During ChinaJoy 2019, the largest digital entertainment/gaming expo in Asia, Sony held a press conference for the first time in over a year. During their conference, Genshin Impact, an upcoming open-world action game was shown off; however, some fans of The Legend of Zelda were not happy because of its similarities to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The game has been described as anime Breath of the Wild.
Fans of The Legend of Zelda series showed their disapproval of Genshin Impact by posting pictures of flipping off the Genshin Impact display at the Sony booth. They were also holding either their case of Breath of the Wild or their Nintendo Switches running the game. Daniel Ahmad, Senior Analyst at Niko Partners and CCN both reported that the game is being called out because it’s allegedly copying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. One fan protested by smashing his PlayStation 4.
Seems he wasn’t the only one protesting.
lul pic.twitter.com/tyofudXNsD
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 4, 2019
When Mihoyo unveiled Genshin Impact for PS4, many noted the game was inspired by BOTW.
Some fans of BOTW are upset that Sony is promoting this game because of the similarities + they think it’s shameless of Sony.
This man smashed his PS4 at ChinaJoy in protest. pic.twitter.com/jwJqwREgaz
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) August 3, 2019
One Zelda fan believes that the game is completely copying The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and also believes that the game is allegedly copying the music of Zelda as well.
They even copied Zelda’s music pic.twitter.com/wJYuI27RyU
— Vivian.Ysy (@SiyuYang_V) June 23, 2019
Genshin Impact will offer players a freely explorable world, multiple playable characters, an in-depth elemental combo-based combat system, and an engaging story. The game is being developed by miHoYo and is set to release in 2020.