The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild release date is increasingly likely to be moved outside the March launch window of the Nintendo Switch, and that’s OK. Here are five reasons to be glad Link’s next quest won’t be available until mid or late 2017.
1) As Close To Perfection As Possible : When talking about Breath Of The Wild’s late release prospects, a Eurogamer source said Nintendo is “committed to launching the game in as close to perfect a state as possible.” Ultimately, that assurance should be good news for gamers. It’s a sign that the next Zelda game is hopefully on a path to be one of the series’ best entries in its three-decade history.
Not much is known about the pseudo-delay, but we have heard that months of rigorous testing and polishing are involved. That’s true for most game launches, but Nintendo has always performed far above its peers in that department. Late arrivals almost always mean better games. Breath Of The Wild will almost assuredly be better for this.
2) An Open Release Window : While we don’t quite know when Breath Of The Wild’s new release date will be, Nintendo insider Emily Rogers has suggested that a summer arrival is on the table. She’s been correct about many Switch leaks before, so, assuming that’s true, it’s a pretty good idea.
Taking the 2017 release calendar and past years into account, there’s typically a new game drought between the months of June and August. If The Legend Of Zelda can slide into that vacant spot, it will be good for Nintendo and for gamers. Breath Of The Wild promises to be a really huge game, so everyone will need plenty of time to dissect what it has to offer. March can be pretty dead too, but now we get that free time with the added polish of a delay.
3) It Encourages A More Varied Switch Launch : As much as we would have loved Breath Of The Wild to be available on the same day as the Switch, it might be counterintuitive for Nintendo and its fans. As we just said, this game is supposed to be really big. In that case, gamers can easily be lulled into saying “I’ll just buy Zelda on Switch for now and worry about the rest later.” However, as newer games come out for Switch and other platforms, those plans to revisit launch titles quickly fade away.
By holding Zelda back, Nintendo can encourage players to try out more short-burst but equally entertaining experiences like Super Mario Bros., Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon. These are all much smaller in scope, so you may be more inclined to buy two or three launch games instead of just one. We’re allowed to see more from the Switch at launch, and Nintendo can better market it as a multi-faceted device with lots of different content to try.
4) A Full Promotional Cycle : Obviously ads and promotion can never compare to playing the full game, but, especially for The Legend Of Zelda fans, there is something intrinsically special about the hype that new teasers and previews provide. That drip feed of details will fuel theories, analysis and cool discoveries for months to come.
Plus, there’s probably a lot more of Breath Of The Wild to get excited about. All we’ve seen so far is an empty field. With that in mind, we weirdly look forward to what else Nintendo wants to show and how it’s shown. Just keep the biggest surprises a secret!
5) It Gives Switch More Time To Stabilize : No hardware launch is ever perfect, so we shouldn’t expect one for the Switch. Nintendo expects to ship fewer units on day one than it did for the Wii U, and if the recent NES Classic release is an additional indicator, availability could be a serious problem. Plus, if there are any unforeseen hardware kinks to work out, they can be resolved in subsequent shipments too.
You could always play Breath Of The Wild on Wii U if the Switch is too hard to find, but that’s sort of a letdown for diehard Nintendo fans, isn’t it? This is a marquee title for a brand new system, so many of the truly faithful fans hope to play it there. With more time, Nintendo can make sure retailers are stocked to meet consumer demand. That’s much better than the very real possibility of having to settle for a last-gen build in March.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild comes to Nintendo Switch and Wii U in 2017.
How do you feel about Breath Of The Wild releasing outside of Switch launch day? Tell us in the comments section!
