Nintendo under fire after abrupt ban of co-streaming E3 Direct

Nintendo’s E3 Direct stream was well-received by fans, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t some controversy involved.

Ahead of the presentation, Nintendo made the sudden announcement that streamers would not be allowed to air footage of the broadcast. There was a great deal of confusion regarding this, as the announcement came through Nintendo of Japan with no follow-up or translation provided by either Nintendo’s European and American offices.

Details were unclear until Twitch came through and clarified that this applied to all streamers on its platform. In a bit of a swipe at Nintendo, Twitch then stated that it would not rebroadcast Nintendo E3 Direct on its official channels in solidarity with streamers who had plans for the event.

Nintendo noted that watchalongs and reaction videos were allowed, so long as they do not include audio or video of the official Nintendo E3 Direct.

The decision by Nintendo was a shock on multiple fronts. The decision to prevent content creators from co-streaming confused many who wondered why Nintendo would effectively prevent its presentation from being made more visible. The decision was also a major break from previous years in which free co-streaming was effecitvely allowed.

No official explanation was given for the change, leaving fans to speculate. The most popular theories revolved around Nintendo not wanting to be involved in the widespread DMCA crackdowns that have been popping up on Twitch, or that Nintendo simply wanted to ensure complete control of the ad revenue for the YouTube broadcast. Nintendo has a history of making seemingly draconic decisions, so while this was surprising to fans, it wasn’t entirely out of character for the gaming giant.

To this point, neither Nintendo nor Twitch have offered a clarification on the decision.

Nintendo E3 Direct reveals a number of big games

Despite the anger over the abrupt change in plans from Nintendo, the Nintendo E3 Direct attracted droves of fans and featured a number of notable game reveals. The presentation kicked off with the reveal of Tekken’s Kazuya Mishima as the next DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. After that were a slew of new game reveals and trailers followed.

The biggest reveal was likely Metroid Dread, a new installment in the Metroid series that will return the game to its 2D roots. The Nintendo Switch will also receive a number of remastered games including an enhanced port of Advance Wars 1 and 2, a bundle of the Danganronpa series, and a release of Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water. The event closed on a new trailer for Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WIld 2.

Despite the lack of co-streaming, Nintendo’s E3 Direct enjoyed strong viewership with the English broadcast peaking at over 1 million viewers.