One of Nintendo’s most anticipated games, Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been delayed again and will not release with the Nintendo Switch this coming March, despite being in the preview video for the Switch.
A report that was independently corroborated by Eurogamer wrote that Nintendo insider, Emily Rogers, revealed that Zelda: Breath of the Wild was going to take more work than Nintendo initially expected. This doesn’t come as a surprise considering Zelda: Breath of the Wild will be a major departure in terms of gameplay and mechanics from its 18 predecessors. The new gameplay includes an open-world environment twelve times larger than Twilight Princess and also promises multiple questlines, NPC’s and the ability to explore dungeons in any order.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been in development since 2013 and was set for an initial release date of 2015 for the Nintendo Wii U but the game was delayed due to the company wanting to make an ultimate and most complete Zelda game. In April 2016, Nintendo announced that due to problems with the new psychics engine, Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be delayed again to 2017 and would be available on both Wii U and Nintendo Switch systems.
Here’s hoping that the extra polishing will pay off but for now, it begs the question as to what the Nintendo Switch’s official launch title will be. It appears as though the new launch title will be the upcoming Mario game. Despite Mario’s massive fan base, disappointment may just be a major blow to the company as a lack of exciting titles may slow the Nintendo Switch’s sales like what happened with the Wii U and 3DS launches.
In the meantime, fans should try and get their hands on the Nintendo Entertainment System Classic to play the original Zelda while they eagerly await the arrival for Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
