Khuutra, I realized I need to play the latest Zelda games again to get their full value, but why is it like that, I don't remember having to play twice to really appreciate the full value in OoT and Wind Waker. It could be me, but I get the sense that something is missing in the Zelda games of late to attract the segment in question. Some kind of oomph, but I can't put my finger on it.

Zelda isn't the kind of series to attract that sort of crowd regardless; it's too mechanically focused instead of being art-focused. Skyward Sword is the most art-focused Zelda ever made, and it ended up doing only slightly better than Majora's Mask.

Some of this can be laid at the feet of hardware requirements (not everyone can buy the WM+, they didn't produce enough of the Special Edition, etc.), some of it can be laid at the feet that the Wii was a dying system when Skyward Sword came out, on and on

Ultimately, though, Zelda is not an art series or a prestige series. It's a series you play first and experience second.

That reminds me of this article:

http://www.vgchartz.com/article/250250/dylan-cuthbert-miyamoto-focuses-on-gameplay-first-story-second/

Yet as far as I remember, Ocarina of Time had that crowd interested, or at least LttP before it, or Zelda II (I know, I'm going way back now).

Do you think it's possible to have a bit of the old Zelda appeal and mesh it with the new, or do you think it would just be better to pull OP off with a new IP or try it again with Metroid (which is still very close to its origins, spiritually).

That crowd was much smaller back in the late 90s, and they were mostly playing Final Fantasy on the Playstation.

I think Nintendo should make the games they're good at making, and fund games (like Bayonetta 2) which would not otherwise be in their portfolio.

Fair enough. If they're lucky, they can snag a team like those who made SotC, a diamond in the rough. The only fear I have is that Nintendo might influence the design without learning that thing OP talks about that makes the games mentioned so bang on, and as such breaking the objective in the process. However I concede that the inverse pollenation is also possible, though I have my doubts and would expect the former I brought up to happen first.

One of the reasons I called for Nintendo themselves taking it seriously was so they could learn it, and help their newly purchased studios grow in it to cater to that segment, rather than negatively affecting that goal by infusing their current ways in the acquired studios. It would be a loss as far as I'm concerned.

And then there's this need -> http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=4799621

In essence find a new Rare to make the mature titles and fund them.  :)