Nintendo updates on delayed Zelda: ‘Every day we improve it’

When Nintendo announced a gorgeous-looking open world Zelda game at E3 2014, you could practically hear Wii U sales increase. Then it announced the game’s delay, pushing it into 2016 and disappointing millions.

Since then Nintendo has been quiet on the game’s status, but producer Eiji Aonuma has indicated something may be in the works for the 30th anniversary of the original The Legend of Zelda next year.

Speaking to Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu (as translated by Nintendo Everything), Aonuma said of the upcoming milestone “This year we wanted a Majora’s Mask concert, so it is not impossible that there may be a 30th anniversary concert next year.

“However, as we are trying to complete the new Zelda as fast as possible, that is all that is on our minds. That being said, we hope something will take form for the 30th anniversary. It is especially important to a producer of the series, so I hope to give something everyone can look forward to next year.”

Although he was speaking on celebrations for the franchise as a whole turning 30, it’s important to note that Aonuma is also indicating that the still-untitled new Zelda game is taking such prominence internally that it may derail that anniversary. On the game’s progress, he added, “We’re doing our best. Every day we improve it bit by bit. It is something that requires plenty of time, however, so please believe in us and wait.”

Following the announcement that the game had slipped off the 2015 release schedule, Nintendo did at least confirm that it will still be coming to Wii U. It’s perhaps not unreasonable to presume that while that may be true, the new Zelda may bridge the console generations, also seeing release on the upcoming Nintendo NX hardware. That move would have precedence, echoing the release of 2006’s Twilight Princess on both GameCube and the Wii.

Aonuma was mainly speaking to Famitsu about the release of The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes, a co-operative multiplayer spin-off to the main series. More of a dungeon crawler with puzzle-solving elements than a traditional Zelda games, it launches on the 3DS in the UK on 23 October and should help fill the time before Link’s next major adventure.