Sunday, April 24, 2016

Expecting Zelda Direct


The countdown is on! In less than two months, from June 14 to 16, the E3 will be happening in Los Angeles. Around the time we can expect the big reveals for Zelda and Nintendo's new console. Obviously these are the Nintendo main topics that everyone is anticipating for E3 (besides some Pokémon stuff maybe). And if Nintendo really reveals their new system for this year, they want to set their entire focus on it. At the same time the new Zelda game has been in development for many years now and will be also released on Wii U, which deserves a lot of attention as well. Naturally it also might be a launch title for the new system, but both things will take attention away from each other. Remember that Nintendo already has displayed Twilight Princess for GameCube in full glory one year before they announced the launch of the Wii. But we didn't have any big Wii U demos for the new Zelda game yet...

The solution? Schedule the first official Zelda Direct upfront! They did it with Smash Bros. last year, where they already aired several things on Sunday before E3. And with a Zelda Direct on Sunday they could draw all the attention towards Nintendo first and make everyone familiar with the nice shiny new game, before they drop the NX bomb on the actual E3 presentation. And we still have the 30th Anniversary to celebrate...

The Zelda Direct could go down like the following:

  • Completely new gameplay of the Wii U game at the beginning, maybe the rumored female protagonist exploring a dungeon. Something stunning.
  • Reveal of the game's official title, no release date yet.
  • Overview of several features of the game.
  • Development talk.
  • 30th Anniversary celebration announcement.
  • Reveal of something crazy new for the Anniversary, like a Zelda anime.
  • New Tri Force Heroes Anniversary content available for free soon.
  • Short showcase / trailer of the content in the upcoming Link's Awakening Pack for Hyrule Warriors (Legends).
  • Maybe also some more free content for Hyrule Warriors (Legends) as another Anniversary gift, e.g. more classic costumes.
  • Summary.

On the actual Nintendo E3 Direct they can then reveal the new console using Zelda as the prototype. Since we're now already familiar with the game, they can focus on what the console has to offer. That's where they might give a release date for both console and the game. And then they can show off, what other games they have in store for the system, maybe even some big reveal like Metroid Prime 4 at the end.

I'd say, this makes perfect sense. Otherwise Zelda and the 30th Anniversary would clash too much with the NX reveal. In any case I would expect a Zelda Direct at some time this year. By now they air Directs for many different game series, so you would think that they would do the same for Zelda, when they have a big new game and an anniversary to go through.

Of course there is also the possibility that they really only do the Pokémon 20th Anniversary this year and there won't be any celebration of the 30th Anniversary of The Legend of Zelda... Never mind me then.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not sure if it might be the other way around.
At E3 media would also concentrate about the competition. So they might have to share a place with Sony's PS4 Neo & upcoming VR devices.
So making a short Hardware reveal before E3 might be a better choice for creating a huge media buzz only about the new Hardware and kick off the hype.
Than at E3 they could concentrate only about the Games and feed the "hype" for thse who are already fixed more. Even though I think there will be at least one specific Zelda Direct some time this year.

That's at least what I'm expecting. But it could be the other way around if Nintend decides to reveal NX together with it's Launch-Line-Up. But then they would risk not to get enough attention, I think.

TourianTourist said...

This might be, but hardware doesn't sell without software. Nintendo knows this and the best way to show off a new console is with its games. What would the Wii be without Wii Sports?