According to the 2022 Game Awards, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is the most anticipated game of this year, and that seems like a pretty accurate prediction. While Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Hogwarts Legacy, and Resident Evil 4 Remake are all highly anticipated releases as well, nothing can quite match the hype currently surrounding Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to one of the greatest games of all time. But despite all the hype, Nintendo is actually giving fans very little to go on, and that's not the best move.
Over the last few years, Nintendo has fallen into a pattern with its marketing for its big first-party releases. Rather than deliver a steady stream of trailers, Nintendo often chooses to let the brand recognition simply speak for itself, and to no surprise that actually works. But this approach to marketing isn't great for the consumer, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is slipping into some of the same patterns as Pokemon: Scarlet and Violet.
Fans Still Haven't Seen Much From The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was first revealed in 2019, back when it was simply called "the sequel to Breath of the Wild." Since that initial reveal, Nintendo has released three trailers, all of which are short, and all of which give practically nothing away. The second trailer, released years later in 2021, showed fans Link's new robotic arm along with a few of its new powers, such as phasing through walls and seemingly reversing time. This is also where fans got their first look at the game's probable focus on verticality with its floating islands. The third trailer was simply a release date update, and the most recent trailer acted primarily as a name reveal.
On the whole, for a game that was first announced and shown almost four years ago, fans haven't seen a lot from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It seems as though Zelda is just the next in a long line of recent Nintendo first-party games to receive very little marketing before release. While this has been happening for quite some time now, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the latest examples of this worrisome trend.
Before Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's release last November, very little was revealed about the game, at least up until the final moments. For months after the games' initial announcement, fans learned nothing about the game, with just a brief teaser confirming the three new starter Pokemon. Nintendo didn't show another meaningful trailer until June, four months after its announcement. Nintendo would then go silent again for a few months, saving the vast majority of information such as region confirmation and new Pokemon forms until the very last moment, just a month or so before release. Fans still had no idea how Pokemon Scarlet and Violet's co-op mode would even work before release day.
Right now, it seems as though Nintendo knows that its monumentally high level of brand recognition can secure sales on its own. In-depth gameplay details about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet don't need to be given when Nintendo already knows that fans are going to get it anyway. And it seems as though it's the same case with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Nintendo knows that fans will buy this outright, so it isn't in any rush to show off any new gameplay or story details. While some fans are happy with the secrecy surrounding Tears of the Kingdom, not wanting to be spoiled on the game, other fans see this lack of marketing as a confusing and even worrying sign, and it's in Nintendo's best interest to change that.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to release on May 12, 2023, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.