The second installment of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was supposed to release this year. However, Nintendo recently announced that the game would be delayed until Spring 2023. Producer Eiji Aonuma presented the announcement with an apology, saying, “In order to make the game’s experience something special, the entire development team is continuing to work diligently on this game, so please wait a while longer.”
Obviously there was disappointment at this announcement, but most of the responses I saw were surprisingly positive. People were alright with a delayed release, happy with it even, if it meant the game would be polished and completed on release.
Twitter user @ChoctopusYT said, “Can’t say I didn’t see this coming but if the game needs more work to fully realize the vision, then it needs more work. BOTW2 has big shoes to fill and I can wait the couple extra months.”
User @PaulGaleNetwork said, “The sequel…is too important of a game to release any sooner than when it is 100% ready, so I am totally OK with this slight delay. The magnitude of its development can really be felt.”
It’s certainly a refreshing change from the “we want the game, we want it now” sentiment I’ve seen in gaming spaces over the years. But it’s no surprise – the gaming community has been badly burned by games that were released with speed over quality before.
Fallout 76 is an online installment of the Fallout series which was released in 2018. The Bethesda game had what Forbes called a “historically bad launch,” being full of glitches and bugs but devoid of a proper story or NPCs. To give a sense of scale: game reviewer Joseph Anderson released a three-hour video cataloging all the glitches he found in the game.
No Man’s Sky, released in 2016, was similarly underdeveloped. Though Hello Games’ development team promised a lengthy list of features, most of those features were missing from the game on launch. This was due to a number of factors, such as a massive amount of hype and expectations placed on a very small development team. The game was eventually patched to include all the advertised features, but the controversy changed how game storefronts and developers would market their games forever. No more unproven promises.
Cyberpunk 2077, released in 2020, was a game with a lot of hype, but much like Fallout 76 it was full of game-breaking glitches and bugs. These were mostly on the console editions, which CD Projekt Red withheld from journalists prior to release. Reviewers of the game said that basic tasks like running, picking up weapons, driving and dodging were impossible. One glitch involved characters suddenly T-posing on moving motorcycles.
An often-memed quote from Nintendo game director Shigeru Miyamoto says, “a delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” As we’ve seen, sometimes game developers rush their games to appease hyped fans, but in the process tank their reputation. It’s good to see Nintendo taking their time with BOTW2, and hopefully the extra year of development will pay off.
Categories: Opinion
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