No NX Console, No New Zelda from Nintendo This Year ⋆

There will be no NX console (Nintendo’s successor to the Wii U) this year. There will be no new Zelda game this year.

Instead, Nintendo will be releasing two new mobile apps for smartphones and tablets based on the Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing franchises. The company also announced only one game will be playable at this year’s E3 convention in June.

During an earnings announcement, the company said NX, the new console, is scheduled to launch in March 2017. It will be unveiled later this year but will not make an appearance at E3.

The Legend of Zelda is going to launch simultaneously on the Wii U and NX, meaning it will also launch in 2017 but will be the focus of Nintendo for E3 while being the only game playable at the trade show.

“The Wii U version of the game will be playable for the first time on the E3 show floor,” said the company in a press release. “And it will be the only playable game Nintendo presents at the show, in order to provide attendees a complete immersion.”

For this year, the company is going to continue to grow its mobile business off the worldwide success of Miitomo. Nintendo announced more than 10 million users have jumped into the social experience app launched in March.

The next two mobile apps, scheduled to be released this fall, will be based off two major franchises for Nintendo, Fire Emblem and Animal Crossing. The Fire Emblem app appears to be a role-playing strategy game while the Animal Crossing app will connect with the Animal Crossing worlds.

Both are pure game applications, according to Nintendo, and game content will tie closely to the company’s dedicated games business.

The news about NX and Zelda is likely to be disappointing to Nintendo fans. However, some have reacted with cautious optimism, preferring to take the time to get everything right before releasing to the public.

Details about NX and the new apps will be released later this year.