Nintendo

The Nintendo World Championship at E3 tapped the power of streaming to transform a trade event into a massive fan experience and reached millions in person and online.

Nintendo engaged The XD Agency to design and produce a consumer-centric activation at E3 to showcase product excellence and galvanize gamers in person and on a global scale virtually.

Through real-time, interactive gameplay and fresh, vibrant content, the three-hour championship captured the attention of the global gaming community. The experience pitted 16 of the world’s best players against one another at the Nokia Theater – and amassed thousands of Nintendo loyalists to cheer them on. From the first moment of the tournament, the theater erupted with the rabid enthusiasm of brand fanatics, many of whom were dressed as their favorite characters.

Using Twitch and YouTube, the tournament was simulcast to millions of viewers. We optimized engagement with qualitative research into the psychographic makeup of Nintendo’s various audiences. We explored how these audiences would experience each element of the event differently and leveraged this information in the event design. It also generated extensive positive media coverage, resulting in millions of additional impressions.

Popular gaming personalities, djWHEAT, Andre (Black Nerd), Justin Flynn and Kevin Pereira, along with a few special guests, commentated the live show. Extending its reach beyond the walls of the event itself and even beyond the confines of the live stream, the Nintendo World Championship garnered 12.5 million impressions on Twitter. Everyone from enthused teens to celebrities of the gaming world was keeping tabs on the hashtag #NWC2015.