The app first launched in July 2011 for Nintendo 3DS owners worldwide, with Nintendo promising new videos to be released weekly for the service. Nintendo Video was officially discontinued in 2014 in most territories, but the service was still available in North America until July 2015. Many of the videos that were featured on Nintendo Video were then carried over to the Nintendo eShop, where they were accessible until its closure in 2023.
History
Previously, the service was available as a separate app that utilized SpotPass, downloading videos to the console's SD card via Wi-Fi Internet access for offline viewing. New content could be automatically downloaded via SpotPass, replacing the old content.
The dedicated Nintendo Video app launched in Australia, Europe, and Japan on the 3DS eShop for free on July 13, 2011, with initial videos including Oscar's Oasis and Magic Tricks for the Nintendo 3DS.[2][3] The app became available in North America a few days later on July 21, 2011.[4] Some of the other first shorts that were available on the app were CollegeHumor's Dinosaur Office and a trailer for Captain America: The First Avenger,[5] with plans to add music videos from Jason Derulo, Foster the People, and the Blue Man Group.[6] Additionally, Nintendo announced that the app would receive an exclusive 3D music video from OK Go, who had previously had a music video released as a downloadable video exclusive to North American 3DS systems before the release of the eShop.[7]
In 2012, Nintendo created a joint venture for Nintendo Video Original Series and distributed their first Original Series for Nintendo Video, Threediots.[8]
Since June 2015, many of the shows listed below can be viewed on-demand via the Nintendo eShop in North America, permanently categorized under Nintendo Video. As of August 2019, a total of 164 videos were available on the eShop. Users had to enter in their date of birth before watching content that was considered too mature.[9][10][11][12][13]
Stop-motion claymation series about an office where the workers are dinosaurs.[14] The series was based on a stop-motion web series released on YouTube by the show's creators.[15] It was later made into a claymation series exclusively for Nintendo Video, animated by Stoopid Buddy Studios.[14][16][17] The series was only released in North America and Europe. Episodes of the series were later released on CollegeHumor's official YouTube channel.[18]There were plans for a video game based on the series that was scrapped.[19]
A series following the adventures of Baman and Piderman, characters who are parodies of Batman and Spider-Man. Only released in North America (In 2D)[20]
Original one minute episodes in 3D, based on the TV show.[21] In January 2016, Aardman started to release these shorts on the Shaun the SheepYouTube channel every Friday, under the title Mossy Bottom Shorts.
A dubbed version of the 3D-animated Kirby: Right Back at Ya! special. From February 1 through May 1, 2019, it was listed and available for download for 100 platinum points at My Nintendo.[22]
"Medusa's Revenge" features Medusa, the goddess of the Underworld, as the main character. This short tells the story of Medusa and Palutena's rivalry, which covers a period from far into Pit's past up to the present day, during the events of Kid Icarus: Uprising.[24]
"Palutena's Revolting Dinner" features Palutena as the main character and “her attempts to deal with a great catastrophe in her Skyworld home”. It involves her attempting to cook a meal for herself and Pit, only for the ingredients to come to life and begin wreaking havoc.[25]
Nintendo Video original animated series inspired by Road Runner cartoons, where a bear and a shark pursue a man called Steve.[26] A pilot was released on Nintendo Video in 2011,[14][27] and was later made into a series in 2013, announced as a partnership between Nintendo and CollegeHumor.[26][16] A video game based on the series was released in 2013 on the eShop, developed by Silverball Studios. Only released in North America in Europe.[28]
A show revolving around the various escapades of four heroes-for-hire. This was produced by Frederator as a part of their Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel. Only released in North America. (In 2D)[30]
A woman named Emily takes a look at various cartoon-related theories to see how well they hold up to evidence. Five episodes of the show were run on Nintendo Video, although numerous others are on YouTube. Only released in North America. (In 2D)
A show about a job-floating young woman and the adventures she has with her dog/cat hybrid. This was produced by Frederator as a part of their Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel. Only released in North America.[31] (In 2D)
Various shorts from Cartoon Hangover, created by different people as possible series starters. The two-part pilot of Bee and PuppyCat is among this anthology. Only released in North America. (In 2D)
This new series of 3D shorts comes from the creator of Meat or Die, which has already amassed more than 5 million views on Nintendo Video. Wildheart Riukiu incorporates charming 16-bit graphics with some not-so-charming, but hilarious, characters. Think ninja puppets.[32]
A lizard named Oscar lives in a desert, usually trying to find food and/or water. Popy, a Fennec Fox; Buck, a Vulture; and Harchi, a Hyena, often compete with him over these essentials, riding in their battered cart through the desert. Only released in Europe.
Follow the adventures of a young man who sees everything differently. In a world consisting of anything your mind can imagine, you get to choose what happens next.[36]
An animated pilot created by CollegeHumor exclusively for Nintendo Video featuring a New York City pizza chef going on a journey to find the world’s best pizza ingredients.[14][38] Unlike Dinosaur Office and BearShark, this did not lead into a series.[39][40] Only released in North America in Europe.
A live-action pilot, featuring various scenarios of people hugging, the episode involves characters trying take everyday activities to the next level. Unlike Dinosaur Office and BearShark, this did not lead into a series.[39][40] Only released in North America in Europe.
A live-action pilot that pits together the world's most unlikely fighters into a duel. Unlike Dinosaur Office and BearShark, this did not lead into a series.[39][40] Only released in North America in Europe.
Threediots
Comedy
Consolidated Baily Inc. and Threediots Inc.
6
Nintendo Video original comedy series that revolves around actors Burke (portrayed by Don Fanelli) and Lola (portrayed by Tanisha Long) as they keep their show on the air by dealing with various forces of evil. It was announced during the Nintendo 3DS Software Showcase on June 7th, 2012 during E3 2012.[41] Only released in North America
Comedy miniseries released as promotion for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD, produced by Nintendo using the machinima technique of synchronizing video footage from a video game using customized camera angles and other in-game modifications. Episodes of the series were periodically available to stream exclusively on Nintendo Video.[42][43] The series follows Link throughout various scenarios of the game. The episodes were later made available to stream on the Play Nintendo YouTube channel. (In 2D)
Wildheart Riukiu
Comedy
BONUS.CO.JP
4
A series of stop-motion shorts, Wildheart Riukiu incorporates 16-bit graphics with some not-so-charming, but hilarious, characters.[43][44]
A series of shorts created in Pikmin 3, released exclusively for Nintendo Video.[43] They are spoofs on nature documentaries. In them, the explorer, identified as Winston Chumling, follows Alph and his crew, with a cameraman recording, while they all explore and interact with the environment and creatures on PNF-404. The episodes were later made available to stream on the Play Nintendo YouTube channel. (In 2D)
A live-action series starring two aliens, Captain Noobar and Science Officer Pookin, who had come to take over Earth, but they used Tomodachi Life as a source for what humans do on Earth. (In 2D)
A series of comedic, machinima-style short films produced by Nintendo created in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, with the final two episodes being created in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, released exclusively for Nintendo Video.[45] The videos were meant to teach viewers the game's basic mechanics in humorous ways. Ten episodes were produced and released in total, with each episode being initially released on Nintendo Video periodically. The episodes were later made available to stream on the Play Nintendo YouTube channel and were made available to watch on the Nintendo 3DS eShop after the discontinuation of Nintendo Video, until the eShop itself was shut down on March 27, 2023. (In 2D)
A show revolving around the various escapades of four heroes-for-hire. This was produced by Frederator as a part of their Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel. Only released in North America. (In 2D)[46]
A woman named Emily takes a look at various cartoon-related theories to see how well they hold up to evidence. Five episodes of the show were run on Nintendo Video, although numerous others are on YouTube. Only released in North America. (In 2D)
A show about a job-floating young woman and the adventures she has with her dog/cat hybrid. This was produced by Frederator as a part of their Cartoon Hangover YouTube channel. Only released in North America.[47] (In 2D)
Various shorts from Cartoon Hangover, created by different people as possible series starters. The two-part pilot of Bee and PuppyCat is among this anthology. Only released in North America. (In 2D)
In the unaired pilot for Nintendo Show 3D, host Jessie Cantrell mentioned trailers for movies planned to come to Nintendo Video at the time. These included Rio, Thor, Cars 2, and Green Lantern. However, none of these movies' trailers ever appeared on the service.[76]
Shutdown
On February 27, 2014, Nintendo Australia announced the service would be terminated in the Oceanian region (Australia and New Zealand) as of March 31, 2014.[77]Nintendo of Europe also announced on the same day that they would be terminating the Nintendo Video service on the same date.[78]Nintendo also announced the end of service on that date, ending it on March 31, 2014 as well.[79]
On June 5, 2015, Nintendo of America sent out a SpotPass notification to all of the app's active users informing them that the app was being phased out in favor of an eponymous category on the Nintendo eShop's main page (already available at the time), where users could watch most past videos as well as future ones.[80] Since June 29, 2015, the app is no longer functional and videos can no longer be downloaded. In addition to adding videos on the eShop, a few months after the My Nintendo service launched, videos for permanent download became a common reward that could be bought with Platinum points. Videos would commonly make returns due to popularity or stay longer due to positive fan reception.
The remaining Nintendo Video content and other video on demand content under the Nintendo Video category became permanently unavailable for viewing or download when the Nintendo eShop closed on March 27, 2023. Despite the closure, these can still be redownloaded, however, provided that the user has downloaded the content prior to the shop's closure. Most of the content initially released for the service have also been distributed through other means over time, such as being officially uploaded online or included in home media releases, albeit without the stereoscopic 3D effect.
Some of the videos that were shared through Nintendo video have not been recovered and are now considered lost media. Some examples of these include Red Bull BC One[81] and BearShark: Ghost Videos.[82] On June 1, 2025, one of the service's lost shows, Threediots, was uploaded to the Internet Archive.[83]
↑ Most videos were still available on Nintendo eShop prior to the shop's closure on March 27, 2023.
↑ In Japanese as Nintendo Video (Japanese: ニンテンドービデオ, Hepburn: Nintendō Bideo)
↑ The 3D version of the "White Knuckles" music video was made available again for a period of time via the North American Nintendo eShop. It has since been removed.
↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20161013234047/http://dinosauroffice.com/about. "Dinosaur Office was created by Kevin Corrigan, Caldwell Tanner and Brian Murphy. The three of us are writers at Collegehumor.com. Back in October 2010 we started making short videos with dinosaur action figures after work for fun. Since then Dinosaur Office has been expanded into a claymation series for Nintendo and Collegehumor."
1 2 Brain (7 Feb 2013). "Nintendo and CollegeHumor Team Up for 3D Animated Series BearShark on Nintendo Video for 3DS". Nintendo Everything. "Starting Feb. 8, Nintendo is partnering with CollegeHumor.com to bring an original 3D animated program to Nintendo Video for the Nintendo 3DS system. BearShark is an animated series that follows a bear and shark tag-team as they cause hilarious mayhem over land and sea in their continued pursuit of a poor sap named Steve. On Feb. 8, the first episode of BearShark will premiere on Nintendo Video for Nintendo 3DS. Subsequent episodes will premiere exclusively on Nintendo Video on a regular basis. BearShark marks the continuing partnership between Nintendo and CollegeHumor.com, which previously brought the wildly popular and ongoing Dinosaur Office series to Nintendo Video.
1 2 3 Cohen, Joshua (8 Aug 2011). "CollegeHumor Creates 3D Web Series for Nintendo 3DS". Tubefilter. "The home of original web series hits like Jake and Amir, Hardly Working, Troopers, and more will develop five web show pilots, each of which will premiere in two dimensions online and three dimensions on the 3DS. Nintendo higher-ups will then choose which pilot they like the most and the selected pilot will be developed into a full-fledged (at least) six-episode web series."
↑ GestaltReplicant (7 June 2012). "New Nintendo Video Series: Threediots". Zelda Dungeon. "During today’s Nintendo 3DS software conference, a new Nintendo Video-specific video series was announced – titled Threediots. It’s described as a “zany” action/comedy/adventure featuring 3D effects and “lobstermen”. The various videos released on Nintendo Video have garnered a collected total of 60 million views – however, this is the first “original series” set specifically for the application."
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
