The Legend of Zelda turned 35 on Sunday, February 21, but Nintendo let the birthday pass without making much noise. If you are a fan of the publisher’s great series of adventures, you may find the silence distressing. But if you look at birthday as marketing, Nintendo’s decisions make more sense.
When a company celebrates a birthday, it is with the aim of selling more products. And the way that Nintendo will maximize its return on these marketing efforts is by spreading them out and letting them breathe.
The first consideration when it comes to Zelda’s birthday is Mario. Nintendo’s 35th anniversary celebration for Super Mario is still going on. Nintendo is unlikely to want Zelda and Mario’s celebrations to overlap. I would get more out of each if I put some separation between the two events.
The company is ending Mario’s birthday on March 31.
In addition to Mario, Nintendo is also concerned with getting the most out of every new Zelda product going forward.
Skyward Sword is the first step on Zelda’s 35th birthday journey
Even if Nintendo starts throwing party balloons and a birthday cake for Zelda, don’t expect everything to happen at once. This is still marketing. And Nintendo will want to position The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD up front.
This is one of the biggest reasons why Nintendo didn’t talk about another Zelda besides Skyward Sword HD at its latest Direct video event. The company does not want other Zelda games to be distracted from its attempts to bring Skyward Sword back.
Sure, it could have released Wind Waker and Twilight Princess at the same time, but the company wants Zelda fans all focused on Skyward Sword.
So instead of creating a situation where other Zelda releases on the Switch cannibalize sales that could have gone to Skyward Sword, Nintendo will create a steady release cadence to celebrate the series. This will start with Skyward Sword HD in July, but we should hear about what will come shortly after that this summer.
Again, the keyword here is marketing. Nintendo wants to create a story for Zelda fans that will lead them to spend as much money as possible. This starts with Skyward Sword HD in July, continues with the likely versions of Wind Waker / Twilight Princess HD, and then it can finally culminate with the release of Breath of the Wild 2.
The idea is to create important moments that Zelda fans will not want to miss. And to participate in the first stage of the festivities, all you have to do is spend $ 60 for a Wii remaster.
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