Will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Come to Wii U?
No. Breath of the Wild‘s hotly anticipated sequel will not see release on Wii U. As confirmed directly by legendary Nintendo producer Eiji Aonuma, Tears of the Kingdom will land exclusively on Nintendo Switch when it launches Spring 2023. Let‘s dive deep on why Nintendo bid farewell to Wii U support and what this means for Zelda fans.
Why Nintendo Dropped Wii U for Breath of the Wild 2
The writing was on the wall once 2017‘s landmark open world adventure passed the Wii U torch to Switch as Nintendo‘s prime home console. Here‘s the tea on a legacy system losing steam.
Switch Demolished Wii U on Power and Sales
Make no mistake, Breath of the Wild remains a stunning technical showpiece despite originating on lackluster Wii U hardware. Still, consider the night and day leap offered by Switch as a portable home hybrid system:
| Spec | Nintendo Switch | Wii U |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p docked | 720p |
| Processing | Nvidia custom Tegra processor | IBM PowerPC based multi-chip |
| RAM | 4 GB | 2 GB |
| Storage | 32GB (expandable) | 32GB internal |
With vastly superior rendering, loading times, and flexibility for ambitious open worlds, Switch simply offered too much raw power to pass up for Zelda‘s future. And that‘s before we get into sales. Switch smashed all records to drive the total Wii U install base in months. Here‘s lifetime global unit sales to date:
- Nintendo Switch: 120 million+
- Nintendo Wii U: 13.5 million
For a passionate Nomura or Miyamoto crafting the next mainline Zelda, the choice of platform became obvious.
Company Investments and Development Cycles
With Breath of the Wild 2 development spanning over 5 years en route to 2023 launch, why would Nintendo divert resources to an antiquated console lacking Switch‘s sales potential? Wii U hardware production and developer tools or compilers receive literally $0 investment compared to the profit-driving juggernaut of Switch. Limited engineering man hours logically focus forward.
Virtual Console and Remasters Solved Backwards Compatibility
Nintendo added HD upgrades of Wind Waker and Twilight Princess to the Wii U library. For diehard fans who missed Skyward Sword, an enhanced Switch version also arrived last year. Together with the backwards compatible Virtual Console for legacy Nintendo titles, Wii U offered plenty of access to Zelda classics without demanding new ports.
What The Wii U Cutoff Means for Tears of the Kingdom
While Wii U nostalgia persists among Nintendo faithful, the sun has undoubtedly set to make way for the Switch era. Still, will years spent originally building Breath of the Wild on Wii U leave a lasting impact on the sequel? Let‘s parse the possibilities.
Could Ambition Outpace Switch Hardware?
With the team speaking publicly about pushing Switch "to its limits", might leftover ideas trimmed from Wii U Breath of the Wild resurface for Tears of the Kingdom? The precursor initially targeted Wii U GamePad functionality before adopting a Switch mold. As assets now get retooled for advanced Switch specs enabling bigger worlds, could the back catalog of concepts cut too deep for Wii U finally flourish? We can but hope!
A Living Graphic Novel Art Style Beyond Generations
Wind Waker first demonstrated how Zelda‘s painterly storybook aesthetic could render fixed resolutions irrelevant. Breath of the Wild doubled down via a living painting brought to life in every tree branch or blade ofgrass. By embracing an interactive storybook come to life, Nintendo hit on a timeless mindfulness over horsepower – whether running 30 fps at 720p or upscaled 4K. Tears of the Kingdom seems set to further transcend tech specs towards pure immersion.
Payoff From an Extra Year Delayed to 2023
When Breath of the Wild 2 got pushed into 2023, early speculation suggested struggles to finalize such an ambitious open world epic even for Switch. But series producer Eiji Aonuma insists the extra 12 months means further polish, optimizations, and "something very special". Could this evoke more remnants of too-demanding-for-Wii U ideas reworked from scratch? The plot takes fascinating twists…
Stay tuned as this saga continues for any Breath of the Wild nostalgia carrying over or easter eggs tucked within tears yet to be shed!
