch Pro is forecast to upgrade to a 7-inch Samsung OLED display, support 2K to 4K output when docked, and docked ethernet support, but the console is expected to remain relatively unchanged otherwise.
Gamimg analytics firm Stream Hatchet tweeted out the view counts for individual streams after the dust of E3 2021 settled. After June 15's Nintendo Direct's 3.1 million viewers, the next closest was Microsoft's split Xbox and Bethesda presentation, which racked up 2.3 million peak viewers. Ubisoft ranked third with 1.4 million viewers, while Square Enix managed 1.3 million, and Devolver hit 1.1 million. Peak viewership isn't the same as total viewers, but the figures still suggest that Nintendo's presentation was the runaway hit of the extended weekend, even with Microsoft having played a strong hand of blockbusters like Starfield and Halo Infinite. Stream Hatchet calculated its rankings based on combined Twitch and YouTube statistics, and it didn't factor in post-E3 events like Thursday's Xbox Games Showcase Extended stream.
One likely explanation for Nintendo's triumph is, of course, Breath of the Wild 2, which is among the most anticipated Nintendo games of all time. Another possibility, however, is just good timing - Nintendo's stream was on June 15, the last day of E3 2021, giving it extra attention as the final big-ticket presentation. Still, other factors could include Nintendo's more universal, family-friendly appeal, or intelligent marketing on social media that grabbed the right eyes at the right times. The reality is probably some combination of all of these influences that happened to skew in Nintendo's favor.
When or if a Nintendo Switch Pro is announced by the end of 2021, that could offer Nintendo a chance at a repeat performance. Console announcements always draw large audiences, and the company might draw in even more people hoping to see Breath of the Wild 2 and other launch titles running on the new hardware. It's always possible, though, that Nintendo won't be ready to announce a new Switch until 2022, in which case that year's E3 might be truly unique.
Source: Stream Hatchet/Twitter
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