Twilight Princess Delayed...

[Superperson]

IGN:


Nintendo announced this morning that its anticipated new adventure game, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (http://cube.ign.com/objects/572/572738.html), has been delayed. The title, formerly scheduled to debut this November around the world, has since been postponed to 2006 so that the developer can continue to make the game better. "After much discussion, the Zelda development team has requested extra time to add new levels, more depth and even higher quality to Zelda: Twilight Princess," said Nintendo of America's vice president of corporate affairs, Perrin Kaplan. "Consequently, we're announcing a new global launch in 2006, after the conclusion of this fiscal year (March 31). We'll provide a specific date at a later point in time. While this may come as a disappointment to many eager fans, it will absolutely enrich the game and make it a multi-million seller." Twilight Princess, developed by Nintendo and directed by Majora's Mask overseer Eiji Aonuma, was previously set to be the company's big holiday game. In fact, analysts expected the game to be Nintendo's single greatest deterrent to consumers potentially interested in Microsoft's next-generation console, Xbox 360, which is set for a November launch. The delay leaves Nintendo without a major holiday release on GameCube.

In the epic adventure, a 17-year-old Link travels across a gritty, realistic world and is able to move into an alternate dark land called the Twilight Realm, where he transforms into a wolf. Twilight Princess won a number of considerations by critics when it was presented in playable form at the Electronics Entertainment Expo. However, even then, members of the development team hinted in interviews that they would have to work overtime in order to meet a holiday release.

Nintendo has released seven new screenshots of the game in motion. Readers are directed to our images section for new shots of Link exploring a populated town and manipulating the snow as the wolf.

Stay tuned for much more on the game in the coming weeks and months.

I mean I guess its good that they care enough to make the game better, but thats gonna be a long wait. Wish they did this Wind Waker, there was a bit of lack of dungeons in that game, maybe they didn't want to make the same mistake.
Even though I don't like the "gritty teen Link" I'm still looking forward to this.

[the Amanda]

Damn, that's gonna hurt Nintendo. I sure hope that it's really to make the best game they can possibly make and not because they're having major issues with it.

[DarkHawk]

Ouch, that game was going to be money maker for Nintendo this 4th quarter. Someones stock will be dropping a tad:sad: But seriously I was bummed when I heard this....maybe they will make a Zelda game for DS

[Bird Boy]

I'm actually slightly relieved. There's an insane amount of DVDs coming out from October through December and I wasn't sure how I was gonna fit Zelda in there. So...hooray for breathing room.

Not surprised by the delay at all anyway. I don't know when Nintendo's ever NOT delayed a title...

-BB

[Drachentöter]

*torn between desire for quality gaming versus desire to play a new Zelda game this year and see it cut into some of Microsoft's profits....*

Gah!

Anything Microsoft does, Nintendo has to do the oppposite. If XBox releases its killer apps early, Nintendo has to delay. If XBox releases a system-selling title early even if it has to cut out levels to do so, Nintendo has to pack in more levels into its own.

All I can say is that Twilight Princess better be amazing.

[Kuja's Light]

I'm sure it will be, I mean it looks like it'll the darkest Zelda to date, even surpassing Majora's Mask in that regard. I wodner how many dungeons and temples there wil lbe..By the sounds of things, over 10 easily. They did say more then OoT, before this, and OoT had like 8, 9 if you count the Bottom of the Well.

[Simpler Simon]

Pushing it to April 2006 seems...too much. January would've been acceptable, even Feb...but all the attention will have shifted to next-gen by then.

[Juu-kuchi]

...

Well that throws a brick into Nintendo holiday revenue plans Gamecube-wise.

Like Bird Boy, suffice to say what with the other stuff coming in Christmas my wallet gets one burden it has to bear that time of the year lifted.

[Tapout]

Nintendo just keeps putting more nails in its non-portable coffin. This really stinks.

[JohnCrichton]

They can take all the time in the world, so long as the end product turns out to be the masterpiece it looks like it will be.

Rather they do this than release it early with glitches, half hearted gameplay and an unfulfilling story.

[Behonkiss]

Makes you wonder what the reaction would be if the game was still about as long as Wind Waker.

[Chad Bonin]

So, can we safely say this'll be the swan song for the GCN, outside of games being produced on the GCN format, but primarily for use on the Revolution (You can't seriously think that last batch of PSone games were meant to be sold for the PSone exclusively)?

It's a shame, but now I can actually beat Wind Waker beforehand.

[Zach]

That's to bad... but they are going to make a DS Zelda... it's in the new EGM. (No screens, just an overview)

[Strollymonster]

So, can we safely say this'll be the swan song for the GCN, outside of games being produced on the GCN format, but primarily for use on the Revolution (You can't seriously think that last batch of PSone games were meant to be sold for the PSone exclusively)?

It's a shame, but now I can actually beat Wind Waker beforehand.
I'm definitely thinking it's a killer app for the Revolution...sure, it's a GameCube game, but the Revolution is backward compatible for a reason, and I'm sure that the graphics will be of comperable greatness.

Or, they may even go the Perfect Dark route and remove the game from the GameCube and recode it as a Revolution game...you have to admit, a new Zelda as a launch title would MOVE systems. Toss in a SSB online sequel (God willing), and maybe a few other good games (Pilotwings would be friggin' awesome) and the system might have a great opening year.

Of course, this is all pure speculation...but I am sad I'm not getting my Zelda this year. I haven't bought any games for any system since RE4...

[Chad Bonin]

Or, they may even go the Perfect Dark route and remove the game from the GameCube and recode it as a Revolution game...you have to admit, a new Zelda as a launch title would MOVE systems. Toss in a SSB online sequel (God willing), and maybe a few other good games (Pilotwings would be friggin' awesome) and the system might have a great opening year.Pilotwings? It's only had two games, and it's never been a biggie.

I could see Nintendo fast-tracking a Metroid Prime 3 or Mario Kart Revolution for launch. Imagine either one of those games alongside Super Smash Bros. Online, Super Mario 128, and various smaller games, and Revolution would have a massive launch.

[G1Ravage]

I'm a little bit disappointed that I'm going to have to wait longer to play this game, but I feel slightly better since Nintendo came right out and said they're delaying it so that they can make it better.

[Duke]

According to the report, the developers were working overtime every day already to get this thing to a November release date. Somehow I doubt they'd last that long...

[LordByronius]

I'm not surprised, and quite honestly I can live with this.

I doubt Nintendo's shareholders can, though. The Gamecube's gonna get ABSOLUTELY CLOBBERED over the holidays, unless they magically pull out a SSB:M sequel out of their ass before then.

[the Amanda]

You know, I can't help wondering if this is related to the OTHER big Nintendo announcement recently -- the upcoming DS price drop. The delay of Twilight Princess pretty much crushes Gamecube sales for the holiday season. However, the DS is coming out with its biggest, most anticipated games yet -- Mario Kart and Animal Crossing, as well as Nintendogs -- and that combined with the price drop should provide a strong holiday showing. Nintendo's doing what it always does in hard times -- coasting on its success in the realm of portables.

[Tanooki]

i don't know how to take this news. on the one hand, i agree with all of you. more dungeons in a zelda game is ALWAYS welcome. on the other hand...

me wanty zelda now!!! :mad:

[Scirel]

I'm not surprised, and quite honestly I can live with this.

I doubt Nintendo's shareholders can, though. The Gamecube's gonna get ABSOLUTELY CLOBBERED over the holidays, unless they magically pull out a SSB:M sequel out of their ass before then.

SSB Online is a Rev launch title, so that nixes that. I am one who would usually beat people over the head for wishing for the "good old days" of something, but I hope taht nintendo releases mario game with the revolution too. No luigi ghost 2 hour game carp.

[Peter Paltridge]

I'm actually slightly relieved. There's an insane amount of DVDs coming out from October through December and I wasn't sure how I was gonna fit Zelda in there. So...hooray for breathing room.

Not surprised by the delay at all anyway. I don't know when Nintendo's ever NOT delayed a title...

-BBHah, you know what's funny, I'm relieved too. This means I can buy the DuckTales DVD.

Without Zelda, though.....what are they selling this holiday season?

And if people don't buy this in 2006 just because it's on a near-dead system (a la Conker), I'll be furious.

[Mynd Hed]

The more I think about it, the more I think this might make a weird sort of sense in the long run. The Gamecube is pretty much screwed this Christmas, of course, but since April/May is traditionally pretty dead in terms of big releases, Nintendo might wind up making a killing through lack of competition alone-- those who want a 360 will already have it, and it'll be in the middle of the lag between the first (launch) and second waves of games. Meanwhile, Twilight Princess will still be fresh in people's minds when the Revolution debuts late in '06-- it'll be nearly as good as a Rev launch title in that respect.
I'm not saying that this will be better than a Christmas release, business-wise, but ultimately it might not be all that much worse.

Of course, we Zelda fans have to deal with mixed emotions-- having to wait almost half a year more to have our desires fulfilled, yet wanting the game to be the best it possibly can-- but that's nothing new for gamers. If we haven't learned to deal with it by now, we never will. (-:

[Demonic Raven]

There is some slight dissappointment, but it's not that big of a deal. I'll gladly wait an eternity as long as it means I get to play this game. :p

This is also a bit of a relief too, since my wishlist for the DS this holiday season is quite loaded.

[Sigma]

Im glad Nintendo has opted to make a better game and not compete with the Xbox 360 this holliday season, but Nintendo needed Zelda this Christmas for huge sales and I doubt they get the kind of sales they would have in November in Spring 2006 and now Nintendo is left with nothing for the holliday aside from DS online games. I wish I could play it this year, but it does give my wallet some extra cash now and I will likely use it to purchase a ticket to Wrestlemania 22.

[Drachentöter]

I hope the hype doesn't kill this game. Longer waits usually turn into bigger disappointments, in my experience.

[Style]

If I read this right, it's too add more dungeons.

And this makes sense to something I just realized about the game: They are trying to beat Ocarina of Time.

Sure, both Majora's Masks and Wind Waker made improvements to the game play, and Many rightly consider them better, But the fact is, most Zelda fans and Game fans in general consider Ocarina of Time still superior to those two. Many consider it the pinnacle of the Zelda series, (That, or Link to the Past.)

There are several possible reasons why: Maybe it's just Nostalgia, being the first 3D Zelda offering. Maybe it's the fact that it has more dungeons than either of it's two successors. Or Maybe it's because It's Zelda in the classic Zelda form, with Link, Zelda, and Gannon, all set in the land of Hyrule. The other two haven't been. Okay, Wind Waker Sort of was, but you only found that out half-way through. Besides, many people consider the oceans a poor substitute for Hyrule fields, (I am not one of them.) Or it could be for reasons even more basic than that: Of the three, OoT follows Joseph Campbells Model for the Monomyth/Hero's Journey most stringently. Shoot, the modeled the story by it step-by-step it seems. And if you buy into that theory, then anything using the Monomyth becomes a huge seller, such as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings.

Regardless, the point I'm trying to make is that OoT seems to have become a monkey on Nintendo's back that they are desparately trying to shake. And I've heard one of the producers say Twilight Princess is designed to "Beat OoT." Nintendo is trying to beat it at it's own game, that's why they've migrated the story back to typical Zelda norms, and it's once again set in Hyrule. And I think that they are reasoning that some fans won't consider TP superior unless it has at least as many if not more dungeons.

So, in summation: They are working as hard as they can, not just to make TP the best it can be, but also to beat OoT.

[Conekiller]

Hopefully they will have time to fix the ugly N64 quality texturing we've seen.

[Nin-Nin69]

After reading that I laughed out loud because a Game Stop employee who told me a few weeks ago to get it reserved before it's too late for the holidays. :D

[AlphaPrime]

Wow, thats like good and not good for N. Next year eh? Hope they lower the price of the Cube even more by then to help sell some hehe.....

So whats Sony's plans for the holiday season?