Nintendo to stream ‘Animal Crossing’ and ‘Splatoon 3’ concerts this weekend

Nintendo will be broadcasting two concerts based on some of its most popular games this week – one for Animal Crossing, and the other for the recently-released Splatoon 3.

• READ MORE: ‘Splatoon 3’ review: art attack
  

The concerts are taking place as part of Nintendo Live 2022, a two-day event hosted in Tokyo Big Sight from October 8-9, which promises live music, game competitions, stage events and more.

Nintendo confirmed that it would be hosting the Animal Crossing and Splatoon 3 shows, respectively titled ‘DJ K.K. Paradise Mix!!’ and ‘Deep Cut’ in a tweet yesterday (October 5).

In celebration of the concerts, Nintendo is also selling themed merchandise, that you can either pick up in person if you’re lucky enough to attend the concert physically or via the Japanese My Nintendo Store

The company has yet to share any further details about either concert, although this is hardly Nintendo’s first musical event for either franchise. The enormously successful games have seen a number of concerts in recent years, featuring some remarkably impressive projection work putting the game’s characters on stage before the audience’s eyes.

Seen above (or directly on Nintendo’s Japanese YouTube channel), a 2019 concert was opened by Animal Crossing musical legend K.K. Slider himself – or a convincing enough digital recreation, anyway.

Even if Tokyo Big Sight isn’t too much of a commute, only those who entered a ticket lottery can attend in person, due to COVID-19 precautions. Thankfully for the rest of the world, the concerts will be streamed live on Nintendo’s YouTube channel, taking place back-to-back at 10am BST on October 9.

Both Animal Crossing and Splatoon have been enormously successful for Nintendo, particularly in recent years. Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ impact can hardly be overstated, having captured the world’s attention when it arrived in March 2020, just as the world locked down to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Splatoon meanwhile has gone from strength to strength over the years, particularly with the recent release of the third entry to the franchise. Andy Brown was impressed by Splatoon 3 in his review for NME, describing the game’s core loop as “as simple as it is brilliant” and hailing it as the best-looking game on the Nintendo Switch.

Elsewhere in gaming news, Nintendo has begun to crack down on adult content on the Switch eShop.