Pirated Version of 'Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild' Comes Out; Weapons, Special Costumes, Armors Revealed! Why Piracy Won’t Hurt Sales
By"Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" pirated version set the internet on fire. The game is almost upon its fans but some apparently cannot wait to get their hands on BOTW. Weapons, armors, special costumes, enemies, and more circulated around the internet because of a pirated version straight from Nintendo's servers.
Nintendo has since taken down "Breath of the Wild"-related files. But not soon enough, Kotaku reported. That's because the files are now all over the internet. According to reports, the piracy began when news about a leak surfaced the ether.
Apparently, the pirated files were legitimate as some diehard fans cross-referenced them with the previews released by Nintendo. Hoods and dying the grab ability were confirmed to be valid. These images are now circulating everywhere and it includes ending cutscenes and final boss battle scenes.
Moreover, some players are now claiming they were able to download encrypted "Breath of the Wild" files last week. They were even able to play it on Wii U sourcing a digital skeleton key for the legitimate version of BOTW.
This is not the first time that Nintendo has been breached. The game "Pokemon Sun and Moon" was also leaked and was pirated. Whether or not Nintendo Switch will have the same vulnerabilities remains to be seen. But to most diehard fans, this really doesn't matter.
"Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" is one of the highly anticipated games from Nintendo, if not the most anticipated. The leakage and the piracy worried some fans for major spoilers. Some even raised the concern that it might affect the sales of the game and might make the developers decide to stop developing it eventually.
Some fans however believe that Nintendo will not even be affected by it considering "Legend of Zelda" is one of their highly profitable games. Moreover, it's also Nintendo's best critically acclaimed franchise outside "Super Mario" and "Pokemon." "Legend of Zelda" sold over 75 million copies in 2016.
It's one of the most beloved games from Nintendo and to kill it off because of piracy is impossible, especially now that the game critics have announced that it's the most difficult "Legend of Zelda" game ever, Polygon reported. It's too tough that if you're character doesn't have the stamina, it'll drown.
"Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" will launch on 3 March 2017. It is coming both to Nintendo Switch and Wii U.