Switch in America: best 2-day sales in Nintendo history, Zelda best-selling standalone launch game
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch | 82 Comments
The New York Times recently had the opportunity to interview Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. We’ll be seeing the publication’s full discussion soon, but reporter Nick Wingfield shared some information about Switch’s sales early.
Switch’s first 2-day sales in the Americas – meaning Friday and Saturday – were the best for any system in Nintendo history. The next closest was Wii, which launched during the holiday period.
We’re also hearing that Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now the best-selling standalone launch title (meaning not a bundled game) in Nintendo history. The game managed to beat out Super Mario for N64.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild director on how the game initially came together, Miyamoto climbing trees in the prototype
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 6 Comments
The concept for Zelda: Breath of the Wild began with Shigeru Miyamoto and series producer Eiji Aonuma asking what would players would be able to do in the new game. Hidemaro Fujibayashi, who became the project’s director, responded by saying you could do everything.
Fujibayashi told Kotaku:
“But I had to sell it to them. How we’re going to make this happen. And I felt like the best way to convey this idea to them was to show them that you could climb walls.”
Work on Breath of the Wild began with a prototype. The team created a starting area with a small field and trees, along with rupees hidden throughout. Fujibayashi describes how Miyamoto played the demo:
Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s map is based on Kyoto
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 0 comments
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’s huge map is based on Kyoto, Japan. That’s according to director Hidemaro Fujibayashi, who revealed the information while speaking with The Verge.
Fujibayashi told the site:
“When I first started looking at this game, I had Link in an empty game field and I would just walk around and try to map out and get a feel for the distance and where landmarks should be. What helped me with this was my hometown, Kyoto. I took a map of Kyoto and overlaid it on the game world, and I tried to imagine going to places that I know in Kyoto. I’d think ‘It takes this much time to get from point A to point B, so how does that translate to the game?’ And that’s how we started mapping out the world in Breath of the Wild.”
Fujibayashi added that using Kyoto as a base was helpful during development since developers were familiar with the region:
Zelda: Breath of the Wild director on cutting Wii U touch features
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 77 Comments
Before the Switch version of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the game was planned to have some touch features on the Wii U GamePad. Ultimately, those ideas were scrapped. The GamePad simply tells players that they can tap on the controller to enable off-TV play.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild director Hidemaro Fujibayashi recently chatted with IGN about the decision to cut the game’s touch features on Wii U. Once Switch was brought in and tests were done, Nintendo “noticed looking back and forth between the GamePad and the screen actually took a little something away from this type of Zelda game.”
Fujibayashi’s full comments are below.
EDGE’s other cover for Zelda: Breath of the Wild cover story
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Images, Switch, Wii U | 1 Comment
This month’s issue of EDGE puts the focus on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. As it’s the cover story, Link takes center stage on the magazine’s cover. There are two versions out there though.
We previously saw what the subscriber cover looks like. Equally as good is the art for the standard issue. You can see it in its full glory below.
English voice actress for Zelda in Breath of the Wild revealed
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in News, Switch, Wii U | 12 Comments
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild finally introduces voice acting. Link doesn’t speak, but other characters do – including Zelda herself.
Patricia Summersett announced on Twitter that she’s behind the role of Zelda. It doesn’t seem as though she has a ton of experience with games, though she’s worked with Ubisoft on a few titles over the past few years. Summersett was also involved with Suikoden: Tierkreis.
It's the big day. It's official. I'm #princesszelda in #breathofthewild. Congratulations to the… https://t.co/a8sP4hBzmn
— Patricia Summersett (@Summersett_) March 3, 2017
Of course, this news only applies to the English version of Breath of the Wild. Other actors were brought in to handle the game in different languages.
Thanks to TDude73 for the tip.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch vs. Wii U comparison + frame rate test
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 15 Comments
Digital Foundry is back with yet another technical analysis for Zelda: Breath of the Wild. For the latest video, the game’s two versions are once compared, including their frame rates. Watch the full analysis below.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild – Switch vs. Wii U loading times comparison
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 17 Comments
YouTube’s Master0fHyrule created a video comparing the loading times between the Switch and Wii U versions of Zelda: Breath of the Wild based on physical copies of the game. Switch appears to have a leg up on the initial loading and starting the quest, but Wii U seems to have a slight advantage when entering Shrines and restarting from death.
Nintendo Minute – “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Bingo”
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 0 comments
The Nintendo Minute crew has another episode to tide you over this week. For today’s video, Kit and Krysta play The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild bingo to celebrate the game’s launch alongside Switch. Watch it below.
Zelda: Breath of the Wild thank you video from Aonuma
Posted on 8 years ago by Brian(@NE_Brian) in Switch, Videos, Wii U | 10 Comments
After it was first shown roughly three years ago, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has finally released. A message from series producer Eiji Aonuma was shared on Nintendo of America’s Twitter page to commemorate the event and thank the fans. Watch it below.
Mr. Aonuma, producer on The Legend of #Zelda Breath of the Wild, has a thank you video he’d like to share with you. pic.twitter.com/p0XgcuN0Kn
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) March 3, 2017
