In a landscape where many consumers fear homogenized gameplay, bland reboots, and spectacle-over-substance mindsets that circle the industry, Nintendo continues to provide hope for fresh changes. Link and his universe have been trying out some new tricks and undergoing a few changes, which is unheard of for the franchise.
Cranking out new Legend of Zelda games may not seem the most original move, but Link has been stepping outside his comfort zone lately with his Hyrule Warriors seeing success on the Wii U and even his appearance in Mario Kart 8 fits in with these tangential steps. The next step, according to a leaked trailer, is to take Hyrule Warriors to the 3DS.
According to various media outlets, such as Desctructoid, Eurogamer, and Kotaku, the official Koei Tecmo YouTube channel made the video available and then took it back down, all within a period of about twelve hours. No explanation or comment has been made by any involved parties as of yet. While the video is no longer available to watch on Koei Tecmo’s official channel, there was plenty of time for excited fans to save and repost the trailer on various unofficial outlets and channels.
Regarding the leak, GameXplain took the time to dissect the trailer and discuss the possibility for a female Link. For this franchise, seeing success in other titles and gameplay variants is a first, so Nintendo seems to be testing the waters with the whole situation, still.
Regarding the future of Nintendo, Gamespot got to speak with Reggie Fils-Aime, President and COO of Nintendo of America, as reported by Justin Haywald. The big takeaway was the admission of Nintendo’s philosophy going forward:
We don’t believe that the central dynamic of the video game market is changing–namely, “software sells hardware.” Of course, there are early adopters who will buy the shiny new thing in any category. But game system installed bases are built on people deciding, “I’ve GOT to play those games!”
So perhaps the biggest news is a lack of news. Nintendo sticking to their console-exclusives is just par for the course, but they seem to be expanding their little bubble in the corner of the industry and willing to experiment within it.