Dark times for the iconic franchise
Today, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is considered one of the most influential and successful games in the history of the industry, but prior to its release, the series was going through far from its best times. Former Nintendo of America employees Kit Ellis and Krysta Yang recalled the period before the release of BOTW on their podcast.
According to the former employees, although projects like Skyward Sword received high praise from critics, the franchise's traditional formula had begun to lose its popularity. Sales were no longer impressing company leadership, and attracting a new generation of players was becoming increasingly difficult.
The need for radical changes
Inside Nintendo, there was a feeling that the series was in a tough spot:
- Traditional dungeons and a linear structure had exhausted their potential for a mainstream audience.
- It was clear that if nothing changed, The Legend of Zelda series risked losing its status as a flagship blockbuster.
It was this realization that prompted the developers to completely rethink their approach to open-world game design, which subsequently brought overwhelming success to both Breath of the Wild and its sequel, Tears of the Kingdom.
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