In a bit of a shocker, Nintendo dropped a ton of news yesterday during its financial earnings briefing. The biggest two bits may be related to its upcoming NX console and its next Legend of Zelda game.
Firstly, the company revealed that the next generation NX consoles (name is temporary) will be releasing in March 2017, putting it out of the crucial Holiday shopping period and at the tail end of its fiscal year. When pressed by Nikkei, the company’s president Tatsumi Kimishima noted that it is releasing later to accommodate for more software. That translates to a better launch line-up and more robust launch year, perhaps more so than the Wii U or Wii had.
However, putting it into March gives it breathing room from the all-encompassing onslaught of VR that will be hitting this holiday season. Sony’s PS VR will have a substantial marketing blitz behind it, and the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive will (hopefully) have relieved their supply issues. With so many eyes (pun intended) pointed to the hot new technology, this could make it difficult for a non-VR device to make an impact. The NX could have been lost in the mix, so to speak.
Now in March, it has the spotlight and breathing room all to itself. It won’t have to compete on a technology scale, just to provide games and the company’s hardware vision.
But that wasn’t the only news from the event. The long-awaited new Legend of Zelda for the Wii U, which was first announced for a 2015 release, is now slated to arrive at the same time as the NX, with a version for the new console as well. Similar to how the company released Twilight Princess in 2006, Zelda Wii U (temp. name) will launch across generations. To emphasize the importance of Zelda, it will be the only playable Nintendo game at this year’s E3 from the company, though we could perhaps see new games announced for release later in the year. If not, well, it could yet be a very light line-up for Wii U owners.
Along with the game’s delay announcement the company released a new image, seen above, showing series hero Link in a slightly tech-infused outfit. Yes, that’s an arrow with a glowing thingamajig arrowhead on it.
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