The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild could well be a launch title for the upcoming Nintendo Switch after all, according to the most recent murmurs doing the rounds. Despite reports back in November stating the opposite, it appears as if Link’s most ambitious adventure yet will, in fact, be released in March alongside Nintendo’s new console, although only in Japan and North America.
According to Eurogamer (via VG247), “multiple sources” close to Nintendo have told the site that, while the original plan was to delay the title in order to sort out localization issues, the Big N has performed a u-turn and instead decided to go ahead with a March release in order to give the Switch the best possible chance at success. However, there’s a big occlusion from the territories in which Breath of the Wild will launch.
According to the same sources, Nintendo of Europe has yet to decide on whether it will go ahead with a March launch, with Eurogamer stating that it was the European division of the company that had been pushing for extra time in order for some added testing and localization tweaks. Nintendo of Japan, on the other hand, has always wanted Breath of the Wild‘s release to coincide with the Switch’s, according to the report.
Assuming all of the above to be accurate, tensions among European Zelda fans will no doubt be rising as these words are written and if Nintendo of Europe ultimately decides to go ahead with the delay, there’s no telling when exactly the continent will get its hands on the follow-up to Skyward Sword. Of course, there’s always the option of importing, but without knowing whether the Switch will be region locked, such a prospect could disappear in an instant.
Whatever’s going on, we can probably expect to get a definitive answer come January 12, when Nintendo holds its live Switch presentation in Tokyo. Stay tuned.