This could be the first indication that the new Nintendo console is on the way...
Released in March 2017 on Nintendo Switch to universal acclaim - named one of the greatest video games of all time, and also counted as one of the best-selling video games of all time - The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a phenomenal achievement, and fans have been waiting patiently for the sequel to arrive.
Just two weeks ago, it was confirmed that the 2022 release date for the sequel has been scuppered, with series producer Eiji Aonuma sharing an update on the game's progress on YouTube:
Clip via Nintendo
As if that wasn't disappointing enough, there are now reports arriving that Breath of the Wild 2 might actually be too big a game to fit on the Nintendo Switch.
Richard Leadbetter, John Linneman, and Alex Battaglia from Digital Foundry dissected the most recent footage from the sequel, and suggested that the finished game might be too much for current Nintendo Switch hardware to handle.
Linneman stated that: "This trailer was interesting because the image quality seemed quite good, I think. I was a little bit surprised by how sharp and clear this looked compared to the original in general."
Battaglia responded: "It could be the next Switch, it could be just that they rendered out a trailer on higher resolution and higher settings."
The guys did point out that Nintendo tend not to show trailers that might misrepresent the finished product, plus there have been rumours of a Nintendo Switch Pro floating around since mid-2021, although they have ultimately proved to be unsubstantiated at the moment (mostly because Nintendo is usually very good at keeping secrets).
The first Breath Of The Wild game served as both a swan song for the Nintendo Wii and the killer launch title for the Nintendo Switch, so with the release date delay to 2023, the sequel could prove to be a similar cross-generational release next year, with a slightly-watered-down version released for the original Switch, and the more impressive version made available for the Switch Pro.
Obviously this is all speculation right now, so watch this space...
