Well NES came out in 1983 (JP) and 1985 (USA) the first Zelda came out in 1986 which is 3/1 year(s) after the system but since it is the first system and they had to actually invent all the franchises that does not really count.

The SNES came out in 1990/91 A link to the Past in 1991, 1/0years

The N64 came out in 1996 Ocarina of time in 1998 2years

The GameCube came out in 2001 Wind Waker in 2003 2years

The Wii came out in 2006 Twilight Princes in 2006 (i know its a port) 0years

WiiU came out in 2012 ...... ZeldaU in ???


I'd say chances are pretty good it could come out in 2014.

I mean we get good games in 2014 like X MK Smash etc but if the WiiU wants to be more successful than it is now it needs more games. Nintendo at least needs to have the WiiU zelda ready for 2014 in case it is needed.

And there is a reason why Skyward Sword took SOOO long to be developed they started from scratch etc yes but also because the team split and half of it was working on the successor to Skyward Sword.
(I mean SS has a remarkably empty world and lacks in content for a stationary console Zelda 5 year after the last one. Number of dungeons/towns etc...  Especially strange when you think about howother devs helped out Monolith etc....)

Also Ocarina of Time came out in 2012 and the original 3DS title 1 year later same could apply to the WiiU.
Wind WakerHD and 2014 the real deal.

I agree that between SS in 2011 and the new one in 2014 its just 3 years but its not the first time a Zelda was made in just 3 years.

Ocarine of Time was 1998
Mayoras Mask was 2000 (2 years)
WindWaker was 2003 (3 years)
Twilight Princess was 2006. (3 years)
Phantom Hourglass 2007 (1 year I know its a relative simple game in terms of visuals etc)
Spirit Tracks 2009 (2 years. Simple.N did not want to anualize the franchise on the same hardware + Team already split because SS)
So again Skyward Sword coming out in 2011 (5years after the last complex Zelda) could be because the team split and already began work on Zelda U in 2009/2010)
A Link between Worlds 2013 (also simple. No need to come up with completely new world design etc..)
The Legend of Zelda U 2014 (would be 3 years after SS)

BUT

On the other hand Nintendo seems to focus on the 3DS and also seems to lack some devs to support the WiiU otherwhise stuff like Pikmin 3 or WindWaker HD would have hit the system at launch.

I guess time will tell Nintendo will probably be able to bring out Zelda U in 2014 but they will wait how WiiU will do when MarioKart and Smash hit the system before they decide.

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.

A general rule of thumb for discourse on these forums: always assume the Wikipedia definition of things.

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.

Good game, no question.  Just at no point was I saying ERMAGERD, THIS IS THE BEST GAME EVVEERRRR!!!  It was more like "oh, that is really pretty", and hmmm... that sword fight was cool... mixed with why does my awesome flying bird look like it has a face like Barny, why does Fi have to tell me what to do with every puzzle before I even try to figure it out myself and F**K damn it, I don't want to waggle this stupid Wiimote any more to throw a bomb!  Also, the sword duels are cool, but I would rather some all out action bosses not build around swining the Wiimote.  And SS looked dated in 2011 after playing games on XB360 in HD, rather than the groundbreaking state-of-the-art visuals other Zelda's enjoyed at their time of release.  Picking up WWHD (having never played the original) seems like a massive step forward for the franchise in terms of visuals and control, even though it's based on an old game.  Loving the dual analogue.  I really can't wait for the ground-up Zelda U if it mixes the gameplay and 1080p visuals of WWHD with some more realistic art style and modern advances.

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.

Well, looking at the poll about 30% of the people that voted expect the game next year. So while, yes it was never said that it'd come next year, there are still enough people that assume it'll be out in 2014.

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.

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.

File this one under "no shit Sherlock". If Nintendo somehow rushed out Zelda next year, along with MK8 and Smash, then what the hell are they gonna have for 2015?