Call it assholish behaviour, but i certainly don't want to see Aonuma again saying it's too early to talk about BotW 2 and here's something else instead.
It was barely okay the first time, at least we got Skyward Sword out of the Wii prison. But this won't fly a second time especially when it's "just" about ports of the HD versions of TP and WW.
I just wish Nintendo would apply this short timeframe between announcement and release they now usually do to Zelda too. Even without the pandemic, this game should've never been announced in 2019.
That EΒ³ Direct was great, they didn't even need that announcement ....
Not an assholish behavior at all. I don't think
any of us expected a 2023 release for this game back in 2019.
The strategy of varying between ignoring the game entirely, showing something else and saying they have nothing to show, or showing yet another time without even giving the game a title is deception to anyone that's been watching closely the game since 2019.
And I totally agree they should apply the shorter release to reveal cycle to Zelda 3D games. They themselves have been saying since TP launched they wouldn't want 5 year dev cycles/long reveal to release, but ever since then it hasn't been possible.
I agree, the announcement was sick when I was personally still hoping it could make 2020 since it presumambly used much of the same mechanics and map and was a smaller (meaning smaller than Breath of the Wild) project. It's obviously not that which is great but then whyyyyy announce it in a year when you really didn't need to announce it
Exactly. They've shown more of the game than they did of the first and was in engine. We didn't have the "revealing games for making hiring calls" knowledge back then either. We also did give some underestimating on what the project would end up being. But just assuming it was in dev since early 2017 and would heavily reuse assets would make a holiday 2020 release very probable.
Maybe the scope of the game changed in development along with Covid delays etc.
I think theyβll either ignore the game entirely or just say βdonβt worry, the game is still on track for Spring 2023β before maybe showing off WW/TP.
I think it was mostly the game being that ambitious from the start and COVID happening. When they announced the first game in 2014 for 2015, had we known development only started in January 2013... I mean it wasn't getting done in 2.5 years no matter what.
We didn't expect that this time because engine and assets were already done, so "no reason to announce the game early", but they did have a reason - hire people to work on the project. They could've done it in a less painful way tho, like they did with Splatoon 3 - way longer cycle than either before, but still nowhere close announcing a game to release almost four years later.
And I make a distinction between what happened with Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4 here - those franchises were uncertain and the second didn't get a game for a decade, announcing they would come made sense. They needed it.
Now, Zelda having a remake coming in 3 months, and BotW having a prequel coming the following year, while also selling stellar, didn't really need to announce it would get a new game almost as soon as it started full development.
Tbh I wonβt be happy with this either lol
I (and I think also a lot of more people) want a full reveal. We need a long trailer that finally shows off the game mechanic + the existence of dungeons + the title.
The date can still be βSpring 2023β if they want to say it in Feb direct or in a dedicated one. But we need all the other infos now
I will be super happy if we got at least a title.
Been relatively calm since. Only exciting-ish thing is Tecmo Koei is supposed to update their TGS line up on September 2nd. Could point to a September 1st Direct.
Is there any chance of a late port of this upcoming linear 40h campaign game coming next year? I forgot the name but sounds like a great game.
Maybe Nioh late port would still work too.
Two disclaimers before I go on a rant: nobody wants this game revealed and released properly more than the people who have been working on this for ~5 years. I wish the devs (and all devs for that matter) nothing but health and good luck.
Disclaimer two: on one hand the transaction is simple: Nintendo offers a game. If we like the value proposition we buy it. That's it. However, that's not really how this works if you think just a little bit beyond standard company-customer transactions. Which is why I appreciate the times when Nintendo has gone out of it's way to be transparent to customers.
This being said, in my opinion Zelda 2's communication with fans has been borked, and it's reaching the point of memeability.
1). E3 2019: sort of kind of announcement? Seems very quick after BotW, and looks iterative in nature. Many people think the game is far along because of this teaser - when in reality this was part of a recruitment drive. Not sure how much of this was the fans drawing conclusions and how much could've been avoided by Nintendo.
2). Early 2020: COVID messes stuff up and all development is impacted.
3). September 2020: Age of Calamity announcement: Aonuma appears! It's not BotW2 and development is ongoing. Good bit of communication and appreciated.
4). Early 2021: Skyward Sword HD announced. Aonuma appears! Still no BotW2. Alright, makes sense, COVID and all. We'll wait for E3.
5). E3 2021: Aonuma appears! Bare minimum trailer. Still very iterative - Bokoblins, Moblins and Taluses again? Music seemed truncated. No title. Vague release date. Alright, more is coming soon so it's fine.
6). More didn't come. September '21 and February '22 Directs had no Zelda.
7). Early 2022: Aonuma appears! Delay to Spring 2023. Alright, delays happen. We'll get some juicy info in the June Direct right?
8). June 2022: Despite having plenty of first party material for an E3 (Bayo, Xeno, Kirby, Splatoon) there was no first party June Direct. So no Zelda. Not sure if on purpose, but it's another BotW2 ergh? moment.
9). September 2022... We'll see. Aonuma appears with some good communication around BotW2 finally? Or another half-trailer? Or nothing at all?
One thing's for sure: I'm now in the "only get hyped for Zelda when it's released" camp, because this has been an exercise in frustration :S . COVID has been a factor of course, and Drake as well, in all likelihood. But it also looks like the regular weird-ass Zelda communication that has hung around the series since ~1997: announce too early & delay.
Exactly this!!
I think back in E3 2019 they would've done it extremely great with or without Zelda. The early announcement was probably for hiring purposes but they had other ways to do it.
I think it would've been better if they announced Age of Calamity or Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition there tbh.