Nintendo announced on Wednesday, April 27 that their new console, the NX, would be arriving in March 2017, as opposed to the 2016 holiday season like experts predicted. The new “Legend of Zelda” game was also delayed out of 2016, and will now launch in 2017 as well for both the Wii U and the NX – after the game was already delayed to 2016. While the highly anticipated “Legend of Zelda” is the perfect launch title for the NX, Nintendo may be in some trouble with the timing of the release, especially since the NX won’t even be featured at E3 this year.
A release date in March puts the upcoming NX way past the holiday season, which may affect sales. People may continue to buy Xbox Ones and PS4s – or even the PS4.5 if that happens – instead, and they may not want to splurge on another console if they thought Nintendo’s last one was disappointing. Speaking of which, with the new “Zelda” title delayed again, that leaves “Star Fox Zero” as the only big release for the Wii U right now, though we’ll have to see how “Paper Mario: Color Splash” does when it launches later this year. For now, Wii U owners are left with nothing else.
The Nintendo NX has been kept under wraps for quite a while, but Nintendo is continuing to leave players in the dark by leaving it out of their E3 presentation this year. While they plan to focus on “The Legend of Zelda” for their presentation, it’s not even going to be about the new title for the Wii U/NX. Not getting a full “Zelda” sequel for the Wii U is disappointing to fans, and it only serves as a reminder that the console has only had a small handful of good games. Players may worry that it’ll be a repeat with the NX. In the meantime, without another big title coming to the console, what will become of the Wii U?
At least Nintendo has been doing well in the mobile market. Miitomo reached ten million users, and smartphone games based on “Animal Crossing” and “Fire Emblem” were also announced. But Nintendo still has to make up for moving the new “Zelda” game to 2017. With this long of a wait, it needs to be an awesome game – but the “Zelda” series hasn’t had the best track record lately, with recent games just being “okay.” With the game becoming a cross-platform with the Wii U, it’ll be an even tougher sell for the NX, since many gamers bought their Wii Us solely in anticipation of the new “Zelda.” After the Wii U’s less than stellar sales, Nintendo will have to pull out all the stops to convince people to buy the NX come 2017.
Are you looking forward to the launch of the NX? How about the new “Legend of Zelda?” How do you think they will hold up in sales with a release date in March? Answer in the comments!
