STACK #149 Mar 2017

GAMES FEATURE

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it’s up to the player how the game progresses. This is not just about the story or fighting the enemies. Players have the freedom to engage in various activities such as hunting, cooking, and searching for things in vast areas. This is something that has been emphasised in our past PR activities. We placed a Super Bowl TV commercial in the US, which is notorious for its extremely high viewer rating, in order to appeal to those who are not familiar with the Zelda series. Given Breath of theWild ’s four-year development cycle from announcement to release, how discernibly different is the finished game compared to the blueprint at conception?What are the major changes? There haven’t been any big changes in the concept or the main gameplay since the initial stage. A few minor details in the game control were revised at one stage, when we decided to launch the title for Nintendo Switch and Wii U at the same time. The changes were required simply to make sure that the gaming experience would be consistent across the two types of hardware. The content and plans did not change at all. Breath of theWild has been referred to by Shigeru Miyamoto as an 'open-air' game as opposed to 'open-world' – what are the significant differences between these terms? “Open-world” is a general phrase that describes the kind of game, but the phrase “open-air” specifically describes this game. Open-air is a phrase that we initially started using to describe the style of the graphics. The producer, Eiji Aonuma, said it referred to the ‘background music that blends in with the sounds of nature’ and ‘the style of adventure that this title offers, such as climbing to a high place and diving through the sky with a parasail’. Eventually the team started using the phrase to describe the actual game. At what stage during development did the Switch become part of the conversation, and when did the integration actually commence? It was around last spring, once the production of the Wii U version was pretty much complete. This title was initially being developed for Wii U. It was decided later on that this will launch around the same time as Nintendo Switch. We decided to develop the game for both Nintendo Switch and Wii U because it allows more players to experience the game at the same time. So stopping the development of the Wii U version was never considered. Did you ever consider cancelling theWii U version?

Zelda fans have been patiently awaiting the release of The Legend of Zelda : Breath of theWild for four long years.Whether you intend to play it onWii U or the Nintendo's new console, Switch, the game is in-store right now.We spoke with the director of Breath of the Wild, Hidemaro Fujibayashi. INTO THE WILD

each title as well. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been designed to fully utilise the features of Wii U and Nintendo Switch for a seamless gameplay that allows the players to explore wherever they want to go. Especially, Nintendo Switch comes with the wonderful feature of portability, so I hope our customers will enjoy being able to take the device off the dock and play it anywhere, anytime. While Zelda fans were probably onboard at the January 2013 reveal announcement, what is the key to appealing to an audience less familiar with the franchise? We believe it is important to use every opportunity possible to convey to the audience what is great about this game. One of the characteristics of this title is that

What makes the Zelda series timeless? In 2016, we celebrated the 30th anniversary since the launch of the first ever Zelda title in Japan. This is something we were able to achieve all because of our Zelda fans, who continued to play and support Zelda

Hidemaro Fujibayashi

games all this time. Thank you very much. One of the main ideas that has been our focus throughout the series is the ‘growth of the main character’. The game takes place in a fantasy world, but by incorporating various events that could happen in real life, the players experience a realistic simulation. This is something that could only be experienced with this series, and that’s why our fans love it. The Zelda series has occasionally focused on providing the game experience that is unique to the features of the hardware for

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MARCH 2017

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