Day: April 27, 2016

Nintendo’s Big Announcements

Nintendo made a lot of big announcements early this morning, as they released their financial reports in Japan. The first bombshell stated that their new NX system would be released in March 2017.

Of course, they still haven’t even said what NX really is yet. No confirmation if it’s a home console, a portable, or a combination of the two (as some rumors suggest). And are they really going to launch a system in March? Nintendo consoles have traditionally launched in autumn (generally September through November), so it remains to be seen if they really stick to this.

Then they announced that Zelda Wii U will be delayed again, until 2017! It will be released simultaneously with a NX version–much like how Twilight Princess was a dual GameCube/Wii release.

That is a big disappointment. Not only because I’ve been really looking forward to the game, but also, this means the Wii U will be in its 5th year before it finally gets a Zelda game (that isn’t a port of an older game). That’s just so typical of how poorly Nintendo has supported Wii U throughout most of its lifetime. Once Wii U was released, Nintendo never seemed to shift their focus from 3DS to Wii U, often treating Wii U (and Wii U owners) like an afterthought, while they continued to pump out 3DS games constantly.

And with no Zelda in 2016, what exactly do Wii U users have to look forward to for the rest of the year? It’s looking pretty bleak. For Nintendo’s sake, I hope they support NX better than they’ve supported Wii U.

And then there was this:

Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing apps are coming to smart devices. “Apps” is the key word here, and we don’t really know what that means. Will they be full games, spin-offs, or something else entirely? We don’t know.

A press release from Nintendo UK states that the Animal Crossing app will “be connected with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems.” That seems to indicate the app may not be a full Animal Crossing game on its own, although it also states it will “have more prominent game elements” than Miitomo.

Saying that it will connect with the world of Animal Crossing for dedicated gaming systems seems to imply that a full AC game is on the way as well (presumably for NX). The app is scheduled to be released later this year.

The app could potentially be the third consecutive Animal Crossing spin-off (after Happy Home Designer and Amiibo Festival) since we’ve last seen a full game in the series. And I’m not particularly excited about the app, but it’s hard to have much of an opinion on it until we know what it is.

This is pure speculation, but I could see it including the ability to create and customize your character (including hair and skin color), shop for clothes and accessories each day, and so on. Or maybe it will allow you to design your house, yard, or even the layout of your town! That would be cool. And then when the full game comes out, you could import that data. At this point, only Nintendo knows.

But if a new, full Animal Crossing game is on the way, that is what I’m really looking forward to. What about you? Are you excited about the apps? Mad about the Zelda delay? Curious about NX?