Nintendo Gives Players Unprecedented Freedom of Adventure in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
E3 Also Marks the First Live Gameplay of Pokémon Sun
and Pokémon Moon
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild represents the next great
boundary-breaking adventure from Nintendo. The game marks a new pinnacle
for the franchise, and today Nintendo gave the world its first look at
the immense, living and breathing world of the Wii
U version of the game at the E3 video game trade show in Los
Angeles. The game challenges and surprises players at every turn, while
giving them incredible freedom to explore the massive world found in
this open-air adventure.
“The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild breaks boundaries for
the franchise and for games as a whole,” said Nintendo of America
President and COO Reggie Fils-Aime. “Where you go, how you get there,
the order in which you do it, and the items, weapons and approaches used
to solve puzzles and defeat enemies are all up to you.”
Today Nintendo gave fans just a taste of how The Legend of Zelda:
Breath of the Wild takes the franchise to new heights. Nintendo’s
booth at E3 immerses attendees in the world of the game. As E3 attendees
investigate Hyrule, they can explore the game any way they want because
the world is so vast and players are not required to take a
pre-determined path. This sense of freedom and vastness will truly come
alive in the final game when the experience isn’t limited by the
restrictions of a show floor demo.
During a Nintendo Treehouse: Live demo, Nintendo showed that heroic Link
needs to be resourceful as he explores his environment. It’s important
for players to become familiar with their surroundings so they can find
weapons or collect them from defeated enemies. Food helps Link sustain
his hearts and can give him a temporary boost or ability that will
sustain him.
The game breaks with some conventions from the series. For example, many
of the minor enemies are no longer scattered randomly around the world,
as many now live together in colonies. Link can climb towers and
massive structures to get a bearing on his surroundings. He can even
reach the top of mountains – any mountain he can see, he can climb. He
can paraglide to lower areas or even use his shield to slide down a
mountain. Link will travel across fields, through forests and to
mountain peaks.
The game’s wild world surrounds Link, and he must pay attention to
changes in climate, as a shift in weather or temperature can affect the
environment and his ability to survive in it. A sudden downpour might
douse a roaring campfire or a lightning storm might be attracted to
Link’s metallic weapons. Players might need to bundle up with warmer
clothes or change into something better suited to the desert heat.
More than 100 Shrines of Trials dot the landscape, waiting for players
to discover and explore them in any order they want. As players work
their way through the traps and puzzles inside, they’ll earn special
items and other rewards that will help them on their adventure. Puzzles
in the game often have multiple answers, and secrets can be found
everywhere. Exploration and discovery are a huge part of the fun.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is scheduled to launch
simultaneously for both the Wii U console and Nintendo’s next system,
code-named NX, in 2017. The game also includes compatibility with
amiibo, which are sold separately. Nintendo announced a new series of
amiibo figures specific to the game that includes Link with a bow
(“Archer”), Link on horseback (“Rider”), and a “Guardian” that is the
first amiibo with flexible parts. The existing Wolf Link amiibo works
with the game as well: When players tap a Wolf Link amiibo to the Wii U
GamePad controller, Wolf Link will attack enemies on his own and help
players to hunt. He has three hearts, unless players carry over save
data from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD. Wolf Link
disappears when his hearts run out. Details can be found at http://e3.nintendo.com/amiibo/.
While The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is clearly the star
of Nintendo’s presence at E3, Nintendo Treehouse: Live also gave Pokémon
fans something to go wild about this morning: the world premiere of live
gameplay from Pokémon
Sun and Pokémon
Moon, the seventh, and newest, era of the core Pokémon series.
The games*, made for the Nintendo
3DS family of systems, include new Pokémon, a new Pokédex, a new
region and a new battle format to enhance the Pokémon experience in
almost every way.
In the Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon games, players embark
on a new adventure as a Pokémon Trainer. They catch, battle and trade
new Pokémon characters on the tropical islands of the Alola Region,
which is comprised of four islands rich in natural beauty and an
artificial island.
Players can choose from one of three new Partner Pokémon (Rowlet, Litten
and Popplio) and discover the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon
(Solgaleo and Lunala).
Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon launch Nov. 18. More
information on the games can be found at Pokemon.com/SunMoon,
and a video showing today’s reveal can be found at YouTube.com/Pokemon.
Anyone who wants to keep tabs on Nintendo’s activities at E3 from afar
can keep an eye on Nintendo Treehouse: Live at http://e3.nintendo.com,
or on Nintendo’s YouTube
or Twitch
channels. The remainder of today’s show will be dedicated to The
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The final day of Nintendo
Treehouse: Live begins at 10 a.m. PT on Wednesday, June 15, and will
primarily offer a showcase of previously announced Wii U and Nintendo
3DS games, including Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE (June 24), Monster
Hunter Generations from Capcom (July 15), Paper Mario: Color
Splash (Oct. 7) and Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten
Past (2016). Additionally, viewers will get their first look at a
new Mario Party game for Nintendo 3DS that includes additions and
changes to make it much more fast-paced and portable-friendly – players
no longer have to wait for their turn, as everyone moves at once. Mario
Party Star Rush launches Nov. 4.
Also on Nov. 4, Nintendo will launch new amiibo in the Super Mario
series. The collection will feature the debut of amiibo figures for
Daisy, Waluigi and Boo – and the Boo amiibo figure glows in the dark!
The collection also introduces new poses for Wario, Rosalina, Donkey
Kong and Diddy Kong.
As a special treat for fans, Nintendo eShop is offering discounts of up
to 40 percent for some of its most popular games between 11 a.m. PT on
June 14 and 8:59 a.m. PT on June 21. Even better, My Nintendo members
who have signed in, linked their Nintendo Network IDs and visited
Nintendo eShop at least once before purchase get an extra 10 percent off
the already-discounted price on select titles. Discounts have been
applied to dozens of games, including multiple games in The Legend of
Zelda and Pokémon series, as well as a number of Virtual
Console games. For a full list of games, more information about the sale
and the ability to purchase the games directly from the website, please
visit http://e3.nintendo.com/sale.
My Nintendo members will find some new website missions related to The
Legend of Zelda at https://my.nintendo.com/missions.
For a limited time, My Nintendo members who sign in are challenged to
explore Nintendo’s E3 website to find items that will earn them My
Nintendo points.
To see details about all of Nintendo’s activities at E3, visit http://e3.nintendo.com.
Remember that Wii U and Nintendo 3DS feature parental controls that let
adults manage the content their children can access. For more
information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wiiu
or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.
*Games in 2D. Some areas also playable in 3D.
About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of
interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan,
manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii U™
and Wii™ home consoles, and Nintendo 3DS™ and
Nintendo DS™ families of portable systems. Since 1983, when
it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has
sold more than 4.4 billion video games and more than 693 million
hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii U,
Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL, as well as the Game Boy™,
Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi
XL™, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™, Nintendo
GameCube™ and Wii systems. It has also created industry icons
that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™,
Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and
Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America
Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s
operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about
Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.
Note to editors: Nintendo press materials are available at http://press.nintendo.com,
a password-protected site. To obtain a login, please register on the
site.
About Pokémon
The Pokémon Company International, a subsidiary of The Pokémon Company
in Japan, manages the property outside of Asia and is responsible for
brand management, licensing, marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game,
the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon
website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the
most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world. For more
information, visit www.pokemon.com.
Contacts
GOLIN
Rich George, 415-318-4342
rgeorge@golin.com
or
Gretchen
Higgins, 212-373-6014
ghiggins@golin.com
