Daily Debate: How Much Time Should Be Between a Game’s Announcement and Its Release?
Posted on October 01 2024 by Leslie Jacobson
The two most recent Zelda series titles have such different announcement-to-release timeframes that it makes me wonder how Nintendo decides when to announce a game. The game that eventually became Tears of the Kingdom was first announced in 2019 and released in 2023, about four years after its initial announcement. Of course, the pandemic is one factor for why the game may have taken as long as it did. Compare that to Echoes of Wisdom, which was announced in June 2024 and released the following September, only three months between the announcement and the release. Which window is better, though?
The longer timeframes between announcement and release seems to be the usual for the “mainline” titles, such as Breath of the Wild and Skyward Sword. Breath of the Wild had an incredibly long development, with developers talking about “HD Zelda” as early as 2011. The first true demo of Zelda Wii U and what would become Breath of the Wild was at E3 in 2014. It eventually launched in 2017, almost six years after it was first announced as the next Zelda title. Before that, Skyward Sword‘s first public announcement was in 2009 at E3 with a poster of Link and a mysterious figure who turned out to be Fi. The game released in 2011, just three years after the announcement.
The longer waits can certainly keep the fanbase excited for a long time and stoke more interest. It’s also possible for developers to see the feedback from the fans and make tweaks that appeal to what the fans want. A long announcement-to-release window could have several drawbacks. Delays can make fans lose interest or in the worst case, cancellation can disappoint many fans. Another possible drawback is if updates are few and far between, fans will often go looking for information or “leaks” that even spoil the game. Tears of the Kingdom was leaked in its entirety mere days before its release and spoilers were often difficult to avoid.
Shorter timeframes between announcement and release have been better for the so-called 2D Zelda titles. A Link Between Worlds was first revealed in June at E3 2013 and released between November and December of 2013 depending on region, so about five to six months between announcement and release. Tri Force Heroes was revealed in June at E3 2015 and released in October 2015, about four months between announcement and release. This is similar to what happened for Echoes of Wisdom. The shorter time frame means fans can get excited about the title but don’t have to wait for a long time for more news. In Echoes of Wisdom‘s case, having a definite release day certainly let fans know that the game was mostly complete and less chance of a delay. Since these are not the “mainline” titles, that could be why Nintendo has the shorter announcement-to-release window.
In my opinion, a shorter release window is better. When I watched the June Nintendo Direct, I was expecting very little Zelda related news, especially because Tears of the Kingdom had just been released a little over a year ago at the time. The fact that I knew there was a new Zelda title and its release day had me pumped. There isn’t the need to see very Nintendo Direct and hope for the smallest kernel of news or update on the game’s progress. Many fans were displeased with how little Nintendo updated fans on Tears of the Kingdom‘s development, and many thought Nintendo was too late in getting promoted to a wider audience. For myself, I would almost prefer if the next mainline Zelda title had just about a year between its first announcement and its release. A year gives plenty of time for promotion but not so long that fans lose interest. Perhaps the best time to announce a game is when the release date is set. That way, fans do not have to worry about delays and can anticipate more information over the course of a year.
What do you think? How much time should be between a game’s announcement and its release? Should Nintendo keep shorter timeframes between announcement and release for 2D games versus the mainline titles? Let us know in the comments!
Leslie is a mom, a cosplayer, an educator, and a fervent fan of The Legend of Zelda series. She lives in an area of the United States that reminds her of the Akkala region in the fall and Hebra the other 11 months of the year. She owns The Legend of Zelda t-shirts older than most of her students.
