How Queen Elizabeth's Death Stopped The Nintendo Direct Livestream
Nintendo announced yesterday that the persistent rumors of a new Nintendo Direct presentation were indeed true, confirming its intention to broadcast a livestream covering a number of upcoming titles on the morning of Sept. 13 at 9 A.M. EST. Nintendo did not immediately confirm which games would be shown off as part of the presentation, but the company's UK arm quickly clarified that it would be sitting out the planned event as a sign of respect following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Nintendo UK took to Twitter to explain, "As a mark of respect during this period of national mourning, we will not livestream tomorrow's Nintendo Direct. It will be published as a video-on-demand on our YouTube channel at 16:00 (UK time) tomorrow."
That's right; UK fans wanting to check out the big livestream will either have to watch the VOD at a later time or try to catch one of the other streams, such as the one uploaded to Nintendo of America's YouTube channel.
Fans react to Nintendo UK's livestream cancelation
NIntendo UK's announcement was met with a wide range of reactions. Many Nintendo fans were initially distraught to learn that the Nintendo livestream would not be airing live on Nintendo UK's channel — until they realized they could just watch it on another channel. Some simply didn't understand why Nintendo would make the decision, while others completely mocked the move, not seeing what connection the Queen's passing might have to the event. Others still pointed out that Nintendo UK was still uploading the Direct just hours after the original planned stream, which seemed to make the cancelation feel even less meaningful. And of course, at least a few people jokingly reminded everybody that Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed gaming herself on occasion.
Meanwhile, another major gaming company did not follow Nintendo UK's example when it announced its own livestream, as PlayStation's last-minute State of Play will proceed as planned through its UK channels. However, many fans took this opportunity to make even more digs at Nintendo's plans, with some joking that it would cost UK fans extra to watch PlayStation's stream.