Nintendo is well known for its tendency to keep its IPs' larger details close to the chest. Recently, fans have seen the company build upon this practice, employing a unique approach to reveals for its biggest titles. Keeping titles largely shrouded in mystery, Nintendo has been utilizing itsNintendo Direct presentationsto drop detailed and explosive trailers mere weeks before a major title’s release date. Nintendo employed this approach first withPokemon Scarlet and Violetin 2022, beforeZelda: Tears of the Kingdomfollowed a similar slow-burn pattern, leading many to believe that Nintendo may commit to this approach for future heavy hitters.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis the sequel to 2017’sBreath of the Wild. The title takes place an unknown amount of years after the events ofBreath of the Wild, with Hyrule under threat of destruction yet again. Until late 2022, very little was known aboutTears of the Kingdom, aside from the return of Link and Zelda. Teasers eventually revealed a change to Link’s arm, as well as hints of a narrative featuring the ancient Zonai tribe. In the past month, however,Tears of the Kingdomhas received multiple lengthy trailers, revealing its many new features, narrative, and the return of a significant villain.
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Tears of the Kingdom’s Reveals Mirror Those of Pokemon’s Ninth Generation
Nintendo shared consistent, short reveals ofPokemon Scarlet and Violet, following their reveal in February 2022. However, it wasn’t until just over two weeks before its release that Nintendo released anoverview trailer forPokemon Scarlet and Violet. The trailer began by showing the start of players' journeys at either Naranja Academy or Uva Academy,before shedding light on the three main paths of the titles' narrative. This approach proved successful in building anticipation among fans, despite running the risk of alienating longtime players until right beforeScarlet and Violet’s release.
Nintendo’s approach toThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomtrailersmirrors that ofPokemon Scarlet and Violet, in that the title’s most important information was withheld until only recently.Tears of the Kingdomwas first revealed in 2019, but its first proper trailer arrived in the Fall of 2022. Since then, Nintendo has featured the game in multiple Nintendo Direct presentations, before ultimately revealing the title’s setting, narrative, and main villain in April 2023, just a month before release.
Tears of the Kingdom’s Slow Burn Reveal Establishes a Clear Pattern
With bothPokemonandThe Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s highly detailed final trailers, Nintendo is setting a clear precedent for how it will market its biggest titles moving forward. Unlike Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo does not allow itself to be pulled into conflict and comparison with other developers. While its console and games don’t offer the highest technological experience, Nintendo offers longtime fans consistently excellent entries in its first-party series. Its marketing banks on this fact, and is uniquely focused on subverting the expectations of longtime fans instead of revealing everything ahead of launch, with many ending up definingPokemon Scarlet and Violetleaks as Nintendo’s marketing.
Following its recent pattern of slow-burn reveals, Nintendo fans may see the same approach utilized withfuture Switch titles. In fact, fans may see it as soon asPikmin 4,which received a trailer and announcement in September 2022, but has been pretty silent since. With a July 2023 street date, Nintendo may be waiting until after the launch ofTears of the Kingdomto focus onPikmin 4,leaving only two months to market the title before release. If this pattern becomes Nintendo’s primary approach to new titles, fans are in for an interesting experience, as each upcoming title endures a tedious post-announcement period, followed by an explosive slew of reveals before release.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomlaunches May 12, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
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