The Epic v Apple case continues to surprise and delight with day three of the trial, during which it was revealed — through various extremely boring financial documents — that, back in August 2020, the seniors at Xbox expected Nintendo's Breath of the Wild 2 to release between 2019 and 2020.
It's funny to laugh at now, of course, but let's be real: we all thought/hoped the same thing. The difference is that we're all just video game plebs with very little insider knowledge, whereas the higher-ups at Xbox presuuuumably know a little bit more than we do. In fact, the Xbox headquarters and the Nintendo of America headquarters are just a 15 minute walk apart in Redmond, Washington — they could probably hear Nintendo's secrets just by listening really hard during their lunch break.
Although the document in question ("The Executive Portfolio Update") is heavily redacted, there are still quite a few spicy reveals in there, the most obvious one being the predicted releases of BOTW2, Bayonetta 3, and Metroid Prime 4 all in 2020. Other games include Pikmin 3 Deluxe, Shin Megami Tensei V, New Pokémon Snap, and No More Heroes 3 — all of which we already know about. So, could there be some truth in Microsoft's guesses?
In the fine print at the bottom, there is a small note: any game with an arrow next to its name (which is all of the Nintendo ones) "indicates there is a strong possibility that the title slip/change its release date." Perhaps we're grasping at straws here, but that sort of seems like Xbox knew the BOTW2 release window... right?
Stay up to date with the weird and wonderful goings-on of the Epic v Apple lawsuit here, and let us know your thoughts in the comments.
[source app.box.com, via ign.com]
Comments 54
I mean... it’s not hard to see why a certain event in 2020 might have delayed proceedings.
MP4 was never, I repeat, NEVER a 2020 title.
I don't think one of those games even releases in 2021
Prime 4 predicted as a 2020 release is ludicrously naive.
I think they were trying to cover their bases. The predictions were made for the sake of preparing for even the improbable. They are a business after all.
Didn't know I was on Purexbox
Pretty much everyone did too
@nessisonett I agree, but even so — this document was made in August 2020!
@a1904 yeah. Because BOTW2, MP4 and Bayonetta 3 are all being released for Xbox, right?
Conversely, Nintendo and everyone else knew Halo Infinite wasn’t going to come out in 2020.
so did a lot of people i personally didnt
Xbox HQ might be 15 minutes away on foot - but Microsoft has buildings literally right next to Nintendo of America. In fact, most of the area south of NOA is Microsoft's Campus.
I have been to both Nintendo of America and Microsoft HQ - including Xbox HQ.
XBOX is scarrrreeedddd. (Not really I don’t know what I’m talking about at all)
Looking forward to a good year of gaming!
@GamingFan4Lyf so have I
@Zach777
I believe you
MP4 i never expected that early nor BotW2 but Bayo 3 i hoped for a 2020 release.
Yes and I predict that BotW 3, MP5 and Bayou 4 are coming out next year.
How can I possibly be wrong.
😜
"My uncle told me about the new games. He works in Microsoft which is near NOA."
@-Juice- Agreed. This seems less like they had inside knowledge and more like a company trying to calculate the release schedule of a competitor and plan accordingly.
Well, at some point it was said BOTW 2 was scheduled for Christmas 2020.
Metroid Prime 4?! They must be clueless at MS if they were expecting that last year lol. I reckon 99.9% of us on here even didn’t think that was realistic.
At this point I’d just be happy with the Trilogy remake to drop. Assuming it’s real of course!
At some point, maybe even Nintendo thought as much.
Microsoft Building 83 is closer! Microsoft building 127 is even closer than that.
Amazon felt as X-Box did.
Every New Year's Day I get to watch my pre-orders get bumped back to New Year's Eve of the new year, it's very exciting
When there's smoke, there's fire?
rereads the headline
Hahahahahaha, nevermind. Metroid Prime 4 and Bayonetta 3? Give me a break.
Am I reading this correctly? In August 2020, Xbox peeps expected BOTW2 to release between 2019 and 2020?
By January 1, 2020 even Xbox execs should’ve been able to figure out that BOTW2 was no longer releasing in 2019 lol
My first conveyor belt sushi experience was around there<3
Seattle<3333
They predicted MP4 for 2020. That speaks for itself really. No need to read too much into this therefore (if anyone is)
But wait a second, how did they know about New Pokemon Snap back in August?
Bayonetta 3 and Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 i could see Nintendo would releasing in 2020, but Metroid Prime 4 in 2020?never the game just got it development restarted in january of 2019(Retro Studios would be impossible to develop a amazing game in only one year).
@nessisonett I've been in a coma for the past 15 months, and last time I checked the news, a few people were getting sore throats from some bad flu going around or something. Did something happen between now and then?
When exactly was this thought by them because Metroid Prime 4 was revealed to be not only delayed but restarted a very long time ago and I don't know who in the right mind could have thought that it was coming out last year. lol
You say that Xbox might know more than we do, but the evidence suggests otherwise. They made incorrect guesses about the release year of 3 Switch games, which may prove to have been off by over a year since none of the 3 are even confirmed to be coming out this year
I mean, Prime 4 might’ve been 2020 before the restart, but after that? No one in their right mind would expect it before 2022 now.
I was going to answer “What do they know that we don't?” with probably a lot more than NLife does, but according to what’s written there, near the end of 2020, Microsoft predicted that those game come out between 2019-2020? That makes no sense.
@nessisonett what event you talking about? 202 was plain Jane
SMTV was already announced to be a 2021 game before this Microsoft document was written, so it's clear that Microsoft was not paying close attention to Nintendo and was just spitballing release windows.
@thejuice027 Microsoft Building 255 is actually inside the NOA cafeteria, but don't tell them! They haven't found it yet
They don't know anything about those titles and that's the whole point. That's why they thought that.
Okay Kate, you seem to know things. So I gotta ask, the "PS Business Park" is where Sony execs meet to discuss release dates of TLoU 3 and Uncharted 5, right?
Apparently, they don't know anything we don't. Since it's 2021 and it didn't happen. They may just not as familiar with Nintendo's, tried but true, teasing a game but letting it bake in development for years.
@nessisonett You mean the Backstreet Boys Reunion Tour?
@Iggy-Koopa 2021 either. At this rate good luck on holiday 2022.
92 buildings!
@WoomyNNYes Sadly, Seattle is a wasteland of homeless people, heroin addicts, crime, human waste and rampant disease. Unfortunately, that tends to be the predictable outcome for cities that suffer decades of liberal political control.
@MrGawain lolz
Sounds like some old dates from an older document copy and pasted in and nobody bothered to update them. Must have been 1 line in amongst hundreds of pages. Nothing to see here.
Bayonetta 3 were not unlikely for 2020.
MP4 and BOTW 2 were 100% unlikely.
@Grail_Quest What, lol 🥴
@Grail_Quest Please keep politics off the site. All politics. Just skip it.
Don't post unless you have something contstructive to say, https://www.nintendolife.com/rules
My post was much more thoughtful and constructive than "I had sushi there once."
But you're right, we don't need politics introduced here, so I'll amend my comment.
Sadly, Seattle is a wasteland of homeless people, heroin addicts, crime, human waste and rampant disease. It is unfortunate that the city and state leaders there have caused the degradation of what once was such a beautiful city, it was called "The jewel of the Northwest."
No political parties/philosophies mentioned, so no lives shattered, right?
The detail that keeps running thru my mind was the rumor that Nintendo is anticipating unit sales of 30m this fiscal year, yet their now official forecast is calling for 25m units. Well that official forecast van only include current SKUs....so maybe those other anticipated units are the expected Pro sales. I guess one can dream....LoL.....still lots of stuff software wise in the oven for a long time...I think we get Bayo3 as the big fall release and then BOTW2 for Xmas.
I think many of us did too.
Microsoft also thought Halo: Infinite would release in 2020. Their predictions don't necessarily imply concrete knowledge.
But while we're on the topic, Dear Phil: When is Bayonetta 3 coming out?
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