Zelda's Delay Means Another Slow Year For Nintendo Fans

Nintendo fans may remember the harsh last years of Wii, in 2010 and 2011, when third-party support had dried up and Nintendo just put out a few games like Skyward Sword and Fortune Street. And according to today's news, it seems like 2016 might be worse for the company.

This morning, Nintendo announced that the currently untitled Zelda game won't be released in 2016 after all. The game, which was first announced for Wii U back in 2013, will now A) release on NX as well and B) launch in 2017.

While the extra development time might be a good sign for the next Zelda game, it also leaves a void in the Wii U's fall schedule, which was already looking scarce. Nintnedo's financilal reports showed what they've got announced for the next year or so:

As you can see, there's only a total of three Wii U games scheduled for the rest of 2016: a niche JRPG game that a lot of JRPG fans probably wouldn't care, a Paper Mario game,a nd an Olympic sports game. That's it. The new Zelda might have made up for this weak schedule,

With the 2017 Zelda being the only playable Nintendo game at E3 is not a good sign. Nintnedo has traditionally used E3 as an opportunity to present its lineup of holiday games, but it seems that it's going to be rough for the company this year. Here's what Nintendo said on how they're changing their approach:

Nintendo changes its approach to the show every year. This June, Nintendo will focus its attentions on the upcoming game in The Legend of Zeldafranchise. The Wii U version of the game will be playable for the first time on the E3 show floor, and it will be the only playable game Nintendo presents at the show, in order to provide attendees a complete immersion. Additional information about Nintendo's E3 plans will be announced in the future.

This statement leaves the door for the company to announce new games that aren't playable at E3, but it's clear that they most likley have nothing else for the Wii U holiday line-up.

In the last few years, Nintendo must have shifted to focus their resources from floundering Wii U to their next-generation NX, which we still know little about. It's likely that the company will hold a blowout event later this year in which they reveal more details, present more games, and tease us on what to expect next year.