The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

[Londragon]

Apparently the development of BotW2 could be finished very soon, as least according to this Spanish site:
https://www.gamereactor.es/el-doblaje-espanol-de-zelda-breath-of-the-wild-2-ya-esta-hecho/
They claim so since the Spanish voice actors of Revali and Zelda have supposedly finished their synchronization work.

Turns out it was a mistranslation. They said that Nintendo’s secretive NDA’s even forbid them saying if they had returned for recording for the sequel. Found out after Gamexplain did some digging.

[Jonnas]

That link contains an update in which the podcast hosts ("Un café con Nintendo ", curious name) officially deny the rumours, saying that "The Actors' comments were taken without regard to context, leading to mistaken conclusions"

I'm inclined to ignore this rumour. A misinterpreted voice actor interview is also how those "Dante's the last DLC slot in Smash!" rumours got started.

[ThiophenSJ]

Ah, thanks for clearing it up. I would have been definitely surprised if Nintendo dropped BotW2 this Christmas, but with Nintendo you never know how long they keep something for themselves. Nowadays Nintendo seems to be one of the only companies where information is rarely leaked.

[Londragon]

1 hour ago, Jonnas said:

podcast hosts ("Un café con Nintendo ", curious name)

Do we need to get in touch with our lawyers?

[Julius]

Well, at least we learned from Aonuma that we'll be getting more information on this later in the year during today's Direct. Hope is not totally lost in my mind, though, because I don't think they'd be preparing to reveal more this year (and share that with us so early in the year too) if they weren't at least aiming for a 2021 release...but whether or not that comes to pass, well, we'll see. 

[Ronnie]

On 18/02/2021 at 12:19 AM, Julius said:

Well, at least we learned from Aonuma that we'll be getting more information on this later in the year during today's Direct. Hope is not totally lost in my mind, though, because I don't think they'd be preparing to reveal more this year (and share that with us so early in the year too) if they weren't at least aiming for a 2021 release...but whether or not that comes to pass, well, we'll see. 

I wouldn't get your hopes up for 2021, I can't see Nintendo willingly releasing Age of Calamity DLC at the end of the year AND BOTW2 at the same time. I'd say March 2022 is a safer bet.

[Ashley]

10 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

I wouldn't get your hopes up for 2021, I can't see Nintendo willingly releasing Age of Calamity DLC at the end of the year AND BOTW2 at the same time. I'd say March 2022 is a safer bet.

5 year anniversary of BOTW (more or less, accounting for date shifts) would be a nice way to do it.

[Ronnie]

12 minutes ago, Ashley said:

5 year anniversary of BOTW (more or less, accounting for date shifts) would be a nice way to do it.

Yeah, though expectations will be a lot higher after waiting 5 years for the game, even with Covid. Who knows when production properly started on it but that's a long time for a game with a (seemingly?) re-used overworld.

[Dcubed]

March 2023.  Switch 2 launch title (crossgen with Switch 1).

Book it.

[Ronnie]

There's no way BOTW2 is another two years off.

Just as there's no way Switch 2 is coming out in two years. Doug Bowser said a couple months ago that we're only half way through the current Switch's life, so 2025+?

[Ashley]

21 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Yeah, though expectations will be a lot higher after waiting 5 years for the game, even with Covid. Who knows when production properly started on it but that's a long time for a game with a (seemingly?) re-used overworld.

These are Nintendo fans, their expectations would be high regardless. You've witnessed Directs 😋

17 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

March 2023.  Switch 2 launch title (crossgen with Switch 1).

Book it.

Nintendo does love a cross-gen Zelda. The last one that wasn't was what, Wind Waker?

(Didn't intend for that to become a tongue twister)

[Sheikah]

3 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

There's no way BOTW2 is another two years off.

Just as there's no way Switch 2 is coming out in two years. Doug Bowser said a couple months ago that we're only half way through the current Switch's life, so 2025+?

Have Nintendo ever had a generation lasting 8 years (as in, time between console launches)? I also think if that a Switch Pro launches late this year then 2022 might be too early for Switch 2.

[darksnowman]

5 minutes ago, Ashley said:

Nintendo does love a cross-gen Zelda. The last one that wasn't was what, Wind Waker?

Might as well have been on N64 the way they cut the dungeons...! In seriousness, the 3DS and DS ones were more cross-screen affairs so... Link's Crossbow Training?  

[Ashley]

3 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

Might as well have been on N64 the way they cut the dungeons...! In seriousness, the 3DS and DS ones were more cross-screen affairs so... Link's Crossbow Training?  

We don't talk about that game

[Dcubed]

23 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

There's no way BOTW2 is another two years off.

Just as there's no way Switch 2 is coming out in two years. Doug Bowser said a couple months ago that we're only half way through the current Switch's life, so 2025+?

You're taking that statement way too literally.  Switch 2 ain't coming out in 2025; that would be an insane 8 year lifecycle! The longest in all of video game console history (longer than any Playstation or Xbox console even!).  Nobody who actually wants their current console to keep selling is going to publically say that we're coming to the end of its lifecycle (that's the Bernie Stolar tactic, Mr "The Saturn is not our Future" himself; which did wonders for outright killing the SEGA Saturn literally overnight).

Switch 2 coming out in March 2023 (6 years) would already be the longest lifecycle that any Nintendo console has had outside of the original Famicom (7 years); which itself was artificially extended by the Famicom Disk System and the fact that it had basically zero competition until the PC Engine & Mega Drive came along.  Waiting any longer than that would be outright suicide; as the console would die off LONG before its successor can arrive.

You don't seem to quite understand just how old the Switch is now... By this point in its lifecycle (4 years & 5 days), the Wii U had already been replaced (and its entire library of titles had already been released), the N64 had already been dumpstered with the Gamecube and its launch lineup already having been announced and publically demoed at E3 (with release dates already announced too), the GBA had already been succeeded by the DS for over a year, the DS had already had TWO redesigns on store shelves (and rumblings regarding the original Nvidia version of the 3DS had already begun) and the SNES' successor "Project Reality" had already been announced!

Switch 2 coming out in 2023 is the logical point in time for it to happen (given that this is when the crossgen period will end on other consoles, and where Switch's 3rd party support will completely vanish).  If anything? A successor would be overdue by that point!

22 minutes ago, Ashley said:

These are Nintendo fans, their expectations would be high regardless. You've witnessed Directs 😋

Nintendo does love a cross-gen Zelda. The last one that wasn't was what, Wind Waker?

(Didn't intend for that to become a tongue twister)

To be fair, Nintendo have only ever done this twice (Twilight Princess & BOTW), but I fully expect them to do this again.  I don't see a point in wasting BOTW 2 on the current Switch, a console that is basically selling by itself; when Switch 2 needs to absolutely explode out of the gate for Nintendo to continue as a going concern (need I remind you all that Nintendo has no second pillar to fall back on anymore! They cannot afford for Switch 2 to fail, because they have no Gameboy or DS to pick them up if it fails this time around! If Switch 2 is a failure, then Nintendo is DONE).

It just makes far more sense to save BOTW2 for Switch 2's launch and guarantee that Switch 2 is a success, than to waste BOTW2 on the current Switch and then have nothing to sell Switch 2 with.  Same goes for Bayonetta 3 and Metroid Prime 4 BTW.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Dcubed

[Hero-of-Time]

4 minutes ago, Ashley said:

We don't talk about that game

Get him, @nekunando!

[Dcubed]

6 minutes ago, Ashley said:

We don't talk about that game

Oh what? You mean the Fourth Best Selling Zelda Game of All Time?  

[Ronnie]

12 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

You're taking that statement way too literally.  Switch 2 ain't coming out in 2025; that would be an insane 8 year lifecycle! The longest in all of video game console history.  Nobody who actually wants their current console to keep selling is going to publically say that we're coming to the end of its lifecycle (that's the Bernie Stolar tactic, Mr "The Saturn is not our Future" himself; which did wonders for outright killing the SEGA Saturn literally overnight).

Switch 2 coming out in March 2023 (6 years) would already be the longest lifecycle that any Nintendo console has had outside of the original Famicom (7 years); which itself was artificially extended by the Famicom Disk System and the fact that it had basically zero competition until the PC Engine & Mega Drive came along.

You don't seem to quite understand just how old the Switch is now... By this point in its lifecycle (4 years), the Wii U had already been replaced (and its entire library of titles had already been released), the N64 had already been dumpstered with the Gamecube and its launch lineup already having been announced and publically demoed at E3, the GBA had already been succeeded by the DS for over a year, and the SNES' successor "Project Reality" had already been announced!

Switch 2 coming out in 2023 is the logical point in time for it to happen (given that this is when the crossgen period will end on other consoles, and where Switch's 3rd party support will completely vanish).  If anything? A successor would be overdue by that point!

You're genuinely using the Wii U and Gamecube as examples of what will happen with the Switch? Two of the companies biggest failures?

Why no mention how the Game Boy lasted twelve years before the GBA was introduced. Or the DS lasting 6 and a half years. Or the 3DS lasting 6 years before the Switch came out, and nine years before it was let go. And before you say those are all handhelds, it makes no difference, they're all highly successful Nintendo products, just as the Switch is. 

12 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

You're taking that statement way too literally.

How less literal could you read into the words "we believe we’re just at the midpoint of this life cycle on [the Nintendo Switch] platform”! There's no room for misinterpretation there.

2024, sure, I could see that. And have the Switch and the new console out concurrently, but before that, I'd be amazed. Unless they strike gold, idea wise.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Ronnie

[Dcubed]

20 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

You're genuinely using the Wii U and Gamecube as examples of what will happen with the Switch? Two of the companies biggest failures?

Why no mention how the Game Boy lasted twelve years before the GBA was introduced. Or the DS lasting 6 and a half years. Or the 3DS lasting 6 years before the Switch came out, and nine years before it was let go. And before you say those are all handhelds, it makes no difference, they're all highly successful Nintendo products, just as the Switch is.

No Nintendo console outside of the Famicom has lasted more than 6 years (and even with the Famicom, that was supposed to be replaced in 1988-1989; the SNES was announced more than two years before its release, but production issues kept pushing it back).  Even the DS, literally the most successful video game machine of all time only lasted a "mere" 6 years & 2.5 months before it was succeeded by the 3DS.

As for the Gameboy? It was supposed to be replaced in 1996, by Project Atlantis (which eventually became the GBA); but, again, production issues & technological limitations of its time prevented it from becoming a reality... and thus, the stopgap Gameboy Color was born in its place.  The Gameboy was never supposed to last as long as it did; the only reason it did was because of Pokemon giving it a second life, and because Nintendo's engineers failed to make Project Atlantis a reality (until they finally succeeded with the GBA in 2001).

Gameboy was only supposed to last for 6-7 years, not 12!

6 years is already an abnormally long lifecycle for a Nintendo console.  8 years is just comically absurd (hell, we'll probably have PS5 Pro out by then! We might even be hearing our first rumblings of PS6 by then even!).  Switch would be dead and buried at retail LONG before its successor would be able to hit store shelves in 2025; that's absolute business suicide!

If Switch keeps on selling like this? AYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Quote

How less literal could you read into the words "we believe we’re just at the midpoint of this life cycle on [the Nintendo Switch] platform”! There's no room for misinterpretation there.

You'd make a great spokesperson! Have you given SEGA a call? I hear that they have a console that they need to have dumpstered by every third party and video game retailer out there by publically announcing that your current hot selling console has no future!

Of course they're gonna be saying that.  They'll keep saying that we're at the midpoint until they publically announce Switch 2; that's literally console marketing 101!

Edited March 8, 2021 by Dcubed

[Ronnie]

25 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

No Nintendo console outside of the Famicom has lasted more than 6 years (and even with the Famicom, that was supposed to be replaced in 1988-1989; the SNES was announced more than two years before its release, but production issues kept pushing it back).  Even the DS, literally the most successful video game machine of all time only lasted a "mere" 6 years.

As for the Gameboy? It was supposed to be replaced in 1996, by Project Atlantis (which eventually became the GBA); but, again, production issues & technological limitations of its time prevented it from becoming a reality... and thus, the stopgap Gameboy Color was born in its place.  The Gameboy was never supposed to last as long as it did; the only reason it did was because of Pokemon giving it a second life, and because Nintendo's engineers failed to make Project Atlantis a reality (until they finally succeeded with the GBA in 2001).

Gameboy was only supposed to last for 6-7 years, not 12!

6 years is already an abnormally long lifecycle for a Nintendo console.  8 years is just comically absurd (hell, we'll probably have PS5 Pro out by then! We might even be hearing our first rumblings of PS6 by then even!).

You'd make a great spokesperson! Have you given SEGA a call? I hear that they have a console that they need to have dumpstered by every third party and video game retailer out there by publically announcing that your current hot selling console has no future!

You also said that my suggestion the PS5 would be about £400 was comically absurd, suggesting 600-700 instead. Or recently stating that Nintendo was shifting all its software focus to mobile, which obviously isn't the case in reality. 

Sometimes you need to look at what makes business sense. The Nintendo of nowadays, the one that kept the 3DS alive for nine years because of the high (ish) instal-base, isn't about to cut and run what could be one of the most successful gaming products in history.

Another thing that points to the Switch being around for a while, why would they release Splatoon 3 next year, and then release a brand new console 12 months later?

Like I said, I could see their next shiny idea coming in 2024, and the Switch continuing to get support for a couple years after that (like the 3DS), but not before that imo.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Ronnie

[Sheikah]

42 minutes ago, Dcubed said:

No Nintendo console outside of the Famicom has lasted more than 6 years (and even with the Famicom, that was supposed to be replaced in 1988-1989; the SNES was announced more than two years before its release, but production issues kept pushing it back).  Even the DS, literally the most successful video game machine of all time only lasted a "mere" 6 years & 2.5 months before it was succeeded by the 3DS.

I'm not confident about when Switch 2 will launch but it's worth noting that what went before (and particularly what went down decades ago) doesn't necessarily predict what will happen now.

If you bear in mind as well that we might be seeing a Switch Pro, that could well extend the length of the generation. I'd also argue that Nintendo aren't chasing graphics to the extent Sony and Microsoft do, and Nintendo often achieve a lot with a little, so a Pro unit may well satisfy for a while longer.

[Ronnie]

Even though looking to the past doesn't tell you what will happen now, even if you do want to do that it's worth comparing the Switch lifecycle to handhelds anyway because they're the products that Nintendo release iterative updates on (GB Color, DSi, all the 3DS versions), as opposed to consoles which have always been one and done boxes, for the most part.

[Dcubed]

18 minutes ago, Sheikah said:

I'm not confident about when Switch 2 will launch but it's worth noting that what went before (and particularly what went down decades ago) doesn't necessarily predict what will happen now.

If you bear in mind as well that we might be seeing a Switch Pro, that could well extend the length of the generation. I'd also argue that Nintendo aren't chasing graphics to the extent Sony and Microsoft do, and Nintendo often achieve a lot with a little, so a Pro unit may well satisfy for a while longer.

The thing is though, if we were to get a Switch Pro? It really should've already have happened by now.

At this point in their respective lifecycles, the PS4 Pro had already been out on store shelves for over a year and the Xbox One X had been out for a good few months as well (We were also starting to get the first bits of information surrounding PS5 & Series X dev kits as well), while the Nintendo DSi was already out in Japan (with the DS Lite already being out for almost 3 years!), and the New3DS having been out for almost a whole year.

Quite frankly, it feels far too late for us to be getting a Switch Pro now.  We're so late into the Switch's lifecycle that it doesn't make much sense anymore; unless Nintendo really are insane enough to go for a 7-8 year lifecycle, which would be basically business suicide when the industry is already moving onto the next generation of Playstation & Xbox consoles, let alone in 4 years time!

2023 is not an early release; hell, by Nintendo standards it's actually late! Even the mighty DS was replaced after 6 years on the market (and that's with FOUR redesigns & one major hardware revision under its belt!).  I can't see it making any sense whatsoever to wait any longer than March 2023; and I can't see any logic behind not saving BOTW2 to launch alongside Switch 2.

Edited March 8, 2021 by Dcubed

[Dcubed]

14 minutes ago, Ronnie said:

Even though looking to the past doesn't tell you what will happen now, even if you do want to do that it's worth comparing the Switch lifecycle to handhelds anyway because they're the products that Nintendo release iterative updates on (GB Color, DSi, all the 3DS versions), as opposed to consoles which have always been one and done boxes, for the most part.

Both the DS and 3DS were on the market for 6 years & a couple of months before being replaced by their respective successors.  Switch 2 launching in March 2023 would be right on schedule if we're looking at Nintendo's handheld history (the Gameboy is an outlier, and that only happened because Nintendo's first attempt at Project Atlantis was a tremendous failure).

Edited March 8, 2021 by Dcubed

[Ronnie]

1 hour ago, Dcubed said:

It really should've already have happened by now.

Why? The Switch hasn’t even had a price drop. It’s selling huge numbers. They haven’t needed to release a Pro model.