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Library/Campaign/First Look at Nintendo Switch
Grade B24 sourcesHIS-00317

First Look at Nintendo Switch

Campaign · 2016 · Notable

46Editable slideCertificate

Nintendo's reveal video passed 50 million views and sparked Karen memes.

Original · re-upload by GameSpot
Nintendo’s video introduced Switch through scenes of TV, handheld and multiplayer play.
GameSpot on YouTube
Nintendo’s October 2016 official image showed Switch in docked and handheld configurations.
Nintendo
JAPAN-COMPANY-NINTENDO
TIME
Here, look.
joematar / Tumblr
Nintendo Announces New Gaming Device
Voice of America
Media coverage analysis – How good was the Nintendo Switch announcement?
Thomas Bidaux / ICO Partners, on LinkedIn
Undated handout image shows the Nintendo Switch, a new gaming device
Reuters via Fortune
Nintendo Switch Reveal Reactions + Initial Thoughts
Source Gaming
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon - Season 4
TIME
nintendo_switch_super_bowl_ad
TIME
A still from Nintendo’s reveal showed Switch seated in its dock, with Japanese hardware labels.
Nintendo
Nintendo Switch fans are obsessed with "Karen," the viral star of the new console trailer
Mic
The Original Switch Reveal Trailer Has Been Removed From Nintendo's YouTube Channel
Nintendo Life

Spread Score

How it works
Reach59Contagion35Breadth70Velocity5Longevity4146

Numbers

Seed to peak
1 day
Oct 20 ’16 to Oct 21 ’16
Platforms
8
Started on YouTube
Origin
Seeded
Gaming

Mechanics

  • Mystery & lore
  • Response chain
  • Identity badge
  • Platform jumpPrimary
  • Press loop

How it spread

Trace the origin

Nintendo released a video showing TV-to-handheld play. Fans named a partygoer Karen and spread the joke across Tumblr and Reddit. Nintendo later said viewer feedback shaped its Super Bowl ad.

Google searchesJul ’16OctNovJan ’17MayJul ’18Sep ’19Nov ’20Jan ’22DecDec ’23PeakPressYouTubeOpen webXInstagramFacebookRedditTV
PressYouTubeOpen webXInstagramFacebookRedditTV

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

Timeline (16)

  1. October 2016

    Nintendo / TIME precursor · Oct 20 ’16

    Nintendo announced a preview for 10 a.m. ET while the console was still called NX.[1]

    JAPAN-COMPANY-NINTENDO
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Nintendo seed · Oct 20 ’16

    Nintendo published its first Switch video, showing play moving from a television to a handheld.[2][21]

  3. TechCrunch / WIRED press · Oct 20 ’16

    TechCrunch and WIRED covered the reveal while Nintendo withheld price and detailed specifications.[3][4][22]

Changelogupdated Oct 12 ’26
  1. 2026-10-12Added: 16 events, 20 sources · Score 46
Origin
Seeded
Sector
Gaming
Region
Global
Reported figure
—
Evidence
Grade B

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X · 2023

61
I’m giving up smoke.

19.5B impressions

IHOb

X · 2018

57
For 60 pancakin’ years, we’ve been IHOP. Now, we’re flippin’ our name to IHOb. Find out what it could b on 6.11.18. #IHOb

42.5B impressions

Someday

YouTube · 2025

55
Pedro Pascal in Apple’s Someday film, from the agency’s ADC Awards entry.

40M views

New cases, every week

How the next thing spread, the week it does.

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Google searchesJul ’16OctNovJan ’17MayJul ’18Sep ’19Nov ’20Jan ’22DecDec ’23PeakPressYouTubeOpen webXInstagramFacebookRedditTV
PressYouTubeOpen webXInstagramFacebookRedditTV

13 more events on this chart

Join free to see them

  1. October 2016

    Nintendo / TIME precursor · Oct 20 ’16

    Nintendo announced a preview for 10 a.m. ET while the console was still called NX.[1]

    JAPAN-COMPANY-NINTENDO
    Open the first post ↗

  2. Nintendo seed · Oct 20 ’16

    Nintendo published its first Switch video, showing play moving from a television to a handheld.[2][21]

  3. TechCrunch / WIRED press · Oct 20 ’16

    TechCrunch and WIRED covered the reveal while Nintendo withheld price and detailed specifications.[3][4][22]

  1. platform jump · Oct 20 ’16

  2. platform jump · Oct 20 ’16

Join free to see the other 13 events and the full chart. Free, on every case.

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Why it worked

Do this

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