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Forums - Nintendo - How likely is Zelda U the last big Nintendo title for Wii U?

t3mporary_126 on 04 February 2015
FloatingWaffles said:
t3mporary_126 said:

One of the biggest mistake Nintendo made this generation was the software drought at the very start of Wii U's (and even 3DS) life. By delaying huge games such as Mario Galaxy 3, Metroid Prime 4, and Fire Emblem x Shin Megami that are in development now, Nintendo can release them for their next gen home console within its first year. Additionally, history has shown that Nintendo releases very few games for their home consoles towards the end of their life. One simply has to look at what Nintendo released in 2011-2012 for the Wii and 2005-2006 for the GameCube. In the Wii U's case disappointing sales could lead to fewer or even no AAA titles at the end of its remaining two years. That brings us back to this thread's question. How likely is Zelda U the last AAA title for Wii U?


None of those were ever even confirmed in the first place.


It's all hypothetical but I'll add the disclaimer.



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DerpSandwich on 04 February 2015

There's no way they would stop making big games for the system after three years. Even if we don't get a lot these days, we'll definitely get them for a few more years. They're not going to come out with their new console as soon as everyone seems to think.



Currently playing:

Bloodbath Paddy Wagon Ultra 9

oniyide on 04 February 2015

AAA? yeah. Unless someone thinks Ninty is putting something out after that fits that category. Hell wasnt Skyward Sword the last AAA game for Wii?



the_dengle on 04 February 2015
pokoko said:

In the real meaning of the word, main-line Zelda games are unquestionably AAA.  It does not refer to budget but rather to sales expectations.  The "AAA = big budget" is something the gaming community made up on its own because they didn't understand the usage inside the industry.  Now, in public perception, it's come to mean "big budget", which is kind of a shame.  When I managed and did the ordering for a video store, I would get pre-order catelogs which all used this ranking system.  It's a retail tool to help understand what will yield a solid ROI.  Something like Just Dance, for instance, is a strong AAA, and I often saw Nintendo DS titles with that classification.

Even if we use the internet gaming forum definition, I'm quite sure it would still apply.  It's not like Nintendo pays in peanuts.  Zelda has been in development for a long time, and time directly equates to money.  It's open-world-ish, with lots of art assets and obviously a lot of technical man-hours.  It's going to be fairly expensive.

On topic, assuming the OP is refering to budget, I think there is a good chance Nintendo is no longer green-lighting larger projects for the Wii U.  Anything not already in full development will probably be suspended or possibly moved to the next console, assuming they're at a point where they can even begin software work.  It would be the most prudent course to take.

Development time is only one factor. The other is the size of the development team. Most of Nintendo's dev teams are around or fewer than 100 people -- relatively small these days, it seems.

Even if we use your definition of AAA as sales expectation, I don't see why Zelda would count. What are the sales expectations for this game? Surely not greater than Mario Kart 8 (that one would be AAA in this case). I would think 1-3 million is the AA range, with games like Fire Emblem and Pikmin falling there. Besides, sales expectations and budget are bound together -- the greater the publisher's expectations, the greater the budget is likely to be. Nintendo doesn't "expect" most of their games to sell more than a couple million, which is why they're able to keep their budgets in check.

I have to say, the OP's question doesn't make a lot of sense in the context of the definition of AAA you've provided. At this rate nobody in their right mind would expect any Wii U game released in 2016 or later to sell "AAA" numbers, no matter what it is. And while I'm sure Nintendo is still greenlighting new games for Wii U, they're probably mostly short-term projects. A standard development time starting now would mean a release in 2018. Even the Wii barely had any new releases 6 years after its launch.



Frogger on 04 February 2015

3D World is NOT AAA. It's AA like Bayonetta. And every game you have listed as AA is A. That's a really warped list you have there.



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TheGoldenBoy on 04 February 2015

We'll find out at E3 most likely.



ktay95 on 04 February 2015

Lol, if it was Nintendo went well below my terribley low expectations of them. This console doesnt even deserve 10m sales -_-



t3mporary_126 on 04 February 2015
spemanig said:
3D World is NOT AAA. It's AA like Bayonetta. And every game you have listed as AA is A. That's a really warped list you have there.


3D World had the biggest development staff for Mario in history. In Nintendo standards, that should be AAA. It's also one of Nintendo's core franchise that suppose to sell systems. The rest I can agree with you because I was simplly filling in holes for AA and A there. 



Frogger on 04 February 2015
t3mporary_126 said:

3D World had the biggest Mario staff in history. In Nintendo standards, that should be AAA. The rest I can agree with you because I was simplly filling in holes for AA and A there. 


If 1000 people made Shovel Knight, it would still be Shovel Knight.



t3mporary_126 on 04 February 2015
spemanig said:
t3mporary_126 said:

3D World had the biggest Mario staff in history. In Nintendo standards, that should be AAA. The rest I can agree with you because I was simplly filling in holes for AA and A there. 


If 1000 people made Shovel Knight, it would still be Shovel Knight.


But 3D world is suppose to sell systems and is a sequel to one of Nintendo's core franchises (3D Mario games). Forgot to add that earlier in my posts. I'm taking account of development staff, dev cycle, and sale expectation.