Miyamoto: New Wii Zelda is half finished

By Robert Purchese Published 22 December, 2010

Skyward Sword heads into the clouds.

That new Zelda Wii game we've been waiting years for? Well, according to Shigeru Miyamoto, it's only half finished - comments that undermine plans for an early 2011 release.

Miyamoto now backs a non-specific 2011 release, according to Pocket-lint's interview with him.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword will be the first Zelda game to use Wii MotionPlus controls and, essentially, the whole of the Wii console - Twilight Princess was a GameCube game adapted for the launch of Wii five years ago.

Shigeru Miyamoto remains enthusiastic that Wii is as potent today as in 2006, however - even faced with stiff competition from new technologies Kinect and PlayStation Move.

"I don't think the Wii is something that people need to graduate from," he argues.

"Of course, I am happy that motion is fashionable now. But when we make games, we are not trying to produce trendy products.

"It needs to be an experience that's meaningful," expresses Miyamoto, "and the motion-control needs to add something. So our new Zelda game takes motion-control and adds something to the game to make you feel like you're part of the adventure."

He quips: "I think our rivals need to find what it is they have to offer that's new."

With Skyward Sword, Miyamoto is focusing on a "very dense" gameplay experience that, he hopes, will result in more play-throughs, as gamers "go back and replay the game once they finish it".

As to how long Wii has got left, Miyamoto believes there are "still a lot of games we can create for it".

Skyward Sword has been built to resemble a "painting come to life": a look and feel that Nintendo says better suits the action and combat than a more realistic art style.

But is it any good? Eurogamer armed Christian Donlan with a pen and sent him up against The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword at E3 this year. "With its swing attacks, bombs, and slingshots, the tiny slice of Skyward Sword shown today currently feels like a smart refinement - time will tell if it has enough to please those players who are after a touch of reinvention, too," he wrote.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (36) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Ignatius_Cheese #1 1 year ago

    As long as it's released fully finished (unlike Wind Waker) then that's all good!

    Don't rush. Get it right :o)

  • jamesslater #2 1 year ago

    Eurogamer: 'according to Shigeru Miyamoto, it's only half finished'.
    Pocket-Lint: 'At the time of our meeting, the game is “over half complete”.'

    Interesting, what a difference a word makes...

  • kinky_mong #3 1 year ago

    Oh come on Shiggsy, It shouldn't take over four years to churn out another copy and paste job from Ocarina Of Time with added waggle!

  • el_pollo_diablo #4 1 year ago

    Wonder if it'll get bumped to their next console like the last one?

  • Markitron #5 1 year ago

    I never woulda seen this coming, Nintendo have jaded me to the point that im not lookin forward to a new Zelda game.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #6 1 year ago

    Now you're just trying to get negged, Kinky ;o)

  • NOSAVIOUR #7 1 year ago

    As much as this game will be amazing, I want to see a zelda with a scale that surpasses Red Deads. Thats a good 7 years off. Damn.

  • Ignatius_Cheese #8 1 year ago

    @NOSAVIOUR - Whilst that would be brilliant, it's not in Nintendo's current DNA to make a game like that.

    Now, if they gave the franchise to Retro Studios and let them work on a "reboot" of sort for their next console...

    /salivates

  • Eraser #9 1 year ago

    I can't bear another "sword, shield, boomerang, bomb" game. Come with something new.

  • kinky_mong #10 1 year ago

    Now you're just trying to get negged, Kinky ;o)

    True, but it's based in my worst fears after Miyamoto's presentation of the game at E3 this year.

    And I really hope that massive wiimote overlay that appears on a lot of the screens I've seen doesn't make it in to the finished game. Fugly doesn't even begin to describe it.

  • asphaltcowboy #11 1 year ago

    Like the idea of a shorter, gameplay-dense Zelda game (which is what this sounds like)!

  • smelly #12 1 year ago

    sounds ace.. take as long as you like.. release it for the wii 2 for all i care.. as long as it's of high standard - and better than all the other crap released recently (cough fable 3 cough), i'm buying!

  • excelexcel #13 1 year ago

    kinky_mong maybe instead of the regular Zeldai hate you could actually check up the details are realise that turning off the HUD was one of the first things they've confirmed

  • smelly #14 1 year ago

    quote : "And I really hope that massive wiimote overlay that appears on a lot of the screens I've seen doesn't make it in to the finished game."


    Duh!!! Are you REALLY that stoopid?

    Seriously? Are you a bit dim?

    The game was being demoed at a consumer show.. people play demo pods for 5 minutes max.. You dont have time demonstrating all the new moves/etc as the player progresses like you would do in the game "properly". So for DEMONSTRATION purposes they show an overlay to skip all that.

    But you're not THAT dumb surely you realised that? No? You REALLY thought the overlay would be on the game all the time in the bought version?

    Oh brother... And they say kids are getting dumberer!

  • TonyHarrison #15 1 year ago

    Ha, I thought it was common knowledge by now that the overlay was there for the benefit of the gaming press to get to grips with the controls in their short play test.

    Anyway, we really need some story details before we can decide if there's been any change or not .

    *Awaits for 'it'll be the same story as always' comment, utterly missing the point*

  • marmaduke #16 1 year ago

    More of the bloody same then, basically. I bet you have to go to the Goron bloody villiage and go through the Goron bloody mines to get more Goron bloody bombs. AGAIN.

  • spazmo #17 1 year ago

    Yes but now you'll be doing it with amazing motion control.

  • sega #18 1 year ago

    I love the Zelda games. So far this one doesn't look up to much, but that's said about every new Zelda game before it is released and it always ends up being great. My only problem with the series is I often get lost and don't know what to do next but Twilight Princess did a good job of giving just enough hints to allow you to progress with each play instead of wandering around aimlessly, so I'm sure this will too.

  • Eighthours #19 1 year ago

    "Dense gameplay experience" and all the talk of replayability implies a shorter game than previous Zeldas. Hmmm.

  • robson_wii #20 1 year ago

    Expect in 2012 then? It won't disappoint I'm sure. Maybe they'll do a Wii and next gen version as per the Twighlight Princess release.

    TBH, Motion Plus has not really delivered and although the install bass is a high proportion of wii sales, I am surprised less games support it. Again, next gen will have this built in on day 1 so all devs can use the functionality.

    P.S. Ignatius_Cheese: What was unfinished about the Wind Waker? I thought it was a very good Zelda game (the first I played). I finished Ocarina after Wind Waker which was on the bonus disc and finally the Twighlight Princess. All are solid games with good and bad points but more good than bad.

  • Canyarion #21 1 year ago

    In development for more than 5 years and it's half done. Great. :(

  • gav082 #22 1 year ago

    I hope they put in some decent side quests this time round, all though I loved the last one I didn't feel as if there was as much to do as in other Zelda games.

  • JetSetWilly #23 1 year ago

    They're just clearing the decks for the 3DS launch window. It would be daft to cannibalise sales by launching Zelda around the same time.

  • kinky_mong #24 1 year ago

    @smelly: Sorry to arouse you from your 11 month hibernation between fanboy rants in the E3 threads with my concern about an ugly HUD. Unfortunately excelexcel beat you to a "witty" but poorly spelt retort while you were busy typing out that barely literate mouth-foaming rant.

    Now why don't you settle back down into whatever sordid little grief hole you call a home and start working on more impressive material for next year's E3 live feeds? May I suggest such gems as "LAWL!!11!! XCOCKS IS GAY!!! GAYS OF WAR 3 SHOOTY SHOOTY BANG BANG IS ALL YOU HAVE!!!111!!!" and "PHONEY GAYSTATION IS CARP!!! LOOK AT YOUR GREY BROWN UNCHARTERED POO!!111!!!"

  • Mr_Bogus #25 1 year ago

    If Miyamoto says there's still plenty more games they can make for Wii, don't count on Nintendo announcing another console any time soon.

  • andywilkie35 #26 1 year ago

    I must agree with kinky_mong, smelly is an absolute cockcunt of the highest order.

  • Mysjkin7 #27 1 year ago

    I find it really hard to feel the hype on this... it takes more than just motion-control to reinvent the franchise. What about the sort of immersion and sense of freedom that, for example, the Elder Scrolls games have pioneered? Where you actually have the option to explore what you want instead of being confined to the main quest in order to progress to new areas. What about the style and flair of, for example, the Okami games, where the entire graphic design, down to the text type - not just the filter - is unique, historically appealing and coherent?

    What about being surprised? Perhaps not having to light four torches to open a door or through another bomb in a Dodongo's mouth. Nintendo plays their nostalgia cards very confidently, but you can only milk a 20 year old cow so much.

  • Stuz359 #28 1 year ago

    You have to remember so much of the game development is taken up by engine development, design and control mechanics. Sounds to me that they have finished most of that process and are just finishing all the content to go into the final game. It's been too long since I played a new Zelda.

  • mikew1985 #29 1 year ago

    :(

    I never thought the day would come that I wouldn't even be looking forward to the next Zelda. I hope it turns out to be absolutely briliant and makes me eat my stupid negative words!

  • Caimbeul #30 1 year ago

    only half finished, i thought it was due for release in march?

  • geeza2020 #31 1 year ago

    Hmmm, either Zelda is getting stale, or I'm getting old. Can't drum up any anticipation for this game at the moment, no matter how much I read about it. Looking back over all the zelda games I have played over the years, I'd say the ones that stick in my mind more than others are Majora's Mask and WindWaker. Unfortunately they seemed to divide the fanbase into love it/hate it camps. But I think I really liked them both because they didnt seem to be using the same template again, and MM had an overall darker tone, and WW had that very distinct visual style. TP brought absolutely nothing new/interesting to the mix IMO. (the wolf stuff is just crap, seemed like a huge rip-off of Okami to me, a much better game than TP, thats for sure).

    That's what I want from a new Zelda, something that at least tries something new. But so far, I've seen nothing to suggest this isn't just another copy/paste effort of OoT.

  • ColdShoulder #32 1 year ago

    Wonder if this turns into what Twilight Princess was for the gamecube, it really sounds like he's stalling for the next console to me.

  • Bartacus #33 1 year ago

    Nintendo too busy counting grannies money to make decent low def Wii games.

  • blunted #34 1 year ago

    They hit the high point with Majora's Mask, and it's been downhill since then. Twilight Princess had its moments, but lacked the pacing or consistency of Ocarina / Majora's.

    Skywywyward Sword looks okay, but watching that video leaves me pretty cold - a sad state of affairs. Thing is, how do you compete with two of the greatest games ever made?

  • curtlikesmeat #35 1 year ago

    I have to agree with the general sentiment I'm afraid - in the past I would have splashed on a new console just for a Zelda game, but I've totally lost interest now as they seem to be still riding on the Ocarina wave and haven't advanced as other similar games have overtaken them.

    Make something that has the impact now that OoT had back then, and I'll buy a £500 console just to play it.

  • keatsunn #36 1 year ago

    I'm still not believing it will be released in 2011.
    And that's fine, no need to rush.