Following an official announcement at E3 2014, Nintendo finally showed some gameplay footage of The Legend of Zelda for Wii U during the 2014 Game awards later in the year. The game already appeared to be the most ambitious entry into the Zelda series, boasting a vast open world alive with fauna and flora.
Despite wowing fans with the energy and creativity the developers had already conceived and implemented at that point, Eiji Aonuma, producer of The Legend of Zelda, said the team's creative energies couldn't be contained by a schedule.
In the three months following The Game Awards in December, The Legend of Zelda team, experiencing firsthand "freedom of exploration that hasn't existed in any Zelda game to date," concocted several "new possibilities" for the game, according to Aonuma.
"As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and now it feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds even my own expectations," said Aonuma in a video address on Nintendo's Youtube page.
Instead of releasing a game that would reflect what the team could do within a 2015 deadline, Aonuma said he wants to release a Zelda game that will be the best it can be.
"So, I must apologize to you all that were expecting the game by year's end, but we are no longer making a 2015 release our number one priority. Instead, our priority is to make it the most complete and ultimate Zelda game," said Aonuma.
Aonuma, who thanked Zelda fans for their support, took care to call the game The Legend of Zelda for Wii U. With Nintendo expected to reveal details about new hardware in 2016, it was important that Aonuma made clear that the game is still targeting the Wii U.
After announcing it would finally license its IP to a third party and develop games for mobile devices, Nintendo also revealed that it has been working on new hardware that has been codenamed NX. The Wii U's sales haven't been as strong as the Wii's, leading many fans to believe that Nintendo is clearing the queue of games in development and moving on to its next console.
If news of The Legend of Zelda for Wii U was even slightly disappointing to you, then it's likely you've already watched the following trailer more than once. For those who haven't, here's gameplay footage of the game:
