Chapter 407: A Game About How Zelda Became a Legend? (Requesting Subscriptions, Monthly Passes)
The R&D for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been successfully approved and has begun secret development within Nebula Games.
During this time, the progress on the Switch side has not stopped.
For players, the open-world exclusive blockbuster that Chen Xu previously mentioned felt more like a grand promise.
It was only the reputation of Nebula Games and Chen Xu himself that kept many players hopeful.
If it were a typical game developer, they would have simply scoffed, 'Pah!'
However, while the open-world blockbuster was a promise, there was still some tangible content.
During this period, many third-party game developers ported some classic games to the Switch platform.
Although many were rehashes, when they launched on the Switch platform, they still added some soy sauce and eggs to stir-fry. (Meaning they added some new elements to the old content)
Coupled with the Switch's unique motion control gameplay, many game developers specifically remastered their classic games in high definition.
It must be said that, compared to many game developers in his previous life, especially Japanese developers like Square Enix, who would simply slap on some HD textures and dare to sell it for one or two hundred Yuan, claiming it was 'original flavor'—which was exactly the same as ten or twenty years ago, so of course it was 'original flavor'—the game developers in this Parallel World were much more conscientious with their remasters. The graphics improvement, naturally, goes without saying.
Regarding the controls, they were fully adapted to the Switch platform, and some even included new storylines and content.
Regardless of quality, the sincerity was certainly there. Of course, this was also related to Nebula Games' relatively strict review system.
For example, in his previous life, many people thought the Atari crash was caused by Atari ET, but that was just a trigger. The real reason was the abundance of trash games on the Atari platform.
Therefore, whether it's the Nebula Games Platform on PC or the Switch, Nebula Games is quite meticulous about game reviews.
Beyond games.
The enthusiasm for the Switch overseas has temporarily slowed down slightly.
Nebula Games has not continued to announce Switch sales to the public.
However, many third-party statistical companies have been paying attention.
After all, these data analysis companies have their own information channels, and it's not difficult for them to gather statistics if they put their minds to it.
The Switch's global sales reached 7.2 million units.
While the growth rate was not as rapid as when it first launched, it maintained a very healthy curve.
The industry continued to discuss this.
“The Switch’s global cumulative sales seem to have surpassed 7 million units!”
“Yeah, and some of the third-party independent game developers who launched games on it are selling quite well.”
“It’s definitely a huge success, but sales are slowing now, mainly because there are too few games.”
“Few? Not really, counting the games in the membership library, there are already sixty or seventy games from both first-party and third-party developers on the Switch.”
“They’re all small independent games and ported games; they don’t have much purchasing power. Besides Super Mario Odyssey and Animal Crossing, other games aren’t very appealing.”
“That’s true, but there’s nothing that can be done, given the Switch’s hardware capabilities.”
“But didn’t Chen Xu say he was going to make an open-world game?”
“I doubt it, the hardware is too weak.”
“I don’t think so. Since Chen Xu dared to make such a statement, he must have a plan.”
“But TengHua and NetDragon’s open-world blockbusters are also scheduled for the second half of the year!”
“There’s no major conflict. According to Chen Xu, this is an exclusive game for the Switch platform, while theirs are for VR. What does it matter if the platforms are different?”
“That’s also true.”
Amidst the industry's heated discussions, time quickly moved into September.
During this period, major game developers also began their respective promotional campaigns for their games.
All of them were open-world themed titles.
Open-world—at this point, the term was no longer new.
After Red Dead Redemption, it was rare for game developers not to have made an open-world game.
Instantly, players were caught between excitement and dilemma.
Excited by the sheer number of blockbusters to choose from, they were conflicted because they didn’t know which one to buy, as their wallets weren’t bottomless.
However, what surprised many was that at this crucial moment, Chen Xu also got involved.
On the official Weibo account, Chen Xu posted a new message:
'The Switch exclusive open-world game I promised you is making very exciting development progress!'
A simple sentence.
Well, of course, it wasn't just a sentence.
Because it was accompanied by a piece of concept art.
On a rock, a blond youth in a blue jacket stood gazing into the distance. In his hands, he held a sword and shield, with a bow and quiver strapped to his back.
In the distance, a volcano spewed thick smoke, and clouds obscured the setting sun behind the mountains, yet the light that broke through was still dazzling.
Forests, mountains, rivers, and in that far-off direction.
A castle enveloped in a dark red aura stood majestically.
On the right side was the game's title: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
After seeing it, all the players were excited and surprised.
New game!? An open-world game for the Switch platform, really?
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild?
Why does that name sound a bit like chuuni fantasy?
And it’s a cartoon rendering art style?
Immediately, players began to discuss.
“So the art style for the new game is like this? Like cartoon characters?”
“Chen Xu probably had no choice, given the Switch’s hardware capabilities.”
“What are you guys talking about? I think it looks great! It looks fantastic, a bit like a watercolor painting.”
“But how can you make an open world with this art style? Like Super Mario Odyssey? I still don’t get it.”
“If you understood it, you wouldn’t be playing games here. But from the concept art, this game definitely has a combat system.”
“Stop guessing, let’s wait until the game comes out. After all, Chen Xu has never disappointed anyone.”
“Don’t say that, Mr. Chen said the game’s development progress is very exciting, didn’t he? The game should be coming out soon, so we’ll know once we see the finished product, right?”
“So the protagonist’s name is Zelda? That name sounds a bit strange.”
Everyone discussed animatedly, eventually drawing a few conclusions.
The first was that this game should not be a puzzle-solving game like Super Mario Odyssey; it definitely had combat elements. Otherwise, what would be the point of the sword and shield and bow and arrow?
The second was that the game adopted a cartoon rendering art style. Of course, the actual effect was still unknown, but from the concept art, it didn't look that bad.
The third point was that the protagonist's name was Zelda. After all, the game's title was The Legend of Zelda. The entire story should revolve around how the game's protagonist, Zelda, became a legend. Also, considering the cartoon-style art, the game's story shouldn't be too heavy.
And the fourth, most crucial point, was that the game's development progress was very exciting, meaning they might be able to play it very soon.
(End of Chapter)
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