New Zelda may not be out next year

By Ellie Gibson Published 9 November, 2009

Nintendo's not committing to 2010.

Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime has hinted there may be a bit of a wait in store for the next Wii instalment in the Zelda series.

"We haven't committed to Zelda in 2010," he told GameTrailers (as spotted by VG247).

That's not to say a release next year isn't possible, and Nintendo has discussed such a possibility before. At E3 2009, Shigeru Miyamoto said he was aiming for a 2010 release - although he made no promises.

"I would like to say we hope to bring it to you next year," he said. "It may take a little longer."

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (27) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Zomoniac #1 2 years ago

    Maybe spend the extra time adding something other than a boomerang, slingshot and grapple rope to progress in somewhere other than a fire, water and ice temple...

  • Vice.Destroyer #2 2 years ago

    I have heard these announcements regarding possible delays for 1st party Nintendo games for nigh on 16 years. It is the one constani in videogames. I wouldn't even mind if each new Zelda was a revolution. But, and may Miyamoto forgive me, they're not. Since Ocarina, it has felt like the same game, with a new release perhaps getting a single, new weapon or new move. And that is it.

    But I will still buy.

  • Darren #3 2 years ago

    Do Nintendo have just ONE person coding their in-house games during their lunchbreaks or something? :?

    Seriously, god help them when they finally move up to complex multicore hardware with HD graphics like the Xbox 360 and PS3 have, we'll be waiting decades for each new game instead of years!

    Pah, Wii... Wii came, Wii conquered, Wii failed...

  • paul_haine #4 2 years ago

    Fine by me. Would rather have a brilliant game in 2011 than an unfinished game in 2010.

  • Antaios #5 2 years ago

    This is not good for Nintendo or the Wii, specifically. Of course, take the time and deliver a great game instead of a good one, by all means. But they'd better work their bloody arses of to deliver this in 2010, because 2011 might very well be too late to save the Wii. The things is a few years old, the novelty of the nunchuck and all has worn off a long time ago and if they don't start churning out some really great games like a new Mario, Zelda or whatever the fans are screaming about for years now things could look really ugly for Big N's future.

  • Vice.Destroyer #6 2 years ago

    @Antaios
    For better or for worse, the Wii does not need saving. Nintendo is so popular, they can do what they want. For every traditional gamer (like me) that they lose, 50 casual gamers take their place. In that context, I can understand why a new Zelda game is not high on the agenda. The Wii Fit crowd won't buy Zelda in sufficient numbers. And unfortunately, it is the bottom line that matters most.

  • itsfuzzy #7 2 years ago

    Top selling games 2008.

    1 Mario Kart Wii 13.64m
    2 Wii Fit 13.64
    3 Wii Play 11.00m
    4 Super Smash Brothers Brawl 8.31m
    5 Grand Theft Auto IV (X360) 6.64m
    6 New Super Mario Brothers 5.53m
    7 Brain Training 5.45m
    8 Grand Theft Auto IV(PS3) 5.25m
    9 Mario Kart DS 4.76m
    10 Nintendogs DS 4.52m

    Dont think they give a shit what people like us think.
    We only bought their games and kept them alive before so called casual gaming.
    People like us that have a general passion for games are not on their radar.

  • Cid #8 2 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer

    How can you say that Majora's Mask and Wind Waker felt the same as Ocarina? Majora's Mask in particular. I actually wish they'd go back and build on some of the ideas and themes introduced in that game.

    Anyway, it makes sense for Nintendo not to commit to anything at this stage. I still think it'll be the big Christmas 2010 release, unless they decide to move it to the next console or something. But that'd NEVER happen. :x

  • Pirotic #9 2 years ago

    2011? I find it hard to believe the Wii will even be relevant then. They should hold it off for the next console, nothing worse than an epic RPG being released at such a late period and being largely ignored.

  • Antaios #10 2 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer:
    You're right about the casual gamers. On the other hand, these are mostly people who buy the console, two or three games and not much more. It's not a very long lasting group of customers, I think..

  • danathjo #11 2 years ago

    If it really takes that long I predict they'll pull a Twilight Princess and hold it back for a release on the Wii 2/Wii HD/Poo.
    As someone else already said, god help them when they start making more complex HD games!!

  • Caimbeul #12 2 years ago

    Surprise Surprise...not

    Maybe delayed to bring it to the runoured Gamecube HD, i mean Wii HD.

    Cant wait though. Twighlight Princess was amazing but a return to Wind Waker style would be nice.

  • rudedudejude #13 2 years ago

    I don't know anyone who only owns 2 or 3 wii games, most people owning at least 6 or 7.

    I guess I just don't know any of these so called 'casual gamers', strange and rare species that they are.

  • Vice.Destroyer #14 2 years ago

    @CiD
    I will concede that I have not played Majoras Mask. But Wind Waker felt like the same game. Very different graphics, of course. It looked pretty, but it was essentially the same game we all know and love.

  • SG #15 2 years ago

    No problem with that. Look what happened with TWW with half the game missing because the impatient American twats voted for it to be released sooner on the NoA website.

  • Cid #16 2 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer

    Wind Waker has a completely different feel to Ocarina as far as I'm concerned - and not just because of the visuals. In fact I don't remember anyone complaining that the series was getting stale until Twilight Princess rolled into town. And that game was intentionally similar to Ocarina. Up until then I thought they were doing a good enough job shaking things up with each instalment.

  • SG #17 2 years ago

    Vice.Destroyer
    09/11/09 @ 07:44

    I have heard these announcements regarding possible delays for 1st party Nintendo games for nigh on 16 years. It is the one constani in videogames. I wouldn't even mind if each new Zelda was a revolution. But, and may Miyamoto forgive me, they're not. Since Ocarina, it has felt like the same game, with a new release perhaps getting a single, new weapon or new move. And that is it.

    Majora's Mask? Hell, TWW was still quite different. Only TP was too similar to everything gone by - and that was fucking fan service!

  • SG #18 2 years ago

    @Vice.Destroyer

    How can you say that Majora's Mask and Wind Waker felt the same as Ocarina? Majora's Mask in particular. I actually wish they'd go back and build on some of the ideas and themes introduced in that game.

    Majoras' Mask Majoras' Mask Majoras' Mask! Best bloody Zelda ever, by far the most depth and thought provoking in story and gameplay!

    Unfortunately I think that Nintendo are done with that little experiment. >:(
    Edited by 1 at 09/11/09 @ 11:31

  • Gene-ius #19 2 years ago

    @SG

    +1 there, my friend. Majora's Mask is the best game of all time, with storytelling so far ahead of any other game ever made it's almost laughable. (It's set in a world you CAN'T SAVE. Now that is ambition.)

  • Darren #20 2 years ago

    Personally Majora's Mask is the only Zelda game I didn't like as I found the oh-so-clever time travel/looped day thing confusing and the save system was odd too. I just never got into it and after the sublime Ocarina of Time it was a disappointment as far as I was concerned. The nail in the coffin though was that despite the story and setting being different, the whole graphical style of the game felt like a remix of Ocarina of Time so it lacked the same sense of identity that all the other games have had.

  • sneetch #21 2 years ago

    @itsfuzzy

    I wonder how the 2009 charts will look? :)

    Anyway, were people expecting this in 2010? They didn't give any release dates (AFAIK) and I was personally assuming 2011-2012. So long as it feels like a new Zelda rather than an expansion for Ocarina of Time (which I'll admit Twilight Princess felt like to me, great game just didn't feel too new to me) then I'll be happy to wait.

  • itsfuzzy #22 2 years ago

    @Sneetch

    Not to sure how the 2009 chart will look mate. But you can be sure they will have at least 4 titles in the top 10.

    Nintendo have their new fan base now (casual gamers, grannies, etc) , and nothing else matters
    I know this story sounds petty but here is a example of how they treat their loyal customers.
    When i was buying gamecube games you got these stars to collect when you register the game.
    I saved them up over the years hoping i would get enough to get a collectors link figurine or something (sad i know).
    Then when the Wii hit big time they re-hauled the whole system and erased all the 6000 points i had accumulated.
    Thanks Gamecube gamer for your support, we dont need you anymore. Have a nice day.
    Thats what they think of their old fanboys. Petty story i know. But just highlights their frame of mind.

  • sneetch #23 2 years ago

    @itsfuzzy
    Not to sure how the 2009 chart will look mate. But you can be sure they will have at least 4 titles in the top 10.

    Sorry mate, it was a throw away comment but I reckon you're right, Wii Sports Resort and Wii Fit at least will be there, I reckon, and a few DS games (I always forget the DS games, I have one but never really use it - apart from when I visit my nieces and nephews and they want to link DSs for Mario Kart or something, good fun).

    I heard about the Stars reset (I was considering that same Link statue tbh :) ) and it peeved me; why remove them to save a few piddly bucks when each entry represented a game someone purchased from you. It would be like GAME or Gamestop resetting your "loyalty" card when a new console comes out, it'll annoy and achieve very little else.

  • makeamazing #24 2 years ago

    I suspect they will delay it so they can also add HD support for the game, if they are going HD, they are going to need some HD games, only problem is what the helll will they be releasing next year?

  • Burkey123 #25 2 years ago

    ''Fine by me. Would rather have a brilliant game in 2011 than an unfinished game in 2010.''

    +1

  • smelly #26 2 years ago

    No surprises here.

    "Maybe spend the extra time adding something other than a boomerang, slingshot and grapple rope to progress in somewhere other than a fire, water and ice temple..."


    Someone didnt play Twilight Princess did they? As that had that rocking bit with the cog thingy... But even then i could say the same about weapon upgrades in certain fps games...

  • zakrocz #27 2 years ago

    If the Wii HD becomes a reality, what better way to get the loyal Nintendo fanbase to upgrade with a new HD Zelda title.