Industry Analysts Concerned about Skyward Sword

In a Fall Preview of the video game world, several video game analysts chimed in on what they think the outlook is for the Legend of Zelda: SKyward Sword. In particular G4’s Adam Sessler and video game analyst Michael Pachter had this to say.

– Adam Sessler

– Michael Pachter

With Skyward Sword we are still likely three months away, with an anticipated release date in either late November or early December. There is still quite some time to drum up some hype amongst the fan base. I think if they give the game similar advertising treatment as they did for New Super Mario Bros in 2009 and Donkey Kong Country Returns in 2010, there will still be solid sales numbers for Skyward Sword.

However, I’ve spoken with plenty of folks around the community about this and many just feel the Wii is a dying system. Skyward Sword is the last hoorah for the console and Nintendo fans are now in full 3DS mode and gearing towards Wii U. That seemed cleared at E3 2011, where the Wii was barely even mentioned during their press conference. They spent so much time talking about the Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo Wii U controller that they barely even mentioned Skyward Sword or any of the future Wii titles. It’s rather unfortunate, but it seems to be true. Zelda is still Zelda and on a console with a massive install base like the Nintendo Wii has, I still think a lower estimate of sales for Skyward Sword will be in the 4-5million range.

What do you think about Skyward Sword’s release timing? Is it too late for the Wii’s life-cycle? Do you think it will suffer in sales because of this? Let us know by posting in the comments below!

Source: USA Today via GoNintendo