zeldas come every two or three years, skyward sword was the exception, period.

OoT > MM - 2 years

MM > TWW - 2 years (japan holiday 2002)

TWW > TP - 4 years (delayed one year for the Wii launch)

SS had a 5 years development not only for the addition of motion plus, but also the changed completly the art style. Plus, Wii was selling so much that time that they believe it wasn't necessary. This time they need for Holiday 2014.

Alright, you've got me there.  There have been plenty of times when they've released more frequently.  But I still don't think 2014 is likely.  Call me a pessimist, but the tiniest snag tends to trip them up.  We want to put it on the Wii as well!  +1 year.  We want to include the Wii Motion Plus!  +2 years.  We've come into the HD era with our pants down!  +174 years.  They've just got such a long history of eternally delaying titles that I've completely lost trust in their ability to develop a game in a timely manner.  (I mean come on, Pikmin 3 has been in development for five years, and early reviews are saying it's pretty much the exact same thing as the other games with a few extra features.)

pikmin 3 was a wii project that got moved to wii u. it didn't take 5 years to build it from the ground. and about zelda, nintendo themselves said development for the game has been smooth and they almost showed it at E3. plus, iwata said he was pressuring the zelda team to have the games ready at a maximun of 3 years.

Alright, you've got me there.  There have been plenty of times when they've released more frequently.  But I still don't think 2014 is likely.  Call me a pessimist, but the tiniest snag tends to trip them up.  We want to put it on the Wii as well!  +1 year.  We want to include the Wii Motion Plus!  +2 years.  We've come into the HD era with our pants down!  +174 years.  They've just got such a long history of eternally delaying titles that I've completely lost trust in their ability to develop a game in a timely manner.  (I mean come on, Pikmin 3 has been in development for five years, and early reviews are saying it's pretty much the exact same thing as the other games with a few extra features.)

I don't know why you're so adamant about this.  I'm not changing my opinion.  You can give a legitimate reason for every delayed game Nintendo has given us, but you can't convince me that the new Zelda is exempt from falling victim to one of these reasons.

So please stop trying.

It's just that, untill they say so, the game isn't getting delayed. you're too pessimistic.

You should not be pessimitic about the timeframe between SS and Zelda U. You must be worried in regards of the quality.

As far as I know, just like TP, SS was finished before the launch but they wanted to release during holidays to have something for the Wii and get more sales. At E3 2011 the game looked well polished and looks like the used some time just to perfect only details and all that. The original intended release date for SS was Holiday 2010, but maybe they didn't have finished or looked at a very busy year regarding first party titles.

Now that Wii U is floping they need Zelda released as soon as posible, so maybe they will pull a WW, and maybe while it will be more complete it will still feel rushed.

Also, during the Wii era, Zelda was mentioned only because people asked. Between the release of TP and the unveiling of SS at E3 2010, Nintendo mentioned basically only one time at E3 2008 and showed the artwork at E3 2009. The other mentions were people asking for it. This time is Nintendo the one that is talking about it in almost every interview after E3 and even at 2011 Iwata mentioned during an investor meeting.

I guess development is well advanced, but I'm not sure is what we are hoping.