I kind of have to agree that like Wind-Waker it may run the risk of being too awesome for some people. >_

Don't get me wrong, it needs a Zelda title, any Zelda title really.

It's just that a realistic Zelda would move a lot more Wii U units than a cartoon one, that's just given, and the Wii U needs as much help as it can possibly get.

@VanceIX

I get what you're saying, but I don't think dark/"gritty" is neccesary at all. I wanted something more like the E3 demo too, but I'm also just fine with this. And like I pointed out, this was JUST a bright daytime scene. There WILL be dark night as well, not to mention many other, different environments, and lots of dark, brooding, "gritty" dungeons for people to explore. Those things are a given. It's Zelda. So I really don't think the art style is a big deal.

I also think that the landscapes themselves look plenty realistic enough to "show people the power of Wii U". For sure.

Honestly, no Zelda game is entirely naturalistic/realistic. Even Twilight Princess is stylized. Deal with it.

Meh... This will sell regardless.

Cel-shading is an ugly abomination. I was playing A Link to the Past last night and was admiring the graphics and art, this new kind of graphics I don't think I can accept :(

I liked Skyward Sword quite a bit. I was ok with the cel-shading graphics, because it was a SD system. Wii U is a HD system, so Zelda needs to show it's HD. Hell, even animated films are better looking than this these days.  It'll sell for the hardcore Zelda fans, but it's not going to be a big system mover.

Maybe its time that Nintendo got Retro or another western studio to make the main Zelda games? 

"Conventional (smooth) lighting values are calculated for each pixel and then quantized to a small number of discrete shades" - I think this is what bothers me about it so much. Why take a nice graphics calculation and make it intentionally and artificially worse?

By quantizing, they are throwing away valuable information! Why can't I turn off this quantization?

I don't understand why people think Link looks bad. He looks AMAZING. I love the cell shaded color on his outfit. It's completely different from a realistic art style that would only highlight any technical failings that might pop up.
I'm one of those people who will simply never understand why people want realism in a game like this. Like I think I'm actually incapable of understanding it.

He looks more expressive than the last two console games, which is great.

This game gives a shot for a Zelda that looks like this to be the premiere Zelda on the system, and boost hardware. Trust me, if this game came out after a realistic Zelda on the WiiU the results for it would be just like Majora's Mask and Skyward Sword. And Spirit Tracks. The second game never has a shot at doing as well as the first in this series.

I'm not personally offended by the game, if you even bothered to read the OP. In terms of pure game sales, a cartoon game won't sell as much as a realistic one. All Zelda games have a unique art style, doesn't mean they are all blatanty cel-shaded though. I personally love it, huge improvement over Skyward Sword, but it won't move as many units.

This isn't about preference. It's about what's best for the Wii U.