The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Difference between revisions

Even before the release of Skyward Sword for the Wii, Zelda fans received a preview of what a new HD Zelda release might look like for the Wii U at E3 2011. The 2011 Zelda HD tech demo showcased the hardware capabilities of the then upcoming Wii U. {{Ref|"E3 2011: Zelda Goes HD on Wii U" - [http://www.ign.com/articles/2011/06/07/e3-2011-zelda-goes-hd-on-wii-u IGN]}}{{Ref|''[[The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild|Breath of the Wild]]''|It's not something they're working on daily right now, but we are talking about some of the things we might be able to do with that system.  The demo that we showed at E3 was really just more of a rough idea of if all we were to do was to make a Zelda game and put it in HD, this is what it might look like.  We're much more interested in looking at the power of the Wii U system and seeing how we can take advantage of that power to do things that we haven't been able to do in a Zelda game before. |Interview:Game Informer October 2011. Aonuma, GameInformer}}

In an edition of Iwata Asks in November of 2011, Nintendo president Satoru Iwata stated that the five year development of ''Skyward Sword'' was quite long. In response to this, ''Skyward Sword'' director Hidemaro Fujibayashi set the following goal:

 

{{Quote|I'll think of something that can happen in three years!|[[Interview:Iwata Asks: Skyward Sword (Volume Eight: Those Who Played The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword for Hundreds of Hours)|Fujibayashi, Iwata Asks]]}}

 

Because of this statement, many people believed that the game would be released in 2014, which was three years after 2011.

By late 2012, it had been confirmed that a new HD title for the Wii U was in development.{{Quote|We will announce the launch schedules for new 3D Zelda and Mario games in the future, but this is not the right opportunity for me to indicate when we will make such announcements.<br/><br/>...as we develop a new hardware platform, we ask ourselves such questions as, 'what kind of new Zelda and Mario games do the software creators hope to make on this?|[[Satoru Iwata]]{{Ref|"New 3D Zelda and Mario Games are in the Works for Wii U" - [http://gengame.net/2012/11/iwata-new-3d-zelda-and-mario-games-are-in-the-works-for-wii-u/ GenGAME]}}}} A few months later in January of 2013, it was confirmed by producer Eiji Aonuma that a number of changes would be coming with the new game, which were brought on by the desire to "rethink the conventions of Zelda". Among these changes would be the ability to complete dungeons in any order the player desired. {{Ref|"Nintendo will ‘rethink the conventions of Zelda’ on Wii U" - [https://venturebeat.com/2013/01/23/nintendo-will-rethink-the-conventions-of-zelda-on-wii-u/ VentureBeat]}}

For E3 2014, the world was given its first real look into what the new Zelda would look like with a brief gameplay trailer. With this new footage came several full resolution screenshots and additional information about the game. With the ability to choose the order in which dungeons were completed came a massive open world, inspired by the feel of the original Legend of Zelda from 1986. It was also announced that the game was scheduled to be released in 2015. {{Ref|"E3 2014: The Legend of Zelda for Wii U First Details" - [http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/06/10/e3-2014-the-legend-of-zelda-for-wii-u-first-details IGN]}}

In Q1 of 2015, Nintendo announced that the new Zelda would be delayed until 2016 and would not be shown at E3 that year, owing to the desire to give the developers ample time to bring "all these ideas to life" and focus completely on their work. {{Ref|"The Legend of Zelda for Wii U delayed until 2016, and won't be at E3" - [https://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/zelda-wii-u-delayed-e3/ DigitalTrends]}} Then, on April 27, 2016 an additional delay was announced pushing the game's release further out to 2017. It was also announced that the title would be released simultaneously on the Wii U and upcoming Switch (then known as the NX), and that the game would be Nintendo's focus of E3 2016. {{Ref|"Zelda Wii U Delayed to 2017, Also Coming to NX" - [http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/04/27/zelda-wii-u-delayed-to-2017-also-coming-to-nx IGN]}}

The long anticipated E3 2016 reveal unveiled the title of the new game as <i>Breath of the Wild</i>, and offered fans a chance to play the game for 30 minutes in an area known as the Great Plateau, which is only 1% the game's total area. Reception to the playable demo of the game was immediately and overwhelmingly positive with its art style and massive open world gameplay. Many notable changes to the franchise were noted as well, including the weapon and food collection system and associated survival mechanics, new combat techniques, and the presence of the Sheikah Slate as a technological aid to Link's quest. {{ref|["E3 2016: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Might Be The Open World Zelda We Always Wanted" - [http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/06/14/e3-2016-the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-hands-on-preview IGN]}}

 

During the Nintendo Live Treehouse Switch event on January 13, 2017, it was announced via a new trailer that Breath of the Wild would be released simultaneously with the Nintendo Switch on March 3, 2017. {{Ref|source=[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/the-legend-of-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-released-da/1100-6446886/ The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Release Date Confirmed]}}

 

 

At launch on March 3rd, 2017, Special and Master Edition packages were released in limited quantities. Both packages included the game itself; however, additional items included an audio CD containing 24 musical selections from the game, the Sheikah Eye coin that was first given away to E3 2016 attendees, the Relic of Hyrule: Calamity Ganon tapestry and weather worn map, and a unique Sheikah Slate Switch console carrying case. The Master Edition also included a statuette of the Master Resurrection Sword.{{Ref|source=[https://mic.com/articles/169451/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-limited-edition-what-comes-with-each-special-edition-release Zelda: Breath of the Wild Limited Edition - What comes with each release?]}}

 

By the end of the month, less than four weeks after release, it was announced that 3.84 million copies of the game had been sold worldwide. {{Ref|"Sales Numbers for the Nintendo Switch and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" - [http://kotaku.com/sales-numbers-for-the-nintendo-switch-and-the-legend-of-1794696207 Kotaku]}} By early September, Breath of the Wild had outsold Twilight Princess in Japan. {{Ref|["Zelda: Breath of the Wild surpasses sales of Twilight Princess in Japan" [http://nintendoeverything.com/zelda-breath-of-the-wild-surpasses-sales-of-twilight-princess-in-japan/ Nintendo Everything]}}