The Legend of Zelda is celebrating its 40th anniversary as a franchise this year, and a milestone as significant as that is never going to pass by without being marked in a pretty major way by Nintendo. Though there hasn’t been too much in the way of announcements just yet, that won’t remain the case for the rest of the year, and speculation is ramping up about what exactly us fans might get.

One of the biggest ongoing areas of speculation centers on the potential return of one of the most beloved games of the series in Ocarina of Time. It looks more likely than not at this point that a remake is on the way, but that comes with the unfortunate caveat that a lot of Switch players out there may not be able to get in on the action.

Would The Zelda: Ocarina Of Time Remake Come To The Original Switch?

In case you missed where this all comes from, the original information about an Ocarina of Time remake being in production comes from industry insider Nate the Hate. At the same time, he also shared that a Star Fox remake was on the way, which has since been confirmed by Nintendo themselves.

That gives the rumors a lot of credibility, and it’s a fair bet that the game is absolutely real at this point. Exciting as that is, it also came with the unfortunate caveat that it will be a Switch 2 exclusive, essentially leaving all of those who didn’t upgrade out of the proverbial party moving forward.

So how many people is that? Actually a lot more than you might expect. Nintendo reported that 84% of Switch 2 owners upgraded from the original console, which would total about 16 million units at last count. This is a far cry from the ~155 million copies sold of the original Switch, the second best-selling console of all time.

That leave tens of millions of players who simply won’t be able to play the new Ocarina of Time remake, if all of the rumors hold true. That’s going to become a considerably more common phenomenon over the next few years as well, possibly forcing players into making a decision they otherwise wouldn’t want to make.

Zelda Fans Might Want To Start Saving For A Switch 2

If you are a big fan of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and you’ve been looking for a game to take the plunge on the Switch 2 for, then this could be as good a reason as any. It also future proofs you for major titles coming down the pipeline at a later date, more and more of which are eschewing the old console entirely.

Released

November 21, 1998

ESRB

E10+ for Everyone 10+: Animated Blood, Fantasy Violence, Suggestive Themes

Developer(s)

Nintendo

Publisher(s)

Nintendo

Engine

Zelda 64 Engine