Is Fire Emblem Fates Coming to Nintendo Switch?
By Dalton Cooper 18 January 2017
Source code from Nintendo’s website seems to leak the news that Fire Emblem Fates is going to be announced for the Nintendo Switch at the next Nintendo Direct.
On Wednesday, January 18th at 2pm Pacific time, Nintendo is hosting a special Fire Emblem Nintendo Direct, where it is expected to reveal more details about the Nintendo Switch game Fire Emblem Warriors. However, source code from Nintendo’s website seems to indicate that tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct will also reveal a port of Fire Emblem Fates for the Nintendo Switch as well.
The source code, discovered by NeoGAF user Mr. Pointy, includes an image link that says, “Fire Emblem Fates: Revelation for nintendo switch,” but the link itself redirects to the website for the original game. Regardless, this seems to be strong evidence that Nintendo is bringing Fire Emblem Fates to the Nintendo Switch in some capacity, but we won’t know for sure until tomorrow’s Nintendo Direct.
If Nintendo decides to bring Fire Emblem Fates to Nintendo Switch, it’s hard to say what form it will come in. It could release the game as three separate titles like it did on the 3DS, but it seems like it would make more sense for Nintendo to collect the games in one package and bill it as the definitive Fire Emblem Fates experience. That way, Nintendo could possibly convince 3DS owners that purchased only one of the three Fates titles on 3DS to pick up the collection on the Switch to see story threads they missed out on.
It’s also possible that Fire Emblem Fates on the Switch will contain new content for players to experience. That content could come in the form of new missions to conquer and characters to recruit, but for Western audiences, it could simply mean reintegrating content that was removed from the game during the localization process.
For example, the Switch version of Fire Emblem Fates could have the Japanese audio option that was pulled from the game before it released in North America. It could also see Nintendo backpedal on some of the censorship that occurred, like its decision to remove the petting feature and cutting out one particularly controversial scene.
Possible new content aside, if Fire Emblem Fates does make its way to Nintendo Switch, it would seemingly contradict Nintendo’s statement that the Switch is not a 3DS replacement. Fire Emblem Fates was one of the biggest 3DS games of 2016, and by potentially bringing it to the Switch, Nintendo could be sending the message that the strongest titles in the 3DS library will be coming to its new console. The potential for Fire Emblem Fates to come to the Switch combined with previous rumors that an enhanced port of Pokemon Sun & Moon are coming to the platform seem to indicate that Nintendo isn’t being entirely honest when it says that the Switch won’t replace the 3DS.
Fire Emblem Fates is available now for Nintendo 3DS.
