Zelda U delay

picture source: Nintendo

And everything was different. On Saturday Aonuma announced that The Legend of Zelda for Wii-U won't release this year. Well he said that they don't make a 2015 release their top priority anymore, but we all know that this means a 2016 release for the most-anticipated Wii-U game. If anyone of you hasn't seen the announcement yet, here it is:

Well it's a damn shame, but sadly it's nothing new. So far, nearly every console Zelda title has been delayed and with Zelda U being the first Open World and the first HD entry of the series this could be expected. Nonetheless it is still a bummer. What is even worse is the reaction of some fans.

It is ok to be upset about this, but the outright hatred some fans show, is really disturbing. I am a pretty positive person, so I prefer to look at this from a positive angle. The delay gives the team a chance to make the best Zelda game they could. I think that during the development of the open world Aonuma and his team realized the full potential they have at hands. The incredible things they could create in such an environment. Something they hadn't realized during the initial planing of the title. And for that they need more time. And as a fan I'll happily give them the time they need. The Wii-U still has several great games coming this year and treating them as garbage, just because they aren't Zelda, is pretty unfair. We still have Xenoblade Chronicles X, Star Fox, Devils Third, Splatoon, Yoshis Wooly World, Mario Maker and titles that will be announced at E3.

The delay also makes sense in the light of 2016 being the 30^th anniversary of Zelda.

However I can also understand the people criticizing Nintendo for this decision. Couldn't this ideas have been realized in a sequel? Of course this could have been the case, if the Wii-U was more successful. But right now it's pretty clear that we won't get another 3D Mario or a second full Zelda game on the console. Nintendo often said that they want to satisfy current users of the console, which is just a nice way of saying, the'll give us just enough games so that we won't regret buying the console. That's probably why Aonuma wants to cram as much ideas as possible in this title. Could it become to bloated because of that? That's a real danger. The delays of Zelda titles didn't often end in a better product, while Majoras Mask, which was completed under massive time pressure in just over a year, is now fondly remembered as one of the best games of all time. So a more focused approach is often better, but I still remain positive

The one thing that puzzles me, is that the game won't be shown at E3. For me that can only mean one of two things. Either the game is receiving a massive overhaul as we speak, and will be revealed later that year for a second time. The Tokyo Game Show or the next Game Awards would be likely dates. Or they want to push a 2015 release date and don't want to waste their time with E3, as it takes roughly one month of time to create a working E3 demo. This are the two scenarios I'm betting on, and I'm pretty sure we will see a May 2016 release date for Zelda U.

Oh and the idea that Zelda U could be a cross-platform title, releasing on the NX and the Wii-U. I wouldn't really count on that. For starters the situation between Zelda U and Twilight Princess is vastly different. The Gamecube already had a full fledged Zelda Title with Wind Waker.

Also this would send a catastrophic message to Nintendo fans and that is the last thing the company needs right now. Right now Nintendo needs to build trust in it's products. They do this through releasing high-quality titles for the Wii-U and supporting it even through it's rough times. Abandoning your console at the first sign of trouble and releasing a successor hasn't proven to be a good business practice. Just ask Sega.

So the Zelda U delay happened. What was your reaction?

And as always

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