The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

A new Legend of Zelda video game in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series is an upcoming installment for the Nintendo Wii. No specific information has yet been revealed about this game, other than it will be the continuation of The Legend of Zelda series on Nintendo's next-gen platform.

When asked if Twilight Princess would be the Wii's only Zelda, Eiji Aonuma said, "I can't say, but I guess for now, maybe, yeah (laughs). Not to say that it's going to be the final game. There's still a lot of potential with the Wii so there's still a possibility that there could be another Zelda for it. We do have some ideas in the works, but I can't say for sure because none of them have been approved and we're still very much in the planning process, so I hope you look forward to whatever comes out." Shigeru Miyamoto elaborated on Zelda Wii, saying that it is "definitely possible that there would be another Zelda on Wii."

In December 2006, Game Informer reported that Zelda Wii has been "deep in development for around a year." At E3 2008, and once again at E3 2009, Shigeru Miyamoto officially confirmed that a new Zelda title is being developed, though no other details or release date were mentioned.

A piece of official artwork from the game was leaked onto the internet on June 3, 2009, showing that the new Zelda title will feature an improved version of the style seen in Twilight Princess. Miyamoto has stated in an interview with IGN that the new Zelda will be in a different era than Twilight Princess, thus it will not be a direct sequel.

A different Zelda?
Shigeru Miyamoto has stated that Twilight Princess will be "without a doubt, the last Zelda game as you know it in its present form." This indicates that the Zelda series may receive a major user interface overhaul in order to take proper advantage of Wii, similar to those carried out in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo 64 and DS, respectively. No other information has been given to the development.

During a private meeting at E3 2007, Eiji Aonuma spoke about Phantom Hourglass. He then suddenly shifted gears and began speaking about the upcoming game, Zelda Wii. He was very excited, but was withheld from revealing too much information by Shigeru Miyamoto. He revealed that he would like to have a whole new control base for the game, and that it was possible that one-to-one swordplay be implemented. He also said that he would like to make the game to appeal both to the casual and the hardcore gamer.

During the Games Developer Conference 2007, Eiji Aonuma gave a presentation on Twilight Princess and he showed a brief video of the game running in the first-person view. However, he stated that he does not "necessarily think it will change that drastically" but that the Zelda franchise needs "some big new unique ideas" and that the developers are "very focused on trying to find those ideas".

A piece of artwork from the game was leaked onto the internet on June 3, 2009.

During an interview with IGN, Shigeru Miyamoto was asked about whether or not the next game would take place after Twilight Princess, to which he responded "Well, the story setting for this Zelda is, of course, in a completely different era and Link is older than he was previously. More approaching adulthood. There is one hint. Maybe from the art work you can see that he's not holding a sword."

2008
On July 15, 2008, Shigeru Miyamoto confirmed that the next Zelda game is "in the works" at E3 2008. In addition, he also stated "The Zelda team in particular always works on The Legend of Zelda series titles. The core members of the Zelda team have for a very long time now been focused on Zelda games, and continue to focus on Zelda games, so they are hard at work and working away. And then, of course, we have the DS Zelda team as well, so even there we're having some switching of people in and out where the DS team is mixing in with the Wii team and working on the Wii version."

In Issue 37 of the British Official Nintendo Magazine, released November 21, 2008, it is stated that "the teams [are] still in the planning stages" and that "we wouldn't expect to see or hear anything more until the E3 event next summer at the earliest", though "[e]ven that may be optimistic". However, the magazine says that "we WILL know something in 2009 [about the title]".

In late December 2008, Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian listed 22 games that could potentially help drive a 5 percent growth in game sales for 2009, with an unreleased Zelda game included on the list. However, Sebastian later clarified that the inclusion of the Zelda game on his list was speculation on his part.

2009
Satoru Iwata delivered the keynote address at the 2009 Game Developers Conference (GDC) on March 25, 2009. Iwata previously delivered the keynote address at the 2006 GDC where he revealed The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, resulting in rumors that Iwata would finally reveal Zelda Wii at the GDC in March.

At the GDC, Iwata did not reveal any new info on the game, but instead revealed a new Zelda game for the Nintendo DS, titled The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks.

During E3, Shigeru Miyamoto said that while Zelda Wii was not at E3, he hopes to announce it and release it in 2010. He also revealed one piece of concept art for the game; showing Link and a Blue Figure which is believed by some to be the Queen of Fairies from the The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and by others to be some sort of representation of the Master Sword. He also mentions that he would like the game to feature Wii MotionPlus for gameplay such as swordplay and archery. Miyamoto claimed that Zelda Wii did not appear at E3, as the Zelda team wanted to concentrate on making the game instead of a video and demo. It was also hinted by Miyamoto in an interview after E3 that Link may not have a sword. This has lead some people to believe the blue figure in front of Link in the picture might be the Master Sword in an incarnated form.

In Nintendo Power's August 2009 issue, Miyamoto claimed that the game "[is not] going to be that radically different" than past games in the series.

In mid November, The Legend of Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma said Nintendo hopes to show something "surprising" about Link's next Wii-bound adventure at E3 2010.

Briefly alluded to at this year's E3, the new Zelda game is already known to be centred round the Wii's MotionPlus add-on, with the swordplay and archery that are mainstays in the series benefitting from the technology.

Confirming 1:1 swordplay, Aonuma said, "We're taking advantage of MotionPlus. It's become very natural – the movement of your arms is precisely reflected in the gameplay. Thanks to the technological advancements, we hope the gameplay can be more accessible to people."

"We're making efforts regarding the total flow of the Zelda game," said Aonuma, "So far, the basic flow of the Zelda games is you're exploring a field, you go to a dungeon, you conquer it and return to the field. We're looking at altering that traditional flow. That's all I can share, and I can't say more until E3 next year."

Rumors
Wii.tv's faked preview lcvdT2C31oc On March 31, 2007, Wii.tv created a video of a future Zelda game called The Legend of Zelda: Wii

The video was taken seriously by some of the Zelda fan base and caused much internet controversy. It depicted a Zelda game based in an equally or more advanced time than the normal Zelda setting, causing fans to dub it The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Future and Future Zelda. Later, Wii.tv revealed the video to be an April fool's joke, but this did not end the debate of whether such a game would emerge.

During 2008, some rumors surfaced about the game. The most popular one was that the game may chronicle the Great Flood, stars a new character who is not Link, and will be set in a Hyrule with trains and muskets. The only evidence was a supposedly genuine IGN interview with Eiji Aonuma that was posted on several forums, originally surfacing on 4chan. There is no reliable verification for this game, so chances are it does not exist and the author of this rumor eventually admitted it was fake. The concept has been met with a mixed reaction and a great deal of skepticism. Other rumors involve re-releases of past Zelda games, such as Ocarina of Time. Many fans speculate the characters will possess voice-overs, but fear the change after the failure of the CD-i games (though it it confirmed that at least Link won't have voice-overs as according to Charles Martinet, the voice-actor of Mario, he has asked for permission to be the voice-actor for Link but Shigeru Miyamoto said that Link wouldn't have a voice-actor and instead stay the way he is, but this doesn't denounce the possibility of a Metroid Prime 3 style with voice-actors to all characters except the player)

Multiple game blogs claimed that Nintendo would most likely release the first trailer for Zelda Wii sometime in October, according to information gathered from an "anonymous source." This rumor has proved untrue.