Fans have noticed that Nintendo of America is publicly recognizing the 20th anniversary of the Game Boy Advance but didn’t give The Legend of Zelda the same treatment for its 35th anniversary in February. Now fans have been left to wonder if Nintendo picks and chooses which special days to commemorate or if the disparity in birthday wishes may point to something bigger happening behind the scenes.
The GBA is the tenth best-selling video game console of all time, with over 80 million units sold throughout its lifespan. It’s also the fifth bestselling Nintendo console of all time, having recently being surpassed in sales by the Nintendo Switch. The GBA had some incredible first-party Nintendo titles during its run, including Metroid Fusion, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and the third generation of Pokémon games.
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There’s no denying that the Game Boy Advance’s 20th anniversary deserves celebration, which is why the official Nintendo of America Twitter page posted about it earlier Friday. According to PushDustin, the Nintendo of America Twitter page didn’t put up a similar celebration earlier this year on February 21, The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary.
Nintendo has been oddly quiet about The Legend of Zelda‘s 35th anniversary, especially when compared to the similar celebrations for Super Mario’s anniversary last year. There is the impending release of Skyward Sword HD on Switch. However, that’s something that has been rumored for years, and its release in 2021 could be coincidental. There is also an incoming DLC Expansion Pass for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, but the announcements regarding it have been underwhelming so far. It’s entirely possible that Nintendo is downplaying The Legend of Zelda’s anniversary, as it often ignores big milestones for its other iconic franchises. This is the same company that celebrated EarthBound‘s 30th anniversary with Spirits in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, so not everyone has faith that Nintendo will do right by Link and Princess Zelda.
The more likely answer is that Nintendo has big things in the pipeline, but wasn’t ready to share them earlier this year. There have been rumors circulating about everything from a Zelda 35th Anniversary Collection, in a similar vein to Mario‘s, which could contain remastered versions of Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Phantom Hourglass, and/or Spirit Tracks. Of course, ans were also promised more news about the upcoming sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in 2021. Nintendo has an E3 Direct next week, so it’s likely that more news about The Legend of Zelda’s 35th anniversary will be revealed there – assuming there is anything to announce.
Source: Nintendo of America/Twitter, PushDustin/Twitter
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