There are concerns among the fanbase about the upcoming Zelda sequel arriving with a new Switch model in tow. And it isn’t the easiest to dispel such notions considering the past occasions that led to such suspicions. The original Breath of the Wild was a title announced in 2015. A game meant exclusively for the Wii U according to the words of its creators. The game saw delays in its production until March of 2017, the game became a launch title for the Nintendo Switch, and the last game ever made for the Wii U.
So it is somewhat reasonable for the communities to start having concerns regarding the Breath of the Wild Sequel, due to the tumultuous development history of its predecessor. This anxiety has only ramped up as a result of the delay announced in March, which pushed the release window of the game from 2022 to the early months of 2023. And if Nintendo were to repeat history, then BoTW 2 will end up as a game stuck in development for years to come, serving as the launch title of the new Nintendo console.
This concern has fueled some of the debates and discussions in the BotW communities, and there are seemingly reasons for such cynicism. One of the commenters in the BotW subreddit elaborated on the articles and videos that they’ve seen discussing the sequel. And one of the particular points that they’ve hung on to was the fact that the footage shown during the trailers for the Zelda Sequel looks to be run on a new version of the Nintendo Switch. Their suspicions mainly focus on the graphical performance shown during the gameplay footage, and them being a cut above current Switch console graphics.
The majority of opinions posted by community members in response can be boiled down to cautious optimism. Some have stated their inclination to wait for an official announcement from Nintendo before worrying about such possibilities. While skeptics are happy to continue waiting on purchasing a Switch until the BotW sequel is released.
One commenter rebutted against such worries, pointing to the recent optimizations made by graphics card manufacturers AMD, their dev tools allowing Nintendo the affordance to make more graphically intensive games without upgrading their gaming console hardware.
With the announcement of the Switch OLED last year, people may want to remain hopeful about Nintendo not releasing another console this soon. If that proves to be the case, then people who’ve bought an OLED won’t have to worry about potential buyer’s remorse when the BotW sequel comes out.
The Breath of the Wild Sequel is set to release in Spring 2023, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
