Topic: <b>Zelda Delayed to 2006</b>

[Ian Sane]

WHAT THE F*CK?  What they hell are they going to release for Christmas now?  They better pull something out of their ass real quick.  A Fire Emblem comp of the old games, a Metroid Collector's disc like the Zelda one.  They need SOMETHING.  They might as well have just sold an Xbox 360 to every Cube owner.  I'm all for getting a better Zelda game but this is the WORST possible game at the worst possible time to delay.  They better show the Rev at the end of August now because they've got nothing else to combat the X360.  And this better be the best Zelda game ever to put up with virtually no Cube games for a whole year.  Bill seems to be taking this okay which isn't very suprising.  Nothing Nintendo does seems to rattle that guy.

I do not want this game to be released on the Rev.  I will not buy a Rev for a game that I've been promised as a Cube release.  Wind Waker was great and so was Four Swords Adventures but those weren't really the Zelda I wanted.  They were games I was willing to try and I enjoyed but they weren't what I really wanted out of Zelda.  Deep down this is the game I bought a Cube for in the first place.  I've been waiting for this game since Nintendo showed the "bogus" Zelda footage in 2000.  I'm not buying another console for that, or at least not at full price.

Plus I don't think moving TP to the Rev would even be that successful.  Nintendo has promised a Revolution.  What are people going to think when their flagship title is an enhanced Gamecube game?  No one is going to buy the Rev as something innovative or industry-changing then.  It will just be Gamecube 2 or N64 3 depending on how you look at it.  Personally I think Nintendo has built up more hype than they could possibly deliver on anyway.  Releasing a Cube game as the flagship title is just going to make things worse.  Plus if Nintendo has to delay TP to the Rev then they're kind of screwed anyway.  Shouldn't they already have a big flagship title for launch in the works?  If they have to delay Cube games to provide a decent Rev launch then they've been digging their own graves for a while now.

Fire Emblem is looking to be the big first party Cube game for the year.  They should market the hell out of it.  It's a long game so they if they can sell it to most of the Cube userbase it should provide playability for at least a few months.  I suggest they also package a Twlight Princess demo with it and some movies of Rev games.

[Plugabugz]

All Nintendo have to say now is that Europe and Australia will never receive this game, and then i'll be partying.

[joshnickerson]

Actually, that's leaning towards a pretty good idea Ian. Nintendo should just put the E3 demo on discs and then bundle them with new Cube games (Fire Emblem, Pokemon XD, Mario DDR). Not only would people get a taste of what's coming, but it'd more than likely boost sales of said titles too.

[Mario]

Quote
Fire Emblem is looking to be the big first party Cube game for the year.

Jungle Beat is crying.

I think there are enough great games for Cube for the rest of the year (well, for my tastes anyway), but I do agree they need a holiday hit, which none of them will be. Whatever happened to that Mario Kart Arcade game? Fire Emblem COULD sell very well, depending on how it's marketed.  

[jakeOSX]

Ok, so I went looking for the official word, but didn't see it. is there any confirmation that this is it?

[Bill Aurion]

Quote
Originally posted by: Spak-Spang
Your icon choice is good, but still not the Bill I pretend to know...it seems overtly sexual...or perhaps its my male oriented mind making it so.

Most of my avatars tend to have some sort of sex appeal to them, but I mainly go for cute things...Well, maybe not my Reggie one...

[jakeOSX]

nevermind, i found it. *sigh*

[ShyGuy]

Wow, how many sales are gonna be lost because they miss the big Christmas season?

Rampage, Zelda... at least 2006 won't be a huge drought now.

[UncleBob]

I know how Nintendo can recoup their loss of sales this Holiday Season!

With every GameCube Purchase, get a free XBox 360.

[Jiggy37]

Argh. First they try too hard to make the release date with Wind Waker, then after fan backlash they give themselves too much time with Twilight Princess. Blast, they got the wrong idea... Twilight Princess was really, really needed at this point in time with the incoming X-Box 360, in the same way that Donkey Kong Country help offset the PS1 in the earlygoings.
Still... Gamecube, I suppose, isn't really in the position to counter the X-Box 360 anyway in the US, so maybe it's a moot point. (As far as Japan goes, the X-Box is outsold on a daily basis by the original no-backlighting GBA over there, so I don't believe the 360 could sell with anything less than a new Dragon Quest.) Still, sad that Nintendo's going to miss the holiday season... and possibly infringe on their own sales of whichever Pokemon game(s) they've made available by that point in Japan.

One more thing...

Quote
"While this may come as a disappointment to many eager fans, it will absolutely enrich the game and make it a multi-million seller."

...Zelda would have been a multi-million seller no matter what. I just want to know exactly what it is they're adding, since it's not like there haven't been worthwhile reasons for delays in the past, e.g. multiplayer in Goldeneye. "New levels" and "more depth" is pretty generalized, and so I can't respond to this article from a gaming standpoint--only a business one.

If the extra depth is making enemies an actual challenge--something that was painfully lacking from OoT and WW--then great.
If the depth is 20 more NPCs to the town, then no, I don't care.
If it's adding some kind of Majora's Mask-style quest involving helping multiple NPCs in town, I'd consider caring.
If it's ten more ways to use the sword, I'd consider it again. The thing is, WW had flaws, but it already had a truly awesome fighting system, so I don't really see a need for improvement there.
If it's adding extra items, items that are actually cool as opposed to the generic-fests that were OoT and WW (as opposed to MM, which owned), hopefully items with the sheer variety and fun factor seen in A Link to the Past (Cane of Somaria, Cane of Byrna, Pegasus Boots), Oracle of Seasons (Magnetic Gloves, Roc's Cape, Hyper Slingshot), Oracle of Ages (Switch Hook), and The Minish Cap (Mole Mitts, Cane of Pacci), then I'd put up with a delay of 15 months, never mind 6.

There are just too many unknown variables for me to react too strongly one way or the other.

[Ian Sane]

"Nintendo should just put the E3 demo on discs and then bundle them with new Cube games (Fire Emblem, Pokemon XD, Mario DDR)."

Why not?  The more games the better I guess.  I picked Fire Emblem because its theme matched Twilight Princess' the best.  TP is grabbing the attention of more than just the usual Nintendo fan.  It's attracting the type of people who aren't interested Pokemon or Mario.  What other Nintendo game would someone who wasn't interested in WW but is interested in TP like?  Fire Emblem would be the most likely.  But giving people more options to pick how they want to get the TP demo is a good idea.

The only downside I see is that they might spread themselves too thin.  Pokemon and Mario don't need a Zelda demo to encourage sales.  Fire Emblem however is still very much a cult hit and would stand to benefit more from the extra exposure.  It might be in Nintendo's best interest to "force" people into trying out Fire Emblem to get their Zelda fix so as to give the series more exposure.  It's like how Zone of the Enders sold a lot more copies because of the MGS2 demo.  Had Konami packaged the demo with several games ZOE wouldn't have sold as well.  People would have gone to a more familiar game to get the demo.  I'm thinking that this could be used both as way to keep Zelda fans busy and as a Trojan horse for Fire Emblem.

Another idea I'm thinking could add to the release schedule is a Revolution download feature preview disc.  The Rev should be revealed by then so they could have a preview disc for it that comes in authentic Rev packaging and everything.  The download feature is a big part of the Rev's appeal so they could include some old NES, SNES, and N64 games on the disc.  Say one game from each console.  Essentially it's a few budget ports disguised as a Rev preview.  The games could even be accessed through the same interface the Rev will use.  It would build Rev hype and it would be really easy to do.  Nintendo can't just make another game out of nowhere.  A re-release is the only option they have.  This way however they can make a cheap cash-in port look like something really special.  What games would be on though would be a big factor.  Games already re-released on the GBA won't mean squat.  I'm thinking Kid Icarus would be a good choice for an NES game since it hasn't been rehashed to hell yet is still a popular NES game.

[Famicom]

First I was mad, then I was suprised, then I saw the new screenshots.

But hey, at least this ends the debate on Zelda beating RE4 for GOTY.

[vudu]

Quote
Originally posted by: Nile Boogie
April 2006. That date is so suspect of something more than just "extending the life span of the GameCube". I'm willing to bet somehow this has something to do with the Revolution. It mat not be the whole Super Backwards Compatibility thing I mentioned in a previous post but it has a distinct tie in.

They probably just said April so stockholders will know that it won't be coming out this fiscal year (which ends March 31, 2006).

[Jonnyboy117]

At the end of every generation, there are people who want the old system's final set of games to be moved up to the new system.  It's a bad idea, and history has proven that.

Star Fox Adventures - over two years of extra development time, critical thrashing, mediocre sales
Eternal Darkness - over two years of extra development time, pitiful sales

If you want to know how much work is involved in moving a game up to a new system several times more powerful, look at the ordeal of porting Conker to Xbox with nicer graphics.  It took Rare about three years.  Granted, Rare is slow as hell, but you can still tell that it was no simple matter.  I bring up Conker because many people thought it should have been moved from N64 to GameCube.  And in the end, it's going to sell about as many copies on Xbox as it did on N64, which is to say, not that many.  

[couchmonkey]

Yeah, so many people are going to spend $300 (at least, not including games) on an Xbox 360 just because Twighlight Princess isn't available this Christmas.  Seriously, people, if you weren't seriously considering a 360 before, how on earth did this change your mind?

I think the answer to the question of depth is simple...we've had two 3D Zeldas in a row with less than 8 complete dungeons.  Nintendo is adding more to this game, they've even said so.  It's not like level designs grow on trees.  If Super Mario Sunshine had had an extra 6 months, it could have had a more levels instead of 200+ Blue Coins.  I have no doubt Nintendo will be polishing almost everything else you mentioned, too, Jiggy37.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Quote
Originally posted by: Nile Boogie
April 2006. That date is so suspect of something more than just "extending the life span of the GameCube". I'm willing to bet somehow this has something to do with the Revolution. It mat not be the whole Super Backwards Compatibility thing I mentioned in a previous post but it has a distinct tie in.

Remember when Nintendo said that the DS is a hint of things to come(Rev)?  And remember how it was said that newer GBA games could be enhanced by playing them in a DS and even use the new features of the DS if programed to do so?  What if your idea really isn't so far off?  

Quote
Originally posted by: trip1eX
And would it be too late in development to go back and make use of the Revolution's extra power and it's controller?

That seems like a plausible idea to me.  they could still release the game on GC and then advertise the fact that is has NEW features, levels and extra's options unlocked by playing the game in you REV.  If Zelda were to become the biggest selling and best game on not just the GC but of the generation(best game that is), would that not cause everyone that bought the game be an instant sael of the Rev just to get more on their Zelda fix? and cause new hype for a game thats been out months, push out a few extra cubes (late adopters) and be probably the first game from a previous generation console to sell the next generation of that console.

If this delay will mean that not only will I have the biggest and best Zelda ever, if it means that I will have a game that will in/voluntarily capture the attention and devotion that is needed to not only beat and complete this game, but then to beat and complete it again, then that will make this game remain fond in my memory forever, and I am a supporter of that.

But that still doesn't change the fact that this announcement is still,
most un-satin, most un-satin indeed

[King of Twitch]

But hey, at least this ends the debate on Zelda beating RE4 for GOTY.  

Now it'll go up against Halo 3


I'm going to have a not so thankful Thanksgiving break

[Caliban]

I don't really mind the delay as long as it is for a greater purpose which is us the gamers or fans of the series. Also it will give me time to finish most of the games that I have yet to finish, and still get older games that I haven't played yet. Plus I have the DS and its games will also entertain me until then. I guess I really wouldn't care if TP was released with Rev as a bundle.

[Ian Sane]

"Seriously, people, if you weren't seriously considering a 360 before, how on earth did this change your mind?"

Before you had a major game to play around Christmas.  Now you don't.  If someone just owns a Cube this Christmas they're going to be BORED.  Meanwhile the Xbox 360 has a whole new lineup of games with no Nintendo broken promises or weak third party support.  This Christmas is going to test Nintendo fans' patience to the limit.  People are going to question if they should could continue to support Nintendo as their console of choice at the same time that a competitor is offering a brand new alternative.

Nintendo had two huge droughts around the Cube launch.  The first was the few months between the last N64 games and the Cube launch and the second was after the Cube launch until the summer.  During this time a lot of fans were bored and frustrated with Nintendo so they jumped ship to another console to fill the void and they didn't come back.  This is the same situation.  Nintendo fans have nothing to play and a competitor is offering something new.  Anyone with a lack of patience and available funds is going to jump ship.

One thing that could change things though is the Rev.  If it really knocks everyone's socks off when they debut it (later this month we all hope) then that might be enough to get people to wait.

[Famicom]

Quote
Originally posted by: MJRx9000
But hey, at least this ends the debate on Zelda beating RE4 for GOTY.  

Now it'll go up against Halo 3

Halo 3 isn't a 2005 title, it is supposed to be the ultimate counter to the day PS3 is released.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Quote
Originally posted by: Famicom

Quote
Originally posted by: MJRx9000
But hey, at least this ends the debate on Zelda beating RE4 for GOTY.  

Now it'll go up against Halo 3

Halo 3 isn't a 2005 title, it is supposed to be the ultimate counter to the day PS3 is released.

Hey bartender, I'd like to buy that man a clue?  

[stevey]

"Come on, I'm the biggest Zelda fan here and I'm just fine with the delay...The Zelda Team is doing their best to make this game the best ever, and damned if they need to be stopped by time contraints!"

I know that there making it from drooling good to foaming at the mounth great but still I'm sad about the delay

[nickmitch]

This sucks 'cause I feel all late and upset. . .

[ssj4_android]

This sucks. I already bought this at Blockbuster. Prepaid for the whole thing. Wonder if they'll let me switch to a different game? Although I don't know which I want.

[Nile Boogie]

Oh I get it now. I, a Nintendo fan, am supposed to occupy my time with my DS until the swan-song of the GameCube is released or the Revolution comes upon. I'm not really sure this works for me but I'll see what I can do. I need a list of all the Nintendo stuff I can play to "Extend The Life Span OF My Deathly Ill System"or "The Official: Sleeper Games You May Have Missed And Since Zelda Is 6-months Away You've Got Some Extra Time To Go Back And Play Thread":

I am calling out for your help fellas, I am weak and need help in this time of heartache and crisis.

No matter how much spin I use in my mind I keep coming up with the same thing, "Un-satin".