Zelda games on average sell three times as much as Metroid games, if we're just counting console game.s If you count handhelds it's al ot worse. Zelda's not as big as the expanded market games, but when it comes to "core-only" games Zelda is close to the biggest Nintendo has. Pretending otherwise is disingenuous or dishonest unless you just don't know any better.

Iwata has said it would come out this year. I will continue to believe this until given reason not to believe it.

Reasons why none of this matters:

1. Zelda shouldn't be considered the big holiday title for Nintendo. Yes, the core love it, but it's sales won't hold a candle to 2009's trio of 10m sellers. Nintendo has other unrevealed titles that we should consider more lucrative. If it gets delayed to 2011, it won't be that big of a deal.

2. Metroid is an even smaller franchise than Zelda, so it wouldn't make sense to delay that game just to "make up" for the lost sales of Zelda. The last Metroid sold less than Wii Music.

3. Metroid was delayed to the end of august, which isn't the holiday season.

Mario is core, isn't he? I'm pretty sure SMG was a core game that was also accessible.

My point is that it doesn't make sense to be so firm on one core game, when most everything else is getting pushed aside. Unless there is something fundamentally different about the new Zelda that makes it as desirable as NSMBWii, I can't see it coming out before xmas. Games like NSMBWii come out before christmas.

Hence why I said "close" - Mario is contestable ground because your definition of "core" may or may not include him, but comparing Zelda to Metroid and claiming that they're not that far apart in terms of popularity is just incorrect. It's like comparing Uncharted to Assassin's Creed.

The problem here is that you're assumign htat expanded audience games would necessarily take awy from Zelda sales, or vice versa; this isn't hte case. The two game types appeal to intrinsically different audiences, and would not eat into each other's appeal or their ability to move hardware.

More: Iwata said it was coming this year. I will repeat that over and over until it hits home. Metroid getting moved around has diddly shit to do with Zelda.

This.

Also Nintendo knows that they need to put zelda out this year , they must overshadow alot of stuff, like move and natal , and zelda wii + 3ds is all that they need.

The thing is, the delay of one title could be completely unrelated to the development process of another.

Just because Metroid was delayed for a 'distributive release' does not mean that suddenly it will take longer to make Zelda. Zelda is a WM+ priority.

Note that Iwata was talking of Japan and it was only a hopeful date which means nothing for us does it as it's still 2011 if you hold a western console in this case, TP was also said to be on route for 2005 release but never made it until 2006, ofcourse Reggie has seen Zelda he runs the US branch and has to know of what's being produced in Japan to plan for it, as for momentum it won't be the first time Nintendo has skipped a holiday to boost the next year, I have to also reference The Prof00's point here as it holds some ground, Nintendo can easily bring out another game for the expanded market (Fit, Sports etc...) to fill the holiday gap as it'll give them more sales and momentum then anything else Nintendo has as the expanded market outnumber everyone else heavily.

We all want Zelda but people should understand that it's not as big of a factor in the big picture despite it's anticipation, Galaxy 2 was pushed into 2010 because Nintendo opted for NSMBW to tackle the holiday season instead and it also allowed extra development as only MW2 has sold more then NSMBW from last year. With the spreading out of titles I can see a similar thing happening this year, an expanded market game coming out during holiday for sales and momentum and Zelda coming in March or May 2011.

It won't take longer to make, it just might get the same 'distributive release'. The decision really hinges on whether zelda really is the wm+ mover that they say it is. If so, it should be out before christmas, but if they think that they will sell more zeldas AFTER christmas than during christmas....

It really depends on how many they think they will sell.

Think about it like this.

During Christmas, a wii owner is probably going to want a game, and will probably get a game or two from friends or relatives, giftcards etc.
What game will that be?

Well, if Zelda is out, and they like zelda and other "traditionally core" games, they will probably get zelda and maybe mario or metroid or some other game.
If Zelda is not out, they will probably get SMG2 or metroid or some other game.

The question is, how many games would they buy if zelda was released during christmas vs after christmas. Will fans buy Zelda whenever it comes out? If so, would zelda cut into another game's sales during christmas? For example, someone always gets 2 games for christmas. Zelda is not out. So, SMG2 and metroid are purchased.  Later Zelda is purchased.
Now, say Zelda is out. The two games are Zelda and SMG2. Will Metroid be purchased later? In the case of longtime nintendo fans, the answer would probably be yes.

But if not, could zelda "steal" a purchase?

Now, this question would be answered by Nintendo with data and surveys and statistics and such. I have no such evidence, but logically, it's possible. The answer is what the bottom line looks like after testing. Whichever one is higher is how the release will be scheduled.