As one of the most anticipated video game releases of the year, it comes as sad news that Nintendo has decided to delay the release of The Legend of Zelda this year. In a formal video from the game’s producer, Eiji Aonuma, Nintendo has made the executive decision to hold off on release until they have completed the “ultimate” Legend of Zelda experience for fans. You can find the official statement after the break.

If for some reason the video gets taken down or the player is unavailable, here is the official statement from Aonuma himself:

“Hello, Zelda fans! I am Eiji Aonuma, producer of The Legend of Zelda. I’d like to share with you an update on our development progress on The Legend of Zelda for Wii U. Since I declared at The Game Awards in December that the game would launch in 2015, the directors and the many members of the development team have been working hard developing the game to make it the best it can be.”

A pretty standard PR introduction recapping recent events and updating us on their progress.

“In these last three months, as the team has experienced firsthand the freedom of exploration that hasn’t existed in any Zelda game to date, we have discovered several new possibilities for this game.”

Well this sounds great! The new open world of The Legend of Zelda seems ambitious and I’m really looking forward to exploring this new Hyrule.

“As we have worked to turn these possibilities into reality, new ideas have continued to spring forth, and it now feels like we have the potential to create something that exceeds even my own expectations.”

Something new you say? The Legend of Zelda has always been a pretty progressive franchise, bringing new mechanics to the table each and every time.

“As I have watched our development progress, I have come to think that rather than work with meeting a specific schedule as our main objective, and releasing a game that reflects only what we can create with that scheduled time, I feel strongly that our focus should be to bring all these ideas to life in a way that will make The Legend of Zelda on Wii U the best game it can possibly be.”

How many ideas do you have?! Tell me more about these ideas that are delaying my new Zelda game, dammit!

“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.”

Apology accepted. Delays happen all the time in the industry, mostly pertaining to these matters, so I think I should be fine. However, I expect the best video game ever created to be delivered because you’ve raised the bar very high and I will only accept perfection.

“I hope to use the added time to make The Legend of Zelda for Wii U into a game that will reward you for your patience, so thank you for your continued support.”

I’ll give you patience all right. You’re lucky games like Splatoon and the new Star Fox are coming out this year, or else you would have gotten an earful from me. We haven’t had a Zelda console game since 2011’s Skyward Sword for the Wii – Wind Waker HD for Wii U does not count.

So the waiting game continues. Is it 2016 yet?

You can follow me on the Twitter at @TyRawrrnosaurus for more updates as they become available.

Source: Nintendo