Zelda on Wii U now has ‘TBD’ release date

Nintendo’s forward release schedule no longer lists a release window for the Wii U version of The Legend of Zelda.

The company’s Wii U listings have both Zelda and Devil’s Third down as TBD. A few titles remain slated for 2015 including Starfox, Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, Art Academy and Mario Maker.

Zelda on Wii U had at one time been pencilled in for this year but was in April delayed until a later date after franchise boss Eiji Aonuma said that a 2015 release window is no-longer his ‘number one priority’.

The game won’t be on show at E3 in June, either.

Speculation has since turned to whether Zelda will arrive on Wii U at all. With its delay being announced just days after Nintendo confirmed that it is working on its next home console, the NX, some now suspect that the game is now being re-worked as a launch title for the new machine.

If indeed the NX is figuring in Nintendo’s thinking, a split release also remains a possibility. In 2005 Nintendo delayed the release of Zelda: Twilight Princess in order to release two versions the following year – one for the outgoing GameCube and another for new system the Wii.

However, with Nintendo having previously described the NX as being built around a brand new concept” and the Wii U having a very particular set-up, this may prove a taxing goal.