Nintendo have announced they are delaying the release date of Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp due to “recent world events” which appears to be the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“In light of recent world events,” Nintendo tweeted, “we have made the decision to delay Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, which was originally scheduled to release on Nintendo Switch on April 8th.”
“Please stay tuned for updates on a new release date,” Nintendo of America concluded.
While not explicitly mentioned, it’s all-but-certain the delay is due to the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. Many businesses and organizations, including those in the video games industry, have halted operations or denied service in Russia in recent weeks.
Though some were understanding, based on the replies the tweet had received, others seemed outraged that a piece of fiction should be hindered by reality.
“This is absolutely embarrassing Nintendo,” replied @Black_D_Gamer1. “There are multiple conflicts going on in the world right now.”
“What’s going on with Ukraine & Russia has nothing to do with Advanced Wars & this is just silly performative virtue signaling, to placate the activists,” Black_D suggested. “Bad move!”
“So you’re basically just going to wait until everyone forgets about the conflict before release?” @BehaviorReturns rhetorically asked. “You’ve set yourselves up to never have a decent release window for this game. Might as well cancel it.”
“Ridiculous. It’s a fictional story,” dismissed @AdmiralAegis. “Similarity to real world events taking place after it was written don’t matter and anyone who thinks it does needs psychological help to get past the maturity of a 5 year old.”
“It didn’t NEED to be delayed,” replied @Nathan4ever411 to @AdmiralAegis. “Nintendo is just being rightfully respectful to a country that’s being invaded right at this moment and if you have a problem with that then a 5 year old probably far eclipses you in terms of maturity.”
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“Won’t lie this does bum me out a bit but I fully understand and respect this decision,” accepted @TheNCSmaster. “Respecting the people of Ukraine when they’re in crisis is much more important than a video game.”
“God, the replies to this tweet are awful,” @Megaiwer1 bemoaned. “Nintendo made the right choice on this one.”
“Yeah… Advance Wars has literally the worst timing of release dates…” highlighted @Attacker720. They referred to how the original Advance Wars released September 10th, 2001 in the US. Wikipedia claims, uncited, that it was “supposedly” delayed in Europe and Japan due to 9/11.
Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp is a remake of both 2001’s Advance Wars, and 2003’s Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising. Players command an army in tactical turn-based battles, using their commanding officer’s abilities to their fullest.
It was originally set to launch December 3rd 2021, before being delayed to Spring 2022, and announced for an April 8th release date during the February Nintendo Direct.
While the reason for the delay due to the game’s theme should be obvious, it should be noted that most prior entries have had a cartoonish interpretation of war. Further, they have also typically denounced war, calling for peace and working together.
Infantry units would simply fly off the screen when killed, and vehicles would explode leaving no remains. This is still true in the remake’s recent trailers and E3 2021 gameplay.
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Nonetheless, it should also be noted one of Advance Wars factions is Blue Moon, inspired by Russia.
Their troops’ vehicles and uniforms are inspired by Russian military equipment, and their HQ building features the onion domes of Russian Orthodox churches.
In the series’ campaigns, Blue Moon are typically one of the first factions players fight, either in a war that has been ongoing, or with Blue Moon invading the Orange Star nation.
The wars between the four nations are usually manipulated by other parties for their own gain before they are discovered. The four nations then unite against them, and players gradually gain control of other factions and their commanding officers.
Did Nintendo make the right decision here? Let us know on social media and in the comments below.