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Forums - Nintendo - Zelda U is highly unlikely to release next year

 

When do you think Zelda U will release?

Second half of 2014 83 31.32%
 
First half of 2015 40 15.09%
 
Second half of 2015 105 39.62%
 
After 2015 22 8.30%
 
Results 15 5.66%
 
Total:265
Zero999 on 09 December 2013
Dulfite said:
Zero999 said:

I think that while not perfect, skyward sword was amazing. the 1:1 motion controls gave me the awesome the feeling of being inside the game. it will be a step back going back to  button only fights.

Didn't they basically say every console Zelda game from here on out would use motion controls because of how amazing SS was? WWHD doesn't count cause it was a remake and it wouldn't have worked I don't think. But I fully expect Zelda U to use motion controls.

I was talking about 1:1 sword fighting, wich can only be reproduced on wii u if you play with wiimote + nunchuck and use the gamepad as a second screen. like one of the control options of pikmin 3.



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DerNebel on 09 December 2013
TheLastStarFighter said:

I'm pretty sure EAD has much more than 350 employees and the Zelda team is probably well over 100 people.  Not that it matters, small teams make incredible games in a short time very often.

FYI, WWHD was made by 4 guys in 6 months, with a little outsourced help.

Well it does bother me abit that that 350 people number is unsourced, so if you'll find another source saying something else than I'll gladly retract my statement regarding the number of people working on Zelda (I'll still stick with 2015 though)



TheLastStarFighter on 09 December 2013
DerNebel said:
TheLastStarFighter said:

I'm pretty sure EAD has much more than 350 employees and the Zelda team is probably well over 100 people.  Not that it matters, small teams make incredible games in a short time very often.

FYI, WWHD was made by 4 guys in 6 months, with a little outsourced help.

Well it does bother me abit that that 350 people number is unsourced, so if you'll find another source saying something else than I'll gladly retract my statement regarding the number of people working on Zelda (I'll still stick with 2015 though)

No one can say for sure.  But your Wiki source is simply >350 which does not mean there are around 350 by any stretch.

To give a ballpark, Nintendo employs directly over 5000 people.  It's safe to say that most work in production, but if we say only half do that's 2500 employees.  If we were to divide into around 10 divisions (6 in EAD, 2 in Tokyo and a few others) that's around 250 per division.  If that is all the Zelda EAD group had, they could have 125 working on handheld and another 125 on Zelda U... and that's being very conservative.

To put more perspective on things, Retro has over 100 employees and they have been referred to as a small studio in the past that is just now big enough to handle two games at a time.  Monolith also employs over 100.  It's safe to say Nintendo could allocate 100-200 people to the Zelda projects.



Pavolink on 09 December 2013
DerNebel said:

Some more information:

According to Wikipedia there are currently over 350 developers working at Nintendos Kyoto Software Department, which are spread out between the 5 different Development Groups, this means we can probably assume that less than 100 are working in the Zelda group, the groups are certainly helping each other out in some cases but I'd be highly surprised if the other groups aren't busy with their own game developments as well. Now like I've said in the OP, Group 3 has released 2 Zelda games this year already, Wind Waker HD reportedly took 6 months to make and A Link between worlds had been in development since 2011.

This means that only just now all of Development Group 3 has started working on the new Zelda U, now if that game is going to have the same art direction as Wind Waker then yes, I could see the game being ready next year, but let's be honest, the next console Zelda will probably have a more mature look, I'm pretty Nintendo has noticed that those do better on their home consoles. So I still really don't see a mature looking console Zelda with HD graphics releasing next year.

Monolith soft is helping for sure in this one. And this proves once again that Zelda U should be ready. At E3 2011 Nintendo showed a well polished Zelda SS demo, and that leds me to believe game was almost already. ALBW while good, it doesn't look like a demanding game, so basically with Monolith and almost the entire Zelda team focused in Zelda U it's more than likely it will come next year.

They cut dungeons on OoT, used the same assets for MM, rushed WW. Only TP was delayed for Wii launch and SS had all the time they wanted because Wii was selling good. Wii U is not selling, they need as soon as possible.



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Dunban67 on 09 December 2013

Just because Nintendo said they could have shown it at E3 2013 does not mean much- They tend to say whatever is expedient with little regard to actuality or truth- They have a habit of misleading/lying to their fan base often- That does not mean they are BS in every time they comment on a game or make announcements but it is nearly impossible to know the difference



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curl-6 on 09 December 2013

It should be noted that now that they're dealing with HD-level development,it will take longer to make than an equivalent Wii-level Zelda.

 

Dulfite said:

Skyward Sword was the most enjoyable Zelda experience I have ever had. The painted art style was so unique and so aesthetically pleasing it's not even funny. The level of exploration, flying, feeling like I'm visiting vastly different areas all was awesome. I loved how each level kept expanding as you progressed, instead of just introducing new areas for each progression point. The Wii motion plus with the sword was an absolute blast to play (very unique and much better than TP). I loved the story most of all. The best story in a Zelda game ever in my opinion. Demise and the introduction of so many other things was so awesome (especially after reading Hyrule Historia comic at end of the book).

While I would put it second to Ocarina in the Zelda series, I agree Skyward Sword was an amazing game.

The immersive motion controlled swordplay and the superb dungeon designs made it not only one of the best games of 2011, but one of the best games of the 7th generation.



Dulfite on 09 December 2013
TheLastStarFighter said:
Dulfite said:
Zero999 said:
TheLastStarFighter said:
Dulfite said:


Skyward Sword was the most enjoyable Zelda experience I have ever had. The painted art style was so unique and so aesthetically pleasing it's not even funny. The level of exploration, flying, feeling like I'm visiting vastly different areas all was awesome. I loved how each level kept expanding as you progressed, instead of just introducing new areas for each progression point. The Wii motion plus with the sword was an absolute blast to play (very unique and much better than TP). I loved the story most of all. The best story in a Zelda game ever in my opinion. Demise and the introduction of so many other things was so awesome (especially after reading Hyrule Historia comic at end of the book).

It's good you enjoyed it, and I thought it was pretty good but most of us (Zelda fans and gamers in general) found it to be a little sub-par by Zelda standards.  There were few people calling it the greatest game ever made, grounbreaking or even game of the year, which has been the case for a number of Zeldas from the past.

I think that while not perfect, skyward sword was amazing. the 1:1 motion controls gave me the awesome the feeling of being inside the game. it will be a step back going back to  button only fights.

Didn't they basically say every console Zelda game from here on out would use motion controls because of how amazing SS was? WWHD doesn't count cause it was a remake and it wouldn't have worked I don't think. But I fully expect Zelda U to use motion controls.

No.  They did state that WWHD was the trial run for how to control a Wii U Zelda, however.  Expect gamepad controls for the new Zelda.


"In an interview with the Official Nintendo Magazine, Skyward Sword lead developer Eiji Aonuma said that he can't see Nintendo returning to the traditional button controls format for playing Zelda games: 'I honestly think we cannot go back to button controls now, so I think that these [Wii Motion Plus] controls will be used in future Zelda titles, too.'"

http://www.wiizelda.net/wii-u/zelda-continue-motion-controls/

WWHD was a remake of a game. Games are designed around controls, so they couldn't use motion plus with WWHD as that would totally change the feel of that game. I'm convinced, based on the quote above, that Nintendo will continue to use motion plus as the main controller option for console 3d Zelda games. That being said, I could also see them allowing pro controller as well as somehow utilizing the gamepad (along with wii motion plus) if people want. 



Dulfite on 09 December 2013
curl-6 said:

It should be noted that now that they're dealing with HD-level development,it will take longer to make than an equivalent Wii-level Zelda.


It's pretty clear that they have learned some things and are much quicker at it now. WWHD did only take 6 months (I know it's a remake but that is still really quick for a pretty small team of developers).



curl-6 on 09 December 2013
Dulfite said:
curl-6 said:

It should be noted that now that they're dealing with HD-level development,it will take longer to make than an equivalent Wii-level Zelda.


It's pretty clear that they have learned some things and are much quicker at it now. WWHD did only take 6 months (I know it's a remake but that is still really quick for a pretty small team of developers).

All that really needed was a graphical overhaul though.

A new game requires everything from ground-up asset creation, to dungeon/world/character design.



kekrot on 09 December 2013
DerNebel said:

Now even if we for a second assume that Nintendo could get the game ready in 2014, would it even make sense to release that year? We know that the Wii U is not doing so hot, so it might sound weird to some people that Nintendo should not release all their games as fast as possible, but look at what is coming out for the console in 2014 already: MK, Smash and DK plus a couple third party exclusives. 2014 looks good for the Wii U at least from an exclusive games perspective, so why should they fire all their big guns at once and release Zelda that year as well? Give people Zelda U plus a new 2D Mario and the new IP Nintendo is working on in 2015 and you have 2 great years softwarewise back to back. 


Please not that. We already has one, plus one in a three dimensional space.

But I hope that Zelda U gets released late next year, with DK in February, MK in April, and Smash in summer. They can't drag Smash until fall when they have no big first party games in May-October. It can very well for all we know be very far along in development, and be released november 2014. Skyward Sword was 2011, TP 2006, WW 2003, and MM 2000. I mentioned MM because it shows how long it took to a completely new generation, three years. Then three years to TP. Like another said, they could drag SS as long as they would due to Wii selling really really good in the meantime. And it took too long in my opinion. I remember when Wii launched, they announced at the launch of TP that the real Zelda Wii had been in the first stages of development for a year, from November 2005. That's something to think about.



Yep.