Nintendo wants the Switch to be the first thing you reach out when you wake up in the morning and the very thing you hold on to for rest of your day. Its Super Bowl ad has made the case for it while promoting The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in the process.
Why Switch
The 30-second clip will not claim any award, and it certainly won't create any stir on the level of the more controversial Super Bowl commercials in the past. It is just a level-headed introduction of the console and its game lineup to the millions of consumers tuned in to the most important sporting event in America.
The video has methodically demonstrated the Nintendo Switch in action, and it was packed with arguments that explain how the device is going to fit in your lifestyle. So you get the part, for example, of a gameplay while the player is cooking or doing laundry.
Legend Of Zelda
To drive its promotional push home for the Switch, Nintendo chose to use the Zelda title. That is not really surprising because it is one of the most promising games in the Switch launch lineup.
Also, it underpins Nintendo's goal of expanding Switch's market. Notice that the ad employed a twenty-something millennial instead of a kid or a teenager. Zelda fits in this strategy because the game is familiar to this demographic.
To put this another way, Nintendo seems bent on milking its Super Bowl exposure as much as it can. Switch is already known to its core audience after its big reveal last month. Since Superbowl draws more than a hundred million viewers, it makes sense for Nintendo to be eyeballing a chunk of it that might be interested in the device.
Nintendo Easter Eggs
For those who have already preordered Switch and is looking forward to its games, the commercial, particularly the extended 90-second version, holds several Easter eggs.
For example, there is the case of the Spinning Bird text plastered on the laundromat's window. Fans should recognize it as a Street Fighter move. Also, the home of the gamer depicted in the video contains several objects that reveal how he is a hardcore Zelda fan such as the plethora of triangles, which some allude to the Triforce element in the game's storyline.
There are also books in the nightstand that holds some clues. One is authored by Zel Dash, while the other is entitled Faded Memories. The latter could be an allusion to how memories will play a role in Breath of the Wild.
