Sad news for anyone who was planning to pick up a Wii U this year when The Legend of Zelda came out; the game has been delayed. Unfortunately the AAA, first-party exclusive will no longer be available for holiday season.
Nintendo unleashed a video update featuring Eiji Aonuma, which addressed the delay. Check it out:
VideoGamer.com posted a lengthy explanation from producer Eiji Aonuma. Here's a snipit:
In these last three months, as the team has experienced first-hand the freedom of exploration that hasn't existed in any Zelda game to date, we have discovered several new possibilities for this game.As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds my own expectations.
Aonuma goes on to explain that The Legend of Zelda for the Wii U won't make the 2015 cut due to these new “possibilities” for the game.
This is actually a great thing for gamers, because it means that Nintendo isn't just churning out a new game. The company is actually looking into different ways to expand the experience.
Here's Aonuma again:
So, I must apologize to all of you who were expecting the game by year's end, but we are no longer making a 2015 release our number one priority. Instead, our priority is to make it the ultimate and most complete Zelda game.I hope to use the added time to make a Zelda on Wii U that will reward you for your patience, so thank you for your continued support.
Videogamer.com took this as a potential hint that The Legend of Zelda is being delayed in order to develop a cross-gen release for the Wii U and the console Nintendo has planned that's codenamed the “NX”.
A cross-gen release isn't far fetched, and it's something Nintendo did execute with The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the GameCube and Wii. However, most gamers are under the impression that the Nintendo NX is going to launch in 2017 after being officially announced at E3 in 2016.
Of course, no one knows for sure what Nintendo has in store, so it's all speculation right now. One thing this new development does bring into question is what Nintendo plans to do with Star Fox?
Originally the game was scheduled to release before The Legend of Zelda, but with Link's latest adventure not even making an appearance at E3 this year, it puts a heck of a lot of strain on Star Fox to deliver in a big way. If the game takes the place of Zelda as Nintendo's big fall release, then I think most gamers would be okay with that. But Nintendo would still need a decent AAA title to help round out the summer and early fall season.
