With the emergence of the new generation Nintendo 3DS gaming console, the sales of its Wii U gaming platform has considerably slipped. Obviously, the 3DS is the Japanese gaming company’s way of keeping up with the next generation gaming consoles of Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One.
Reports have it that Nintendo is planning to phase out the GamePad-focused gaming console very soon because it has outlived its trend. But to give the gaming console its perfect swan song, Nintendo is planning to roll out the action-adventure game “The Legend of Zelda” on the Wii U, in addition to the 3DS.
However, given the huge potentials and the wide anticipation on “The Legend of Zelda” by gamers, many are saying that the upcoming video game may actually perk up the sales of Wii U and thus saved the console from being phased out.
Despite previous reports that the game will only roll out to the 3DS, Nintendo confirmed before the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2015 held last month that “The Legend of Zelda” will also come to Wii U, details IGN.
The events that set off the speculations
It could be remembered that sometime in March, Nintendo announced that “The Legend of Zelda” on Wii U will not be released in 2015. The following month, the company disclosed that a new dedicated gaming platform, which it codenamed as NX, was already in development. The new gaming platform, according to the company, is a partnership with a still undisclosed entity, as Nintendo prepares to break ground into the mobile gaming market soon.
The two major Nintendo events set off speculations that “The Legend of Zelda” will no longer be made available on Wii U, as the GamePad is already way past its prime.
Design & Trends actually held a survey asking gamers whether they would like to see “The Legend of Zelda” being released on the Wii U, and it seems like the general preference is on the affirmative, indicating that there are still plenty of gamers who are in possession of the GamePad-focused gaming console and have yet to migrate to the 3DS.
The situation is similar to the fact that there are still many gamers today who are in possession of the last generation gaming consoles – the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 – and have yet to upgrade and move to the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, respectively.
Delayed release
The release of the widely-anticipated “The Legend of Zelda” video game will be delayed from late this year to next year which according to game developers is meant to buy them more time to make it the most complete and ultimate Zelda game.
In December last year, video game creator Shigeru Miyamoto and producer Eiji Aounuma announced during the VGX 2014 event in Las Vegas that “The Legend of Zelda” action-adventure video game will be coming to the Nintendo Wii U either in October or November 2015.
In March, Aounuma apologized to gamers and fans who were expecting “The Legend of Zelda” to come out before the year’s end. He said that releasing the video game in 2015 is no longer their priority as they are now focused on coming out with the best video game on Wii U ever.
He explained that he has come to think that rather than work with meeting a specific schedule as their main objective and releasing a game that reflects only what they can create within that scheduled time, the development team’s focus now is to bring all the great ideas to life to make “The Legend of Zelda” exceptionally great when it comes out on Wii U.