Nintendo is done with the Wii U after 'The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild'

By Brad Jones January 19, 2017

1132069 autosave v1 2 zeldafeature — Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is poised to be the essential pick for gamers planning to buy a Nintendo Switch on launch day. The game is also set to be released for the Wii U — and, in fact, it will be the system’s final piece of first-party software.

Breath of the Wild was first announced as a Wii U exclusive in January 2013, just a couple of months after the console was released. More than three years later, in April 2016, Nintendo confirmed that the game would be released simultaneously for the Wii U and its successor, the Switch.

This isn’t the first time that Nintendo has implemented this strategy with a new Zelda game. In 2006, Twilight Princess launched for the GameCube as well as the Wii — and it turned out to be Nintendo’s final first-party game released for the GameCube.

Nintendo of America COO Reggie Fils-Aimé confirmed that Breath of the Wild was the Wii U’s final first-party title in an interview conducted after the Switch event that took place January 13. “From a first-party standpoint, there’s no new development coming after the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild,” he told Polygon. “We really are at the end of life for Wii U.”

This news shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, given the middling performance of the Wii U over its life span. The console struggled to compete with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4, and from here on out, Nintendo will be preoccupied with ensuring that the Switch doesn’t suffer a similar fate.

There is some good news for anyone still using their Wii U on a regular basis. Fils-Aime acknowledged that many owners are still playing titles like Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon, and stated that online functionality isn’t going to be shut down just yet.

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Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…

Gaming

Nintendo’s next console may feature DLSS and ray-tracing support

Mario high-fives Nintendo Live guests.

New reports affirm the rumors that Nintendo has started to show its next-generation console -- referred to colloquially by fans as Nintendo Switch 2 -- behind closed doors at a recent video game industry expo. It reportedly featured tech demos highlighting features like Nvidia DLSS support and ray tracing.
Gamescom 2023 was held in Cologne, Germany, between August 23 and August 27. Nintendo attended the European game industry event, and shortly thereafter, rumors emerged that Nintendo had shown its next console behind closed doors. Now, new reports from Eurogamer and VGC are corroborating these claims.
Specifically, both sources say that Nintendo showed tech demos for its next game console in private during meetings with some other game developers at Gamescom. Both sources confirmed that an upgraded version of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was shown off on this "Switch 2" hardware.
VGC also had a source who claimed that the impressive The Matrix Awakens Unreal Engine 5 tech demo -- used to promote Epic Games' new engine and the power of the PS5 and Xbox Series X back in 2021 -- was also shown to developers and seemed to confirm that the new Nintendo system will support Nvidia's upscaling DLSS tech as well as ray-tracing. Keep in mind that tech demos for systems often don't make the transition to full-game releases.

We don't know much else about what was shown, although VGC claims that this system will be usable in a portable mode like the Nintendo Switch is. Currently, the launch window for Nintendo's next new piece of hardware is expected to be sometime in fall 2024, although Eurogamer's source stated that "Nintendo is keen to launch the system sooner if possible."
Nintendo has not commented on these rumors, and is unlikely to ahead of an official console reveal. Still, the idea that the next Nintendo console is nearly upon us should be exciting for fans of one of the video game industry's most storied companies.

Gaming

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom DLC is not happening, says Nintendo

Link and other characters from Tears of the Kingdom.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is one of the year's most successful games, but a developer from Nintendo has confirmed that it doesn't have plans to make any DLC for it. Speaking to the Japanese publication Famitsu, series producer Eiji Aonuma confirmed this was the case because the development team had already explored all of the ideas they wanted to in the base game and is now looking to the future.

"At this time, we are not planning to release additional content. We feel like we have already fully explored and exhausted the gameplay possibilities in this world," Aonuma said in comments translated by Video Games Chronicle. "Initially, the reason we decided to develop a sequel was because we believed there was still value in experiencing new gameplay within that particular Hyrule. If, in the future, we find a compelling reason, we may revisit that world once again. Whether it’s another sequel or an entirely new title, I believe the next game will offer a completely new experience."
While Aonuma's explanation is sound, it's still a pretty surprising move by Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild received two expansions after it came out in 2017. Some fans expected that Tears of the Kingdom would follow in that game's footsteps, especially as it would make sense for Nintendo to find more ways to capitalize on a game that has already sold 18.51 million copies. Still, it's probably best for Nintendo to move on from Tears of the Kingdom and create something new rather than making underwhelming DLC for the sake of having post-launch content.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.

Gaming

The best Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom mods

Link giving a thumbs-up with a smile.

With the addition of the Ultra Hand and Fuse abilities in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, it might feel like you're already playing the game with mods enabled. This power lets you pick up, connect, build, and combine nearly every item in Hyrule. We've already seen people push the boundaries with what they can create using the default tools, but there will always be some things just out of reach for players. Well, that is until mods are entered into the equation. Because Tears of the Kingdom is a Switch game, mods take a bit more work to not only make but play as well. Unlike PC games, you can't just download a file, plop it in your game, and go. If you're willing to put in a little work, there are some amazing mods out there to add another couple dozen hours to your playtime. Here are the best mods in Tears of the Kingdom.
How to mod Tears of the Kingdom
If you are just looking to play mods, not create them, then the process isn't terribly complex. There is a nice tutorial laid out you can follow here, which also includes a link to the Tears of the Kingdom modding Discord where you can go if you need to ask more specific questions.
Rinkuru v0.5.3/Rinkuru Pronouns and Dialogue

For those a bit out of the loop, Rinkuru is the Japanese name for the female Link we know as Linkle from the Hyrule Warriors games. It has since been adapted to simply be the female version of Link. If you were disappointed that you couldn't play as a female in Tears of the Kingdom, these two mods effectively add in a female option. Rinkuru v0.5.3 is a complete model swap from Link to Rinkruru, including new outfits and even some weapons. The companion mod, Rinkuru Pronouns and Dialogue, changes all instances of game dialogue from referring to your character as Link, he, sir, and all other male pronouns are swapped to Rinkuru, she, lady, and so on to fully immerse you as the heroine of Hyrule.
Yet Another Better Sages Mod - With Voices
Yet Another Better Sages Mod