Like every big player in the video game industry, Nintendo gets a lot of use out of its YouTube channel. Nintendo offers trailers and hosts the live releases of Nintendo Directs and Indie World Showcases. Aside from these core branding and advertising videos, Nintendo has developed a few series of its own. For the last eight years, Nintendo of America's Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang have hosted Nintendo Minute alongside their day jobs in public relations. However, Ellis and Yang just announced that Nintendo Minute is over.
The announcement came as a surprise to many. Before the final Nintendo Minute episode came out, the YouTube channel was releasing weekly episodes. Nevertheless, the last episode allowed its hosts to say their goodbyes to fans, and included a long montage of clips from some of their most remarkable episodes, such as their trip to E3 2019 or discussing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate with Reggie Fils-Aime. Nintendo Minute provided a lot of interesting content over the years, and while there's no official word on why it's ending now, there are some outside circumstances that may have contributed.
Potential Causes for Nintendo Minute's End
As Nintendo of America employees, Ellis and Yang had plenty of access to insider details, as well as cause to discuss Nintendo content with the public. What's more, they surely had much greater access to famous Nintendo staff, opening the door for interviews and conversations with figures like Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma, and so on. It could be that Nintendo Minute's close ties to Nintendo overall has to do with the show's ending.
In October 2021, Nintendo announced that two of its Nintendo of America offices would close: one in Toronto, Ontario; and another in Redwood City, California. Both Ellis and Yang work for Nintendo of America through the Redwood City office, so if Nintendo of America is closing that location, Nintendo Minute is likely losing its recording studio as well as its hosts' availability as they focus on transitioning to a new office. It may no longer be possible to make Nintendo Minute at this point in time without the Redwood City branch of the company in place.
It's also likely that COVID-19 has something to do with Nintendo Minute's end. As one would expect, most Nintendo Minute episodes were filmed with the two hosts together in person. Many episodes in 2020 and 2021 were different, with Ellis and Yang recording videos remotely. Recent videos have been in person again, but unfortunately COVID-19 continues to mutate and spread. The hosts and Nintendo of America may have decided that the ongoing pandemic makes Nintendo Minute impractical to produce. Combined with the Redwood City office's closure, fans may have answers for the end of this web series.
It should be noted that, even though Nintendo Minute is over, Ellis and Yang's time as a YouTube duo hasn't necessarily ended. Perhaps one day they'll return as hosts for a new Nintendo show in the same style. Alternatively, maybe they'll start their own YouTube career on top of their Nintendo of America work, making videos together on their own time. Nintendo Minute regularly attracted hundreds of thousands of viewers, so it's sad to think this show is suddenly over. One can only hope there's plans in the works to bring it back someday, whether through Ellis and Yang alone or with Nintendo of America's help.