The September 12, 2025 Nintendo Direct presentation received higher peak viewership compared to the Apple iPhone 17 event held on September 9, 2025.
According to data from StreamCharts, the September 12, 2025 Nintendo Direct reached an impressive 2.92 million peak viewers, surpassing the Apple iPhone 17 reveal event held just three days earlier, which drew 2.80 million concurrent viewers at its highest point.
The September Direct was a nearly 90-minute presentation packed with major announcements. Nintendo delivered fresh details about the Nintendo Switch 2, confirmed the arrival of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 on its new console, and revealed a release date for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie i.e. April 3, 2026. The company also showcased Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, a brand-new Fire Emblem entry, and a DLC expansion for Donkey Kong Bananza. Peak viewership is said to have occurred during the reveal of the Resident Evil Requiem trailer.
StreamCharts’s data also revealed that two of the four highest-viewed Nintendo Directs have taken place within the past two years, a testament to the excitement surrounding Nintendo’s hardware and game lineup. The Japanese Nintendo channel alone accounted for over 1.5 million peak viewers, contributing heavily to the event’s overall success. Popular streamers such as Marc “caedrel” Lamont, Maximilian Dood, and mistermv also covered the showcase, bringing in large, engaged audiences worldwide.
In total, the Nintendo Direct presentation received 3.2 million hours of watch time, making it the second-most consistently viewed Nintendo Direct ever. Among gaming/tech showcases in 2025, it ranks third overall, behind the record-breaking Nintendo Switch 2 reveal earlier this year and Summer Game Fest 2025, and ahead of Apple’s iPhone 17 event as well as the May 27, 2025 Direct.
As far as current YouTube stats go, the Japanese Nintendo Direct received 7.5 million views (via Genki_JPN) as of writing, which is around 6% of Japan’s total population. Meanwhile, the US Nintendo Direct received 4.9 million views as of writing, which is around 1.4% of the country’s population.
