In what many will call unsurprising news, The Legend of Zelda game slated for release on the Wii U in 2015 will most likely not coming out in 2015.
In a video posted to The Legend of Zelda Facebook page, game creator Eiji Aonuma revealed that due to the scope of the game, “[they] are no longer making a 2015 release [their] number one priority”. This shouldn’t come as too much of a shock; Zelda titles have normally been hit with delays in the past, but it seems as if Aonuma thinks they can do something truly special with this game, so only time will tell if the delay bears any fruit.
Full transcript of video below:
Hello, Zelda fans! I am Eiji Aonuma, producer of The Legend of Zelda. I’d like to share with you an update on our development progress on The Legend of Zelda for Wii U. Since I declared at The game Awards in December that the game would launch in 2015, the directors and the many members of the development team have been working hard developing the game to make it the best it can be.
In these last three months, as the team has experienced firsthand 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 even my own expectations.
As I have watched our development progress, I have come to think that rather than work with meeting a specific schedule as our main objective, and releasing a game that reflects only what we can create within that scheduled time, I feel strongly that our focus should be to bring all these ideas to life in a way that will make The Legend of Zelda on Wii U the best game it can possibly be.
So, I must apologize to you all that 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 most complete and ultimate Zelda game. I hope to use the added time to make The Legend of Zelda for Wii U into a game that will reward you for your patience, so thank you for your continued support.
UPDATE: According to a post on Nintendo’s Miiverse website, Aonuma also confirmed that the game will also not be shown at this years E3 Expo.
“As I said in the video, we would like to take this time so we can bring you a very special experience, by making the ultimate Zelda game. Since we’d like to focus on developing the game we’ve decided to not show the game at this year’s E3.”
