Daily Debate: Do You Think Nintendo is Safeguarding The Legend of Zelda from Other Modern Media Because They Are Afraid of Failure?
Posted on August 02 2023 by Heather Beard
There has been an explosion in video game media in recent years. I feel like the start of this explosion was with the success of the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie that released early 2020. Since then video games like Super Mario and Sonic have found themselves in movies, television, and toys. Fans for a long time have been rallying for The Legend of Zelda to see the same treatment, but is Nintendo safeguarding The Legend of Zelda from other modern media because they are afraid of failure?
I am, and have been a long time fan of Sonic the Hedgehog. When the movie was announced I was quite excited, but I did not expect it to do well. I was quite surprised when the movie took the world by storm, and there was a resurgence for the series. Only a few years later a sequel would release and be successful, then later we would also see the first Super Mario Bros. Movie; and the Mario movie was a huge success! Popular video games have found their way beyond movies though. Mario has a large partnership with LEGO and just recently Sonic the Hedgehog LEGOs have released. Pokémon has been in the toys and television business for years, but what about something as wildly popular and prominent as The Legend of Zelda?
Personally, I think that Nintendo is afraid of failure with one of its most popular and successful IPs. Way back when there was a short lived TV show, but we haven’t seen anything since then. The Legend of Zelda tailors to an older audience, but fans have been longing for more. I’m sure Nintendo would need to pick the right outlet to showcase Zelda in another form. Many of the LEGO Ideas sets featuring Zelda have been shot down, there were rumors of an animated Zelda movie that were denied, so will Nintendo ever release the series for more than just games and licensed toys? I don’t know, I hope so though, personally I would love to see a Zelda anime. The closest we’ve gotten as something different with Zelda is the manga, but those still loosely follow the games.
What do you think though? Do you think that Nintendo is trying to protect Zelda from a possible failure in a different media? What other media would you like to see The Legend of Zelda in? Let us known the comments below.
Hi I’m Heather! I’m Senior Editor and Art Director at Zelda Dungeon and I’ve been a member of the ZD team since 2019. I am a graphic designer, artist, and nerdy mom to an awesome little boy. When my nose isn’t in a book, working on my novel or watching anime you can find me curled up with my cats Mandy-Lynn and Daisy Mae.
