Producer Eiji Aonuma announced today that The Legend of Zelda game for the Wii U has been delayed and will not be making its previously-scheduled 2015 release date. Nintendo also said the game will not be shown at this year’s E3.
In his update about the progress on The Legend of Zelda for Wii U, Aonuma said: “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.”
He added: “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.”
