31 January 2023 , 09:33
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Zelda fans are eager for any information on Tears of the Kingdom; thankfully, sleuthing from fans may hint that eShop pre-orders are on their way along with a Nintendo Direct.
Changes to the eShop page were discovered last weekend by users on the forum . A poster in the thread known as daybreak noted that now has an NSUID attached to it, while it previously did not have one. So what does this mean? Typically, when a eShop game gets a NSUID attached to it, it means digital pre-orders on the platform will likely go live in the near-future.
This has also caused speculation that a Nintendo Direct presentation may be incoming – as pre-order details for Nintendo titles are typically announced as a part of its livestreams. Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is set to release on May 12, 2023, so it would make sense that the marketing campaign will ramp up soon. Especially since Nintendo’s big game for January, Fire Emblem Engage, has now been released; there's no risk of Zelda hype harming sales.
Another source of speculation is whether an upcoming direct would be wholly focused on Zelda – due to the size and scope of the game – or if it would be a standard presentation. However, signs are pointing towards it being the latter, as Advance Wars 1 + 2 Re-Boot Camp has also had its NSUID updated.
This remake of the first two Advance Wars games – originally for the Game Boy Advance – was originally slated to come out in December 2021, before being delayed to April 2022. However, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Nintendo delayed the title indefinitely.
Nintendo Direct February 2023: start time, where to watch and what to expect
Advance Wars focuses on a wartime invasion by a fictional nation known as Blue Moon, who are heavily inspired by Russia, so it’s easy to see why Nintendo saw fit to delay the title. This wouldn’t be the first time real-world events had impacted the series, with the original game being delayed due to the September 11 attacks.
One year after the delay, it seems like Nintendo is gearing up to release pre-orders of the remake of the critically acclaimed strategy titles. Fans have been waiting for Nintendo to revive the series, as it has been missing in action since the last entry released in 2008. With the explosion in popularity seen by Nintendo’s other strategy series Fire Emblem in recent years, it seems like a safe bet for the series to return.
We’ll likely find out about pre-orders for both games in the coming weeks, as Nintendo has held Direct presentations around the second or third week of February annually since 2019. So it’s safe to assume that the publisher has some news in store.