The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild has a lot riding on its success, and failure of this one game could begin a disastrous trend for the Wii U, NX and Nintendo’s entire console business. A single title can’t possibly destroy one of the biggest gaming companies ever, but this particular situation is about as close as it gets. While we don’t think it will flop, here’s why we feel that way.
1) It Would Hurt The NX Hugely: Breath Of The Wild is currently the premiere NX launch window game, and that means it has to be pretty darn good if Nintendo expects consumers to invest in the new hardware. While consoles like the 3DS and PS3 prove it’s not impossible to recover from a bad hardware launch, a mediocre Zelda game would critically injure the early NX movement.
Especially after the Wii U, Nintendo is in a position where it has to win back lots of gamers that are currently playing other systems. Because they’re already satisfied, mainstream tolerance will be low for spotty software on day one. If the NX and it’s biggest game don’t start strong, it will further cement the current majority decision to double down on Sony or Microsoft.
2) It Would Blast The Wii U To Oblivion: There’s no denying that the Wii U is already dead and largely considered a failure, but The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild still has the potential to be a real statement game for that system. Many fans rushed out to purchase a Wii U when this title made its debut, and a portion of those enthusiasts has felt totally burned ever since.
What better way to dispel the myth of the failed Wii U than to release one of the best Zelda games ever on the hardware? It seems Nintendo intends to do just that, but, if the project flops, it will make the Wii U look all the more foolish. Dedicated Wii U owners put up with the half-broken promise in the form of a dual NX release. A bad Breath Of The Wild might make those same people feel doubly betrayed. Good luck getting them to invest in NX if the Wii U stumbles to the finish line.
3) It Would Discourage Software Experimentation: The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild marks a huge turning point for Nintendo in terms of software development. In a lot of ways, it brings the company into the modern, or even adult, age of gaming. The title’s RPG systems appear to be fairly complex, its open world is large and key characters are finally getting spoken dialogue. Nintendo teams frequently innovate through hardware, but 2017’s Zelda might be their biggest software-based jumpstart since Mario 64.
If that shift doesn’t pay off, we might see Nintendo pull away from those more complex or mature development styles and stick to the simplicity it’s known for. That would be fine, but it’s worth noting that those types of games didn’t sell many Wii U’s. Fans have been begging for Nintendo to reinvent itself. Breath Of The Wild embodies the change needed to sell hardware to new audiences. A failure could stifle that potential software diversity.
4) It Would Dampen A Big Franchise: Nintendo has plenty of tentpole franchises to hang its hat on, but The Legend Of Zelda is clearly one of its biggest. That being said, the recent major console quests are at least somewhat divisive amongst fans. To many, Skyward Sword was bogged down by waggle, and even Twilight Princess is often preferred for its GameCube version. Both titles scored well, but they aren’t necessarily observed as true classics today.
That being said, if Breath Of The Wild doesn’t deliver, that’s a third main title in a row that doesn’t live up to expectation. If the handheld Zelda titles weren’t there to redeem it, the franchise may be a bit damaged already. Nintendo’s console business thrives on its incredible IP stable. A potential blemish on something like Zelda is a potential blemish on the whole company.
5) Nintendo Can Exit To Mobile: As it stands now, Nintendo has the potential to leave a huge mark on the mobile industry. While not directly made by its studios, the success of Pokémon Go is often attributed to the hardware maker. The company’s first real game, Super Mario Run, has also been well received by critics and fans alike during its preview cycle. In short, early mobile game praise shows signs of a new strategy that could make a ton of money.
With that exit strategy in mind, the spiral began by a failed Breath Of The Wild could compel Nintendo to invest more time and energy into its mobile arm instead of focusing on consoles. The more that happens, the less likely it is we’ll see another dedicated game system from Nintendo.
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild comes to Wii U and NX in 2017.
What do you think of this Breath Of The Wild analysis? How might a bad finished game impact Nintendo? Tell us in the comments section!
