If you ask most consumers they will often say that game hardware is only as good as the games that are on it, and they will only buy something if it offers a lot in regards to content. This is somewhat true, but yet it is also false, if you look at the Wii you can see just how well that did because of a single game, and that was even with the overall quality line-up taking a while to arrive, but I will get back to the Wii shortly. In regards to our opening statement this is true for the Wii U, this console is barely doing anything, and that is even with a solid game line-up in the present day, the problem is many people made up their mind on this console day one and the game line-up made available did not help.
The Wii U offered so much promise but the truth of the matter is that we had to wait twelve months just for Nintendo to start populating the library with games we wanted, and by this point the damage was done. Despite great titles like Nintendo Land, New Super Mario Brothers U and Zombi U to play at launch, this was not sufficient, many would claim that the only game they wanted to play was Zombi U and it was not worth buying the console for a single game. Sadly I could argue against that, I consider consoles an investment, and simply buying one for a single game is worth it, because later on you have it for greater games that will arrive. It is called blind faith and it something we all need, especially when the Wii U offered so much, but I digress and say that this is a problem that the NX needs to avoid, and it can.
I attribute the Wii’s success to at least two games, Wii Sports, and The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, yes the latter game may not have sold greatly but at launch it offered Nintendo and Zelda fans what they wanted, potential and promise. Twilight Princess showed the potential for major first party games, and many of us would buy the console for this reason, and Wii Sports was a factor as well. As much as developers want to claim that a consoles success is built overtime, this is not true, often it is built at launch with a solid line-up, third party support, and that one or two games that mean the most for the console at launch.
Now this is a point where Nintendo can undo the mistakes of the past, they don’t need to rely on the casual market (trust me that ship has sailed thanks to the Kinect, as well as these people having no clue what a proper game is and wasting their time on mobile devices, sorry to say the harsh truth but it is best to be honest), they need to rely on the games and thanks to this E3 we already know what Nintendo has in store and it could just be the promise that they need, and the quality they want.
I admit I have been skeptical about The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, when they failed to show any important details on the game until this year, when they delayed it for the millionth time, and more importantly when they made it cross-platform (which it turns out was always the plan). But yet after seeing the game this E3 I can finally understand everything, the genius in the delay, what Nintendo has been trying to do, and even the quality in the very idea of Breath of the Wild being a cross-platform release.
Given that the Wii U is basically dead and nothing is going to save it, what would be the point of putting Breath of the Wild on that platform alone? With this action Nintendo may as well start chanting the popular comments found all the internet that they are doomed, and this is because we all know that the Wii U version (despite a good number us already admitting we will get both versions) will likely not sell overly well. But yet the greater promise comes from the Nintendo NX (or whatever Nintendo decides to call it), and with this game as a launch title for the platform they will likely get a big response come launch day, and many will get excited to play a huge game on our shiny new console.
Just looking at how much of a buzz that E3 generated for Breath of the Wild we can see that Nintendo knows what they are doing, and that they are building what could possibly be the greatest Zelda game ever released. Alone I don’t think Breath of the Wild is going to sell the NX, but if Nintendo plays their cards right, and advertises this game, as well as offering a great launch the NX could be a success.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is a big game for the Nintendo NX and could mark the consoles success, now taking this popularity Nintendo needs to capitalize and provide a big launch to properly ensure the consoles success. If they can get us a few big third party releases, promise long term support, release some big first party games such as Pikmin 4, and continue to provide reason for Breath of the Wild to be the big game for the system then Nintendo is going to do well. Overall though it is Breath of the Wild that shows Nintendo is making a big first step, and is the game that shows their future movements, they just need to not waste this opportunity.
