In less than two weeks the wonderful remake of The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening is hitting the shelves. It's getting released the same day as the new Nintendo Switch Lite handheld, but there won't be a Special Edition bundle available right now. And there hasn't been a Special Edition Nintendo Switch for Breath of the Wild either, despite the game's massive success or maybe even because of it...
And as a Zelda fan, who hasn't purchased a Nintendo Switch yet and who is still waiting for such a Special Edition, I'm slightly growing worried and impatient. I even have a neat collection of Nintendo Switch games by now (mostly because of Limited Editions), which I can't play, unless I borrow a Nintendo Switch from someone...
Why not give in and just buy a normal Nintendo Switch now? Well, here is why...
Eight years ago, back in summer 2011, some Zelda fans including myself couldn't wait to get their hands on a Nintendo 3DS to play both Ocarina of Time 3D and the Four Swords Anniversary Edition only to be greeted with the following Nintendo 3DS system for the Christmas business:
The "25th Anniversary Edition", bundled together with Ocarina of Time 3D. Well, this sucked for every Zelda fan who already had purchased a Nintendo 3DS (and the game) and this was a valuable lesson to be learned. At least things went a lot better on the Wii U, where for the release of The Wind Waker HD Nintendo gave us this:
You got a Zelda Special Edition right for the first game and it was the only Zelda Special Edition in the Wii U's entire life cycle, so when you purchased this as a Zelda fan this was the perfect choice and you stayed happy with it.
On the Nintendo 3DS on the other hand things got completely out of hand... When A Link Between Worlds arrived, the game also got a bundle with the following Nintendo 3DS XL system:
Then Majora's Mask 3D happened and came out the same day as the New Nintendo 3DS XL with the following shiny system:
I still use that one today. But if that wasn't enough for you, around the time Tri Force Heroes and Hyrule Warriors - Legends were a thing, Nintendo released the "Hyrule Edition" of the New Nintendo 3DS XL:
And the Nintendo 2DS family line got special bundles for Ocarina of Time 3D and A Link Between Worlds as well, including the following "Hylian Shield Edition" of the New Nintendo 2DS XL:
Even I, as a Zelda collector, didn't get all of these Nintendo 3DS systems... But I was happy with the options, which is something I don't have with the Nintendo Switch right now. It's either buy a normal Nintendo Switch and regret it later or wait.
And I don't really get, why Nintendo isn't releasing such a Special Edition after the excess of Zelda Editions for the Nintendo 3DS family... They must know that these things sell like hot cakes and they are doing it for many other games. Pokémon even got two different Nintendo Switch systems already, while Zelda got none.
Maybe they are hoping that many Zelda fans are simply buying a normal Nintendo Switch now or have already bought one and then will double-dip later, once a Special Edition becomes available. But the best way to get them to double-dip would have been releasing a bundle for Breath of the Wild and now one for Link's Awakening. I would have bought both of them... but the way it is now I refuse to buy a Switch, because I'm too afraid that my history with the Nintendo 3DS will repeat itself.
It's even possible that a bundle for Link's Awakening or a separate Zelda edition will still happen for the Christmas business this year, just like with the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Nintendo 3DS back in 2011. Or Skyward Sword HD will really become a thing soon (like early 2020) and then gets a bundle with golden Joy-cons, matching the golden Wiimote from 2011... Of course they wouldn't announce any of this right now, because they want the Zelda fans to buy a Switch and Link's Awakening this month and not later.
Or... we won't be getting a Zelda-themed Nintendo Switch until Breath of the Wild 2 hits the stores... or ever. But one thing is for sure, at the moment Nintendo really isn't making it easy for the Zelda fans who don't already have a Switch yet. And I don't like that.
And as a Zelda fan, who hasn't purchased a Nintendo Switch yet and who is still waiting for such a Special Edition, I'm slightly growing worried and impatient. I even have a neat collection of Nintendo Switch games by now (mostly because of Limited Editions), which I can't play, unless I borrow a Nintendo Switch from someone...
Why not give in and just buy a normal Nintendo Switch now? Well, here is why...
Eight years ago, back in summer 2011, some Zelda fans including myself couldn't wait to get their hands on a Nintendo 3DS to play both Ocarina of Time 3D and the Four Swords Anniversary Edition only to be greeted with the following Nintendo 3DS system for the Christmas business:
The "25th Anniversary Edition", bundled together with Ocarina of Time 3D. Well, this sucked for every Zelda fan who already had purchased a Nintendo 3DS (and the game) and this was a valuable lesson to be learned. At least things went a lot better on the Wii U, where for the release of The Wind Waker HD Nintendo gave us this:
You got a Zelda Special Edition right for the first game and it was the only Zelda Special Edition in the Wii U's entire life cycle, so when you purchased this as a Zelda fan this was the perfect choice and you stayed happy with it.
On the Nintendo 3DS on the other hand things got completely out of hand... When A Link Between Worlds arrived, the game also got a bundle with the following Nintendo 3DS XL system:
Then Majora's Mask 3D happened and came out the same day as the New Nintendo 3DS XL with the following shiny system:
I still use that one today. But if that wasn't enough for you, around the time Tri Force Heroes and Hyrule Warriors - Legends were a thing, Nintendo released the "Hyrule Edition" of the New Nintendo 3DS XL:
And the Nintendo 2DS family line got special bundles for Ocarina of Time 3D and A Link Between Worlds as well, including the following "Hylian Shield Edition" of the New Nintendo 2DS XL:
Even I, as a Zelda collector, didn't get all of these Nintendo 3DS systems... But I was happy with the options, which is something I don't have with the Nintendo Switch right now. It's either buy a normal Nintendo Switch and regret it later or wait.
And I don't really get, why Nintendo isn't releasing such a Special Edition after the excess of Zelda Editions for the Nintendo 3DS family... They must know that these things sell like hot cakes and they are doing it for many other games. Pokémon even got two different Nintendo Switch systems already, while Zelda got none.
Maybe they are hoping that many Zelda fans are simply buying a normal Nintendo Switch now or have already bought one and then will double-dip later, once a Special Edition becomes available. But the best way to get them to double-dip would have been releasing a bundle for Breath of the Wild and now one for Link's Awakening. I would have bought both of them... but the way it is now I refuse to buy a Switch, because I'm too afraid that my history with the Nintendo 3DS will repeat itself.
It's even possible that a bundle for Link's Awakening or a separate Zelda edition will still happen for the Christmas business this year, just like with the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Nintendo 3DS back in 2011. Or Skyward Sword HD will really become a thing soon (like early 2020) and then gets a bundle with golden Joy-cons, matching the golden Wiimote from 2011... Of course they wouldn't announce any of this right now, because they want the Zelda fans to buy a Switch and Link's Awakening this month and not later.
Or... we won't be getting a Zelda-themed Nintendo Switch until Breath of the Wild 2 hits the stores... or ever. But one thing is for sure, at the moment Nintendo really isn't making it easy for the Zelda fans who don't already have a Switch yet. And I don't like that.
No comments:
Post a Comment