It has always been like this, or at least since the days of Nintendo 64. Nintendo's agenda has always been to try to release games when they are ready, rather than trying to meet deadlines. That's one of the reasons we see so many Nintendo developed games among the top 100 best games.
I prefer delayed games if they become better because of the delay.
In some rare cases Nintendo has postponed their releases to avoid draught. I believe Donkey Kong Tropical Freeze was such move.







