Bad news for Star Fox and Zelda fans. Nintendo is delaying the release of Star Fox Zero and its new Zelda installment until at least 2016.
Star Fox Zero and Zelda: New Launch Date in Q1 2016
Shigeru Miyamoto, the Japanese video game designer, posted on social media that Nintendo had been developing Star Fox Zero for the Wii U with the goal of releasing it within this year. Although development had been progressing well, it is now evident that the company will need more time to further polish the level of design and perfect the tone of cut scenes; there’s also another functionality to be considered, which will allow users to experience the games using two screens. The new aim is to launch Star Fox Zero in Q1 2016.
Star Fox Zero, the first new title in the Star Fox series in almost ten years, had great potential to skyrocket Wii U sales this holiday season. Instead, the company will now rely on Super Mario Maker and Splatoon, both which are considered solid games. Splatoon, a family friendly multi-shooter game, helped the company sell 10 million units of the console this year.
Miyamoto adds that while it would be technically possible to release the title in time for the holiday season, further polishing would help players more smoothly grasp the new style of play that the game will introduce.
Wii U Sales Will Rely on Splatoon and Super Mario Maker
The effect of this delay is unfortunate. While Super Mario Maker and Splatoon have landed very good reviews, Nintendo has nothing on hand to compete with other end of the year releases. This gives the PS4 and Xbox One a solid cushion to fall on, which guarantees that their console sales will remain stable.
Meanwhile, other consoles have also experienced delays in their game releases (such as Sony with Uncharted 4 and Microsoft with Quantum Break). Nintendo, however, doesn’t seem to have much in store in terms of a back up plan. Its bestsellers this holiday season will likely be Xenoblade Chronicles (also a relatively solid but niche game) and Super Mario Maker.
