‘Legend of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild’ News: Don’t Forget About The Wii U Version

By Apolon Published 09/14/16 EDT

'The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild' Is expected to be a big hit for Wii U and NX, but there are some obvious pitfalls Nintendo must avoid. Below, we recap five disastrous scenarios for the game. 'The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild' releases in 2017. Nintendo

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is going to be the flagship launch title for the Nintendo NX, and it’s the biggest game Nintendo has ever made. What we’ve seen of the game so far looks pretty amazing, as well. But with all the hype and rumors around the Nintendo NX, which is due out in March 2017, it’s easy to forget that Breath of the Wild is coming out for the Wii U as well.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Wii U: How Most Of Us Will Play It

The gorgeous open world of 'The Legend of Zelda' for Wii U and Nintendo NX. Nintendo

Truth is, the gaming press and fanbase are largely focused on the Nintendo NX version of Breath of the Wild for a simple reason: The Nintendo NX is exciting! Everyone’s talking about it and trying to figure out its secrets. But the only version of Breath of the Wild we’ve actually seen so far is the Wii U version, and it looks pretty darn cool (despite not wildly impressive graphics).

In practice, the large majority of players will pick up Breath of the Wild on Wii U, not the Nintendo NX. New consoles are expensive—the Wii U clocked in at $350 at launch, with the PS4 at $400 and the Xbox One at $500—and most people won’t buy them day one. The vocal minority will, but the rest of us will hold onto our Wii U’s for a little while longer.

Zelda Wii U will cost (presumably) $60, while the Zelda NX will cost $60 plus the cost of a Nintendo NX. That’s a much spicier meatball for those of us who aren’t early adopters. Even if the Nintendo NX has lots of amazing launch titles—which it hopefully will—those just add to the overall cost early on. Lots of people definitely will pick up the Nintendo NX when it launches in the first quarter, but far more won’t—no matter how compelling the hardware, software and price are.

And that’s why Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a critical Wii U game. Sure, in the long run, sales of the Nintendo NX version may well eclipse the Wii U version… just as Twilight Princess sales on Wii bested the GameCube version. But early on, the video game silent majority will play the game on the Wii U. And that’s okay. That’s why it’s getting released on both systems! Feel no shame.