Here's an early Valentine's Day present for you: The Legend of Zelda and Splatoon concerts will be streaming on YouTube next month.
Nintendo of America made the announcement on Twitter/X on Wednesday, both on its own page and that of Splatoon's North American branch. The Zelda Orchestra Concert will start streaming on Nintendo's official YouTube channel on February 9, while the Splatoon 3 Deep Cut concert will be uploaded on February 10.
Both concerts will be pre-recorded instead of live-streamed, so no one will be jealous of anyone who went to the concerts in person — if there will be a live audience at all. Here's what Nintendo tweeted for each concert.
Mark your calendars for this special The Legend of #Zelda Orchestra Concert! ?
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 24, 2024
Visit our official YouTube channel on 2/9 to watch the full, pre-recorded performance: https://t.co/KM8OywoysE pic.twitter.com/d0xqNw03Ve
SRL Stage Management here! The show must go on! The Splatoon 3 Deep Cut concert previously scheduled for Nintendo Live 2024 TOKYO will be held on February 10.
— Splatoon North America (@SplatoonNA) January 24, 2024
It'll be posted on Nintendo's official YouTube channel so you can watch at home! pic.twitter.com/JrvfZLYAM5
The Zelda and Splatoon concerts were originally going to be part of Nintendo Live 2024 in Tokyo this month alongside Splatoon and Mario Kart 8 esports tournaments. However, Nintendo was forced to cancel the event after it received persistent threats against its staff, attendees, and spectators because it couldn't ensure their safety if the event went on.
Nintendo also postponed the Splatoon Koshien 2023 National Finals and Splatoon 3 World Championship 2024 to indeterminable dates along with the Mario Kart 8 esports competitions.
The Zelda orchestra concert was previously held at the Nintendo Live 2023 event in Seattle, Washington back in September along with the Super Mario Super Big Band concert.
The Zelda and Splatoon concerts are in good company with other symphony performances being officially taped for YouTube. For example, the Sonic Symphony Orchestra was live-streamed from Prague, Germany was recorded during Sonic the Hedgehog's 30th anniversary in 2021. It gained critical acclaim from fans for playing both classic and modern Sonic music in two parts, especially with Crush 40 performing in the latter part. Today, the Sonic Symphony is on a world tour.
If only those video game concerts would get the same theatrical treatment as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé's concert tours.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
