If Nintendo didn't have a delay problem, they'd have a quality/lack of polish problem. Which in turns means the delays aren't a problem.

I have no idea if Nintendo is better or worse with crunch.  I just know that crunch is a problem in the industry and gamers we should embrace delays because extreme crunch isn't ok.  We, as gamers, shouldn't expect people to work 80 hours a week just so we can play a game a few months earlier.  It isn't ok, IMHO.

Not really sure why Nintendo is being singled out here when the whole industry has this problem. Also, the idea that BotW will simply be reusing old assets is a very big assumption (people didn't assume this about Horizon: Forbidden West...which was also delayed).

Out of their entire lineup last year only one game was delayed (advance Wars). So saying it's a huge problem is a bit hyperbolic. Just my two cents

I think we feel the delays more because aside from a handful of games (Zelda, Metroid Prime 4), they release the games a mere months after announcing them- at least with the Switch. I feel like this strategy should be applied to all games in the future.

Well said. I do want to clarify (though no one has criticized me constructively or otherwise yet) that I don't want Nintendo to make or pressure their employees to work longer hours or to rush games.

So if we have to deal with delays, so be it. I just wonder why Zelda has such a chronic history of delays. I guess it's just the polish needed.

I'm glad I didn't know about Odyssey until now because my blood would be boiling if I knew that in 2017. Odyssey should've launched between March-May 2017, not October. 

The Advance Wars delay is something I didn't address that is frustrating. The initial delay I understand, but delaying it because of the Ukranian invasion? If companies delayed war games every time there was a new invasion/war in general we would see something happening like this just about every year. 

Zelda games do typically get delayed, but they are always damn near perfect so I'm fine with it. Whenever any game gets delayed, I'm always a little disappointed but get over it right away, since I know the extra time will be worth it.

I think this has a rather simple and very straightforward explanation: Its just marketing. They simply announce their games ahead of time to build hype and sell consoles.
Wether said games will need more development time or not is probably circumstancial, and when they do - simply delaying them is better than releasing an unpolished product.

The problem is not delays but announcing things way too early. Too early for even the best directors to accurately assess the timelines.
Nintendo announcing Legend of Zelda after this holiday season, 3-5 months before launch, would have been so much more impactful and positive than people just sick and tired of waiting for the game they showed 3 years ago to be released.

Indeed. The hypocrisy here…

How long ago did that crowd call what happens on Sony’s side the DelayStation?

But of course, all excuses are good when Nintendo does it.

*Nintendo announces 7 billion games which will release in the coming months*
nobody:

*Nintendo pushes a game from late 2022 to early 2023*
People: Nintendo has a delay problem