The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Secures Gorgeous Cover on Game Informer Magazine

I do love the artwork in this game, it's a great advert for artistic direction over graphics and horsepower.

I just hope the Wii U version isn't too dumbed down vs the Switch version, seen as I won't be getting a Switch any time soon.

Breath Of The Wild will sell like gangbusters. I'll be interested to see which version sells more. I hope it's Wii U.

There's something off about Zelda in that artwork. Her face is wrong and so is her dress.

It could just be what she's wearing, but... does Zelda possibly look pregnant?

@GravyThief only differance is wiiu is 720p with the Switch 900p and the Switch will have better sound than the wiiu version

@fiben1002 lol no. have you ever seen a woman wearing a dress with a belt right under her breasts?

@Gregory123 it's the frame rate I'm bothered about. Previous footage seems to show Wii U version struggling somewhat. Hopefully it's been polished up for release

Let's see if Gameinformer takes Nintendo seriously this time.

Interesting how it looks as if the cover image has actually been created but cutting two separate images together... it looks like Zelda is holding the rusted Master Sword, while Link is holding the repaired Master Sword.

BOTW's artwork is amazing.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE
The Switch version will sell much, much more.

Choo Choo Welcome to the hype train. Hyrule rules

Zelda looks a bit pregnant there.

Oops - spoiler alert!

@Gregory123 Of course.

It would make a less generic LOZ storyline though. Link and Zelda with an established romance and a child on the way? I like it.

@westman98
The wii u already has a userbase installed and switch is playing catch up. It will be very interesting watching this unfold.

@GravyThief A lot of articles from the preview events mentioned framerate problems on the Switch while the system is docked and no problems while its in handheld mode. So it seems all versions will have some problems - but these articles also say the frame drops are tolerable.

The biggest difference I see in the comparison video is the color. The Wii u version always looks darker and less vibrant than the Switch version.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE Well, going just by Amazon preorders, the Switch version is looking to sell like ten times more. It's better for Nintendo, remember, if the version on their fancy new box sells more

@HefHughner I think the lighting and shadows are better in the Wii U version from what I've seen.

So....much....hype.... my body can't take much more than this! Good lord March 3rd will not get here fast enough! I have 2 25,000mAh battery packs that will keep my new system running for as long as I can keep my eyes open!

@DragonEleven: Maybe it's a metaphorical piece of art, in regards to storyline.

@Everyone_Else: Inset "One's On the Way" by Loretta Lynn Really, it's probably just the character design has her belt below her breasts, as Gregory123 said. I feel almost like SLIGEACH_EIRE about Zelda's face, & design; though I also wanna say it's just the angle the artist chose to draw the character in.

Anyway, very nice artwork.

Edit: I wouldn't be a bit surprised, if there are visuals issues; even if minor, such as clipping, & whatnot. The game has been in development for a long enough time. When it's changed hands(systems), the overall programming, & more-visibly graphical architecture to the game has probably gotten a little on the messy side of things. In other words, BoTW hasn't necessarily been made from the groundfloor up. Even if it has, it's a launch title, for a new system. Surely, the programmers haven't yet mastered the new hardware, or matching dev kits, they've been given. A little slack should be given, but by no means, a right to have glitchy graphics.

Welp, time to buy a Game Informer for the first time in 10 years.

Just saw the full interview on IGN.
Men so much ingame details revealed. Didnt know there is soool much to do in the game. Love it even more.

Oh my..! x__x
Gonna skip reading the mag, watching vids since the release is so nigh anyway.

Also, dungeons mentioned!
They wrote "playing through a dungeon in its entirety" and "discovering Shrines" like theyr'e different things.
But we already knew this:

> Theresa: "We should also talk about the difference between Dungeons and Shrines because they're not one and the same in this game."
> Audrey: "They're not. Shrines are SUPPLEMENTARY TO DUNGEONS. I don't want to give away too much. Yeah, there are a ton of Shrines - over a hundred Shrines. There's so many. They're just gonna be a little sprinkling of things to do on your experience. But yes, there are Dungeons IN THE SENSE THAT ZELDA FANS ARE USED TO."
> Theresa: "Exactly."

(21:34 in the vid)

@SLIGEACH_EIRE You hope the Wii U version sells more than the Switch version? I know you have been complaining a lot about the Switch lately, but I'm interested to know why you want the Wii U to sell the most?

@NintySnesMan
I have seen Zelda BOTW preorders in America, Japan, and various European territories. I can 99% assure you, the Switch version will sell better than the Wii U version.

The Wii U may have a high install base right now relative to the Switch (13 million vs 0 lolol), but you need to consider how much of that install base will still be ACTIVELY playing on their Wii U after the Switch comes out. Many Wii U owners will be buying a Switch during its launch, and they will be buying the Zelda on the Switch.

@TeslaChippie You know, now that I think about it the Switch version will probably sell more as the Wii U version is only available in limited numbers, has no special editions and has had no promotion since the Switch version emerged. Sure we still haven't got its official boxart. And no mention of it in any of the ads.

I'm buying the Wii U version.

The Wii U version has been treated like an embarrassing relation locked away in the attic.

@ThomasBW84 "Do you think Breath of the Wild will be a Big success?"

Lol

I have to believe that the Switch version sells a lot more than the Wii U. I would be surprised if the Switch version seeks less than a million, not only because it's a beautiful looking game, but because the attach rate will be 45% for the Switch I bet.

Wow, neat cover! It's gonna be hard to avoid spoilers until I play the game!

How dare them give GameInformer this exclusive scoop and not Nintendo Life! GameInformer isn't worthy!

For those that are asking, there are more differences between the Wii U and Switch versions than just resolution and different lighting (honestly the Switch version appears to have more subtle lighting, but the stronger lighting might fit the artwork better). When doing exact comparisons between the game running on the Switch and Wii U, the view distance is much greater on the Switch, and there are better textures. The geometry appears to be about the same, though. The comparisons might just be between the E3 demo and the newest Switch demo and that might account for it, but I'm not entirely convinced that is the case.

@westman98
Very true mate. It will be very interesting to watch though. Better than reading NL user Donkeykongbigboys me me me comments

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand that's why I miss my GameInformer subscription. I own a year's worth of issues, though. And those were worth it for the covers alone.
Man, that artwork. PlayStation fans, Xbox fans, this is what you've been missing out on for so long.

@NintySnesMan lol

The one time I actually wish I was still a GameStop Power Up Rewards member

I think the game will do extremely well. The franchise combined with the open world / sandbox gameplay is a winning combination. I hope it sees early success for the Switch which can then be maintained with other titles. Nintendo were right to release their biggest IPs, one at launch and one for Christmas.

Subliminal messaging: Link and Zelda look like they're playing the "milk the cow" game together from 1-2-Switch.

The cover looks magnificent. I can't wait to play this game.

@JaxonH Don't worry about it. It's not worth it. GameStop is trash, and I learned my lesson the hard way.

@abbyhitter
I don't go near GS. GCU at BestBuy for 20% Off + 6% back with CC and 2% Back in Elite Plus reward points and easy cancellations = never shop anywhere else again.

Unfortunately, Has Been Heroes physical version is GS exclusive so... ya.... there are always exceptions to the rule I guess

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I used to think the Wii U version would outsell the Switch version based on install base - 13.4 mil vs 2 mil at launch - but I realized a few weeks back as you did that those 2 Switch only bundles would probably tip things in the Switch versions favor. Even if people have their Switch pre-orders canceled and wind up buying the Wii U version to play it they'll still keep their Switch special editions. Some people may even buy both special editions on Switch for the swag then get the Wii U version to play if they can't secure the Switch.

So Nintneod knew what they were doing for Zelda, give Wii U owners no incentive to buy a Wii U version, ramp up the collectors editions on the Switch. If they only knew what they were doing for Switch there would be 5 million Switch at launch, not 2 million, then the Switch version of Zelda would have crushed the Wii U version.

Launch weekend should be interesting.

Everything about this game looks amazing. It's very hard keeping my expectations in check.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE You noticed it also the pic of Zelda when i looked at it I thought the dress makes her look pregnant also I gotta say I've been a Wii U supporter from day one we have two in our house and it's definitely got the short end of the stick it's entire existence it is a shame truly there are so many missed opportunities when it comes to Wii U and I wasn't entirely sold on Switch at first either but the more I find out about the system the more i like it and i think Nintendo did what they truly needed to do so in support of that we have two Switch's preordered.

WAIT WHAT?!
In the gameplay the guy has 6 RED hearts!!!!!!!
Pieces of heart confirmed?!

Game Informer was a good mag back in the day. They championed Windwaker back on the day, too. I have my Special Edition for Switch preordered, but I might buy the WiiU version too for my kids to play on the gamepad....

I need to renew my pro membership with GameStop so GameInformer can send me this GORGEOUS cover to keep!

@JaxonH @abbyhitter This article is probably right up your alley: https://www.destructoid.com/new-gamestop-policy-requires-employees-to-ask-customers-why-the-hell-they-still-shop-there-fauxclusive--416744.phtml
I never got why people would buy anything from Gamestop outside of maybe the occasional sale deal.

@GravyThief The Switch version is only .4 gigabytes larger; I think the only difference is that it runs a bit smoother and has slightly better shading on the Switch.

For comparison, the sales for Zelda Twillight princess for Wii was equal in proportion to the time the Gamecube version has been in development, and the sales of the Gamecube version are equal to the time taken to port it to the Wii.
I suspect the same thing will happen with the Wii U and the Switch versions of Breath of the wild, so I suspect the Switch version to sell 3 to 4 times the number of the Wii U version.

Just thought I would let those that didn't know that NES MINI is back in stock at Best Buy while stocks last. Good luck

@SLIGEACH_EIRE I think it's sad that the Wii U version didn't get a special edition. I know one of my friends is getting the Wii U version and really wanted the map.

@Nin_Myski Or, you know, heart containers from dungeons and such xD

@TeslaChippie Yes! But I'm happy, because I've just learn that there's a way to permanently increase your hearts gauge!

Thanks NintySnesMan!

@CrazedCavalier
I saw that actually... been making the rounds lately.

If you they have enough reason to stay away before, people certainly do now.

@Nin_Myski The Game Awards footage from last December and the Jimmy Fallon footage both showed Link having 7 red hearts!
You surely can get permanent health boosts, but we don't know in which manner. Most likely heart containers just like old times. But where will we get the heart containers?

With all these comments, I'm certain a meme of Zelda pregnant coming along.
Also, anyone having trouble looking for the wii u copy of the game?

@Moshugan Ho!, I should have been more careful with these details then.
Thanks!

@GravyThief And the tons of graphically effects completely missing from the WiiU version, but even scaled down, just gone entirely.

Everything about this game looks beyond galactic! Game of the decade? Amazing artwork and style just wow

They've always had great cover art. Wish they sold them as posters. I hang them all on my walls.

@AlexSora89

I take it you've not seen Level 5 work.

Dang it my sub JUST expired!!

Game Informer's best covers are always the Nintendo ones (see Skyward Sword).

@Ryu_Niiyama
Same lol

@fiben1002 The Legend of Zelda: Maternity of Time.

zelda wii u is actually sold out right now on amazon uk haha

Awesome artwork. I actually have a small collection of GI magazines that have good cover art. Might have to go to gamestop to see if they have this issue.

I believe that BOTW will be the exact same game on both consoles. I think the Switch version will have a longer draw distance but, as far as technical differences go, that's it. Of course the portability of Switch is a huge draw.

Any chance of finding a text-less version of this? I need that for my desktop!

@fiben1002

My EXACT thought. I have a bunch of kids. I know "the look". I doubt it was intentional, but the face and the way she is holding herself, this definitely looks like 1st trimester Zelda.

This image could suggest something about the timeline and the story I don't think anybody's mentioned.
The split image, with the damaged sword on the left, and the new on the right, could suggest that Link and Zelda are actually in different times, but somehow merge in order to save the kingdom.
Just a thought.

@ThomasBW84 Just admit it! You're totally trolling the Entire Nintendo Life community lol..

I was worried they weren't going to do a BOTW cover, I've been collecting these for about a year now. This looks amazing! In my personal book it's probably without a doubt my most anticipated game ever. So much so I'll actually go to a launch (I've never been to a game launch haha) and I'm buying a new bloody console for it! BEYOND HYPE!!!!!

@banacheck
In what context exactly?

@Menchi187

Any proof or are you just making that up? We haven't seen the Wii U version since TGA in early December. It's been all Switch since.

Hmm, Zelda does seem to have a bump and a glow about her. Maybe an extra pound or two. PREGO ZELDA CONFIRM!!!!1!1!!1!!

Atta boy, Link! He finally locked that up after all these years!

@rjejr My friend who can't afford a Switch just yet still snagged a collector's edition of BotW on Switch. She'll play the game on Wii U first, then when she can afford the Switch (I'm guessing that's what she'll spend her tax return on, or if not she'll buy one at holiday) she's already got BotW ready to go again.

Seriously, all these pregnant comments. sigh This is why a girl like me can't wear certain tops out of the house without being congratulated. I have sworn off empire waist dresses entirely.

@GravyThief They have both been confirmed to run at 30 fps however, even the best games have the occasional slowdown if too much is happening at once. There is also slight graphical differences where the Switch has higher quality textures on environmental objects and a greater draw distance. Colors are a bit different as well, but that's not important at all.

@Gregory123 wait why would it have better sound? The game pad has surround sound and both systems have hdmi

@Setery10 i think you mean the wiiu gamepad has stereo sound and even if both systems have hdmi the switch version can still have better sound because Nintendo is going to put better sound in the Switch version and not in the Wiiu version. Not my words but Aonuma's: The Switch version will also feature "higher-quality environmental sounds", Nintendo stated. "As a result, the sound of steps, water, grass, etc. are more realistic and enhance the game's Open-Air feel."

@TheLobster Tell your friend no tax returns this year, he's keeping all the money for the wall. jk

Good thing about being a guy, no matter how much weight we gain, nobody ever asks us if we're expecting.

@rjejr Haha, then he really will be impeached.

People ask me how many kids I have all the time, and I'm like, "But I'm only 29... Oh wait, that's old enough to have kids, isn't it? OH GOD SOMEONE THINKS I COULD BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANOTHER TINY HUMAN!!!!" Do people ask men my age how many kids they have or is that a female-only question?

I just read the 3 hour hands on preview in the GameInformer article. Breath of the Wild sounds even more amazing than I anticipated.

Game Informer always puts the next Zelda title on its front covers, so this is nothing really new. It's the magazine itself that needs help...they really only go for just one console during each generation, and end up giving shoddy reviews to the other consoles. Wii had horrible reviews for almost all games, except for the ones made by nintendo only and even a few of them had bad reviews. Playstation 3 was the same way, unless it was the games made by Sony themselves, where 360 was getting the greatest reviews...now, it's Playstation 4 getting the best reviews...seems that they go for the systems that sell the most or maybe it's whatever company gives them some money to make their console look the best (hmm...) Anyways, great to see a great cover on it, I think there was a cover for Zelda last year for E3 too, I kept that one for my nintendo collection too.

@rjejr The way he's going, we won't get any game console or game coming to the US...he'll make Japan just as mad as he's starting to make China!!!! They'll build the walls around us!!!

@audiobrainiac They do sell some of the artwork covers as posters, but you need to buy Gamestop items to rack up points to do so...Powerrewards.com. Other than that, most of the other rewards on there are junk, except for a few figures for collectors. The only thing worth spending the points on is Playstation Store Dollar amounts...they use to have nintendo e-shop points to add, but haven't done so since the 2nd year of the Wii U...not sure if that's nintendo not wanting to do so, or something else there.

Didn't one of the trailers mention something about saving a daughter at the end?

@TheLobster I can't imagine any circumstance short of applying for food stamps where somebody would ask somebody "how many" kids they have. "If" they have kids, ok, it's a nice ice breaker, it's right up there alongside "what do you do?", but never how many. Though men like Jagger and McCartney may get the "how many" but only after they turn 60 and people expect them to have a lot, mostly illegitimate. Is illegitimate still a thing? Can't be.

How did you get to be 29, a few days ago you told me you were mid 30's? And don't worry, no woman has kids before 30 anymore, unless it's w/ famous guys over 60.

Wait, wait, wait. . . . They played a PROPER dungeon? Not just a shrine but a dungeon?

PS. Very nice cover.

@JLPick Nah, Nintendo of Japan will be sending the US all the Switch we want so that we help keep China from drawing a "nine dash line" around them too.

http://time.com/4412191/nine-dash-line-9-south-china-sea/

@GravyThief Me too, the artwork is gorgeous!

Somewhere between Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword and looking sweet!

The art style is really cool, but is Zelda supposed to be a 6 year old child?

So they played a dungeon and beat its boss, so there ARE proper dungeons? Hopefully!

Aonuma also said in a interview on youtube that it is IMPOSSIBLE to beat the game 100%. Hopefully he was just joking, but we'll see!

Why do I feel like that image is a spoiler?

@rjejr Well that makes me pout then. Maybe it's because I'm a West Virginia hillbilly. We start popping out kids round about 16 here. (Totally serious.)

I said I was "around 30." I'm trying to ease myself into the idea of being 30. It's a tough one to swallow. I still have a few months. If you took that as mid-30s idek.

@TheLobster "around 30"

Well I guess you said that, I'm too lazy to go back and look.
Turning 30 was great for me, turning 40 was ok, turning 50 not so much. Turning 51 was good though as I realized I survived 50 so it's all house money from here on out.

Don't have much experience w/ WV hillbillies, I lived w/ an eastern Kentucky hillbilly 14 years my senior for about 2 years and she wasn't interested in kids. Had 1 a few years later w/ the next guy though, she must've been 40 by then. We still sort of keep in touch on FB.

@rjejr Haha!

Well, try not to mix up WV and KY, or WV and VA for that matter, we're pretty touchy about both around here. Most people forget WV is a state so we figure we're smarter than most folks, we know one more state than they do!

WV is that big mountain I always had to drive over during my 8 years living in KY to get back home to NYC. 64-79. Hard to forget that. If there's anything in that state besides 1 big mountain and coal miners under it I don't know.

I only know about the coal miners b/c my UK Ultimate team was called "Black Lung" so I took an interest in coal miners b/c I always found our team name offensive. I was told we were "spreading the word" or some such.