It's futile to imagine a world without leaks, but indulge me. Imagine if there had never been any suggestion that Nintendo was remaking The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time for the Switch 2. Consider how the teaser trailer that ended Nintendo's latest Direct would have landed: the mention of the Deku tree, of the Kokiri people, of the boy without a fairy. The image of Link as a child, curled up asleep. It would have been a sensational surprise, and deeply emotive nostalgia bait for any fan of the 1997 classic, one of the best games ever made.

We do not live in that world. But Nintendo decided to pretend that we do. During its June 9 Direct, it went ahead and published a brief teaser that did scarcely any more than confirm the rumors were true.

Nintendo's publicity and marketing departments are run like a very tight ship. They know what they're doing and, nine times out of ten, they're very effective. But the company's deeply rooted and stubborn inflexibility can sometimes lead to mistakes — and I believe this teaser trailer for Ocarina of Time is one of those occasions.

I understand the hype-building principle behind the teaser. There........

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