There is one Nintendo game fans can't wait to get their hands on: the as-of-yet untitled Legend of Zelda for Wii U. At last year's E3, we got a glimpse at some gameplay from Link's new adventure, as well as a brief trailer. This year's E3? Absolutely nothing.
No mention of the game during Nintendo's E3 Direct. So what happened? The game was delayed out of 2015 earlier this year, and even though Nintendo said at the time that it wouldn't show the game at E3, fans couldn't help but be hopeful.
IGN sat down with Nintendo President of America Reggie Fils-Aime to learn more about the decision to not show Zelda at this year's show — even though Zelda creator Shigeru Miyamoto said there's new footage of the game to show. For Nintendo, it all comes down to the fact that the game won't debut this year.
"We just fundamentally don't believe in showing content at E3 that is going to be a long term proposition," Fils-Aime told the site. "We like to show content that typically will launch in the upcoming holiday and maybe extending into the first half of the following year. And at this point, the new Zelda for Wii U is not a 2015 project."
He went on to say that Nintendo has a more "near-term" mindset for E3 and that Nintendo executives didn't want to "frustrate" their fanbase by showing a game that wouldn't be coming out anytime soon.
"We could have scored a lot of points and showed some little tidbit of Zelda Wii U, but in our collective opinion, the belief was, in the end, that would cause more frustration than benefit," he explained.
What Nintendo did show wasn't much to talk about. Though a number of new games were announced – such as two new multiplayer-focused titles based on the Zelda and Metroid franchises – fan reaction to Nintendo's Direct this year has been lackluster at best.
Perhaps sharing a little Legend of Zelda Wii U footage would have changed that. After all, Microsoft and Sony seem to have no problem showing off games that are more than a year or two away. But Nintendo has always marched to a different beat than its competitors, and its decision to not show its most anticipated title is just another example of how different the company really is.
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