 Breath of the Wild had a long and arduous road to release this year on Nintendo Switch and Wii U, but there was a time before we even knew what the game was called when the game was intended to come out in 2015. You see, Breath of the Wild, or as it was titled back then, The Legend of Zelda for Wii U was unveiled in 2014 with Eiji Ayanomo snapping the game into existence. In hindsight, this may have been some foreshadowing, given that the signifying tone for the Nintendo Switch clicking is the sound of a snap. When showed off again at the Game Awards in winter of 2014, Eiji Ayanomo emphatically stated the game would arrive in 2015. We know this didn't happen, as it was officially delayed months later. However, what would have happened if it did release on time in 2015? This is our What If series, where we look back at gaming history and wonder what if something had happened differently. This series explores what could have made the new scenario possible, while showing the path to what actually occurred. As it's a What If situation, all the results we conclude are mere possibilities based on our own humble opinion. What if scenarios means it never happened, so we can only make our best guess? So what does happen if Breath of the Wild released in 2015 exclusively on Wii U as planned? Well, probably a lot. The primary reason the game was delayed in 2015 was detailed by Eiji Ayanomo last year at E3. Here's what he said. We have these milestones during development. I play the game, then give staff my comments, my advice on what direction they should be heading in. At one of the milestones, the game was fantastic. There were so many great elements, but at the next milestone, that was all gone. I made a lot of comments about what they needed to add, but I never told them what I thought was good about the game at that milestone. So they added stuff that I'd recommend, but they also added some other elements they thought would work well, and that ended up breaking all the good parts of the previous build. I learned that when it's good, I have to say so. So if I'd managed that, well, maybe development wouldn't have extended quite so much. So it's his bad, but in this scenario where that didn't happen and the game did release on time, it's interesting thinking about what this would mean. In my mind, Breath of the Wild would have largely still been considered a great game, and there wouldn't be a lot of changes to what the game is today. It may have less coroxides, less shrines, and maybe even a slightly smaller map, but roughly six months into 2016, the game was essentially done, with the final delay being so it could be a Switch launch title. So if that key mistake wasn't made, and the game was done in 2015, I don't think Breath of the Wild, as we know it today, would be significantly different, except for one key aspect, the gamepad. In 2014, we saw map icons and item management on the screen, and we know the Sheikah Slate in-game was actually built to work with the gamepad directly. Essentially, the gamepad was the Sheikah Slate. This entire concept, and the ideas around it, would not have been scrapped if the title was still Wii U exclusive. Now are these gamepad features groundbreaking and game changing? Probably not. Undoubtedly, it would have been the true form of the game, as originally envisioned. This would also mean that Wii U would not stand today as, well, except for the virtual boy, Nintendo's only home console to not have a quote unquote exclusive Zelda game, as in a game that originally only existed on that platform. For Wii U, this would have likely meant an increase in sales. Would it be the Wii U savior? No. By late 2015, that boat had long sailed. But it would and could have easily drummed up a couple extra million in sales, meaning the Wii U could have topped out at 15 million, or 16 million, rather than the 13 million it ultimately ended up at. So yes, it would have helped, but it probably would not change anything about the switch arriving, and I would bet the game would still end up being ported to the switch eventually. However, the release in 2015 would have affected the switch today. I think the switch would still have been pushed to March, but it probably would have launched with Super Mario Odyssey instead. When they announced Super Mario Odyssey, it certainly sounded as if the game was mostly complete, and with Zelda having already been on Wii U, releasing Breath of the Wild at launch would not have driven sales in the same way it is today. Zelda makes Odyssey left to pick up that mantle, and by and large, I don't know that switch sales would have been adversely affected as much as one might think to this point, though it would leave a noticeable gap for major holiday release. Are you really going to make that Breath of the Wild as a port? Would Nintendo have then just bet the farm on Splatoon 2, leaving their holidays instead? There would certainly be a trickle down effect here that could have hurt the first year lineup in a pretty significant way. I've always said that delaying Breath of the Wild for Switch was an extremely sound and correct business decision that has clearly worked in Nintendo's favor. But in this scenario, Nintendo never broke their 2015 promise in the first place, which yes, did upset some Zelda fans back then. Even hurt some still today, believe it or not. Of course, this is all just my humble opinion. As always, I love having a conversation, and I truly mean that. In this what if situation, I've said my piece, but I want to know your side of the story. Do you think more radical changes would exist in Breath of the Wild? Do you think it would have had a greater impact on Wii U than I do? Do you think the Switch would be what it is today without Zelda at launch as a first time ever released game? Let me know down in the comments below. And as always, I am Nathaniel Rumpeljantz from Nintendo Prime. If you liked this video, you know what to do. If you disliked this video, hit that dislike button. Subscribe for more. And again, if you already subscribed, thank you so much for your support. You truly make this channel matter. And I am happy to say that this upcoming week, the podcast is returning. If you would like to see that podcast become more regular or get the access to that podcast a day early. You can go support us over on Patreon.com slash Nintendo Prime. 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