The Legend of Zelda’s 35thanniversary came and went on Sunday with eager fans hoping to hear something regarding a game or at least some merch. Unfortunately, not a peep was announced and so far, onlySkyward Sword HDand a set of some fancyZeldaJoy-Con have been disclosed. Nintendo’s silence may leave fans wondering what exactly is happening and thankfully due to an industry insider, we could possibly hear something from the company this summer.
According toJeff Grubb, a writer for VentureBeat and an industry insider, we could hear more this summer when Nintendo finally unveil what their plans are for itsZeldacelebrations. Grubb states that Nintendo is all about the marketing right now and that “It’s unlikely that Nintendo would want celebrations for Zelda and Mario to overlap. It would get more from each if it put some separation between the two events.” Mario’s 35th-anniversary celebrations will end on 31st March so once that is out of the way, Grubb thinks that Nintendo will focus their attention onThe Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HDto ensure it gets sales.
“Sure, it could’ve released Wind Waker and Twilight Princess at the same time, but the company wants Zelda fans all focused on Skyward Sword.” Grubb said “So instead of creating a situation where other Zelda releases on Switch cannibalize sales that could’ve gone to Skyward Sword, Nintendo will create a steady cadence of releases to celebrate the series. That will start with Skyward Sword HD in July, but we should hear about what is coming soon after that this summer.”
Grubb again emphasizes that Nintendo is spinning the narrative around the advertising forZeldaand wanting to ensure that fans will be “spending the most money possible”. He also believes that onceSkyward Sword HDis released on 16 July, ports ofWind WakerandTwilight Princess HDcould be likely as well, and then the launch ofBreath of the Wild 2.
