Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess European Release Date Speculation.

[Mendel]

So the American release of the Legend of Zelda: Twilight princess has been recently delayed to coincide with the release of the new Revolution gaming system. Nintendo.com confirms release date as 2006 and there have been confirmations of it actually being released next november... in USA.

Meanwhile, Finnish site of Nintendo still has the release as TBA.

European release date of Revolution will most likely slip to 2007 as Nintendo concentrates its efforts on to the American Holiday season. It would make sense to delay the european release of Twilight Princess in a similar fashion. It would probably increase sales of the game noticeably. If the new Zelda game was released here prior to the new Revolution system, it would be kind of hard to market the Revolution Controller Compatibility of the game. Localization is also a factor.

Therefore, I am getting stronger and stronger hunch and fear that the European release of Twilight Princess for Gamecube will not happen during 2006, rather I'd suspect the earliest possible time of introduction would be March 2007. (Nobody releases big games in February, let alone late December/January)

This would be analoguous to the release schedule of Metroid Prime, for example:
USA: Nov 18, 2002
Europe: March 21st 2003

Any thoughts?

 

[pipo]

Not sure. First of all I would be very surprised if localization turns out to be an issue for this game. It was already 'done' last year.

I agree they will probably release it with Revolution though, so the key question is: will we see the machine this year?

I'd guess Revolution is 'easy' to manufacture, so I'm still hoping for a Euro release this year.

I do feel it's not as nescecary for Nintendo as it is for Sony to do a Euro launch this year though. Let's hope they don't feel the same way.

 

[Mendel]

I agree they will probably release it with Revolution though, so the key question is: will we see the machine this year?

I really just can't see that happening. They aren't even releasing in Japan this time. Europe seems to be seen as "sonyland" to Nintendo. They never really even tried properly here after the Snes

I'll quote Scott Davey at Elite Bastards:

For the first time ever, a Nintendo console won’t launch in Japan. The Revolution will launch in North America by November of this year. Although the Japanese might be a little miffed, it is a wise business decision. The holidays open a huge buying window in the U.S. (which is the lion’s share of the world console market) but that window closes shortly after the holidays. On the other hand Nintendo should be able to launch anytime in Japan and move units comfortably. Europe has always been lower on the launch docket for reasons I may never understand, other than the added difficulty of localization. At any rate, launching in one territory first should allow Nintendo to offer adequate supply, unlike the Xbox 360 in 2005 and likely the PS3 this year.

(offtopic) Pipo, are you by any chance Finnish? (if not, guess what your name means in Finnish) (/offtopic)

 

[pipo]

They aren't even releasing in Japan this time.

That's the first time I've read this. Isn't it pure speculation? I can't recall an interview where this was stated.

(offtopic) Pipo, are you by any chance Finnish? (if not, guess what your name means in Finnish) (/offtopic)

No and I haven't got a clue. All I know is he was a famous Dutch clown.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

No and I haven't got a clue. All I know is he was a famous Dutch clown.

Here's one for you sir

http://www.tkukoulu.fi/~tiikkala/kansainvaliset_kasityot/pipo.jpg

 

[pipo]

Cheers.

Back on topic - the only thing I could find is this:

Speaking to Spanish website MeriStation this time, Merrick said: "What we can guarantee is that the Revolution will be sent in the same four-month period anywhere in the world."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61492

 

[Mendel]

That's the first time I've read this. Isn't it pure speculation? I can't recall an interview where this was stated.

I don't know what sources Scott Davey had, other than that the only thing that I can quite comfortably state is that there's no way Nintendo will miss American Holiday season.

some quotes of interviews:

October 31, 2005, http://games.techwhack.com/239/311026-nintendo-planning-a-global-release-for-nintendo-revolution/
Satoru Iwata
"I can only say that it’s coming out during 2006, but it will be after the current fiscal year. We hope to make it a simultaneous worldwide release as much as it’s possible."

Another Iwata interview later on, january 2006

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6142572.html

"We can't disclose the Revolution's release period yet, but we have no plans to miss out on the year-end sales battle. As for North America, we need to release it by Thanksgiving, or otherwise we won't receive support from the retail industry. So the Revolution will be released prior to that period."

So in fact those interviews would lean me again towards slight optimism. They want to release this year globally...But at the same time, its apparent they are willing to sacrifice everything else in order to make a successful North American release.

Go figure.

 

[Mendel]

Cheers.

Back on topic - the only thing I could find is this:

Speaking to Spanish website MeriStation this time, Merrick said: "What we can guarantee is that the Revolution will be sent in the same four-month period anywhere in the world."

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=61492

Worryingly, that still makes march 2007 a real possibility.

 

[pipo]

I don't know what sources Scott Davey had, other than that the only thing that I can quite comfortably state is that there's no way Nintendo will miss American Holiday season.

This I know, I was wondering about the 'Japan not first' statement. Never seen that one before.

Worryingly, that still makes march 2007 a real possibility.

Indeed.

Thanksgiving for the US, X-mas for Japan, March for Europe. Not unlikely...

Oh well, it's back to Too Human for the time being then.

Edit - The other possible case could be: Summer - Japan, Thanksgiving - US, X-mas - Europe. What's the latest news on the devkits?

 

[pc999]

I think it would be wise put Zelda 1-3months before the Rev it would increase the hype around Nintendo a make even more people wanting to try it.

I'll quote Scott Davey at Elite Bastards:

Just to note that if the Rev is like it is rumured it should be able to have many more units out in a much smaler timeframe (much more chips per wafer, transport much more in the same space...).

Unless the controler/secrets production lags...