Nintendo is taking some hard hits in the press recently, and not without reason. The Wii U and 3DS have both failed to meet sales expectations time and time again, with the Wii U in particular shaping up to be Nintendo’s worst home console release in more than a decade and a half.
That’s why this year’s E3 will be so important for the Japanese game maker. They’ve already announced they’re forgoing a traditional stage show in favor of releasing pre-recorded video announcements (something that has raised quite a few eyebrows), but everyone is expecting big things from them nonetheless.
And the BIGGEST thing? That would be an announcement of a new Zelda game for the Wii U. Not an HD remake of an old Zelda game (something they’ve done lately), but a full-length new adventure in the universe.
Why is this such a big deal? Because nearly every console generation of Nintendo’s has at least one defining Zelda experience.
NES had The Legend of Zelda
SNES had A Link to the Past
N64 had Ocarina of Time (and Majora’s Mask!)
Gamecube had Wind Waker
The Wii had Twilight Princess (and Skyward Sword!)
But the Wii U? A year after release, it has an HD remake of Wind Waker, and Link appearing in a few games like Nintendoland and Super Smash Bros. No full game yet.
The series is almost more valuable to Nintendo than even Mario because of how oversaturated that franchise has become. It seems like there’s some Mario-related game released every few months, and even if they’re high quality, it can still be overload. But true Legend of Zelda entries come far less often, and when they do, they’re almost always fantastic, generation-defining games.
In all, across consoles and handhelds, over 52 million copies of Zelda games have been sold over its lifetime. No, it’s not quite as many as new-era staples like Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto, but it’s still extremely impressive, and has brought in hundreds of millions if not billions for Nintendo.
Nintendo has dabbled with taking The Legend of Zelda outside the video game universe. There was a famous cartoon that was universally derided as terrible when it was released decades ago, but since then, Nintendo has been reluctant to release those characters from the video game realm. Even in an age when every game is getting a feature film adaptation, The Legend of Zelda isn’t among them, and probably won’t be for a long, long while. Still, at their most recent financial call, Nintendo DID say that they were going to open up more of their characters to non-gaming licensing opportunities, so anything is possible.
The next Zelda is going to be a huge test for the Wii U. There are few series Nintendo has these days that are “system-sellers,” and Zelda is one of the few (provided it’s an entirely new game). If the wait was worthwhile and game is amazing, a single Zelda title could very well move Wii U consoles by itself.
I have to wonder if Nintendo will once again do a split version of the game like they’re doing with Super Smash Bros. The 3DS version of that game is actually coming out months ahead of the Wii U version, and Nintendo seems to want to push 3DS software because the system has sold so many more units, but in the process, the Wii U forever has to play second fiddle. With a new Zelda game, the Wii U would finally have its time to shine, and it would be wise for the 3DS not to steal its thunder.
We’ll learn more at E3 no doubt, but Nintendo really needs to generate some excitement with a new Zelda game to turn their narrative around. Hopefully that’s exactly what happens.
[Photo via Nintendo]
