Nintendo have shafted Wii U owners with their Zelda release plans

Well, we all suspected that it was coming. Now, Nintendo have officially confirmed that the next, eagerly-anticipated The Legend of Zelda entry will be releasing simultaneously on both the Wii U and Nintendo’s next console, codenamed NX. As a long-term The Legend of Zelda fan I am of course excited by any news on the forthcoming title, but I cannot help but feel that we Wii U adopters have been shafted by Nintendo here. Allow me to explain why.

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

It's a bit disappointing, yeah, but they could have done worse.
They could have not made a Wii U version at all.

I'm a bit saddened over this, but I'll reserve judgement on which system to get it for, until AFTER E3, when we've had a look at the Wii U version and what it's all about.

A complete shafting would have been killing the Wii U version entirely.

[Yukes]

In a way I agree with you, but I can't help but feel that this is little better in reality. After all, what Legend of Zelda fans will want to play a (presumably) inferior version of the long-awaited entry? It's a token gesture in my review, so that they can say "Look, we didn't cancel the Wii U version."

[wonderfulmonkeyman]

Well, that's just it; we don't know which version will be the inferior one.
For all we know, the Game Pad might not be a thing on NX.
If that's true, then the Wii U version might offer options on that screen that will make it a tempting buy.
Especially for those that can't immediately save up for the NX.

[pcz]

the damage control by nintendo fans is hilarious. there is no dispute- it is a complete shafting.

nintendo made us wait the entire 5 year duration of the wiiu's life cycle, all the while promising a new zelda was on the way, in the meantime expecting us to re-buy hd updates of wind waker and twilight princess.. only in the end for the wiiu zelda not even to be released...

lets face it, its a NX launch title now. they are merely putting it on the wiiu for consolation to the idiots (myself included) who they strung along for years.

2016 is down the drain for nintendo.

i await the creative excuses nintendo fans have to pardon nintendo for a 2016 with no games.

[conanlifts]

If they only show zelda wii u at e3 then i have serious concerns about the nx. To me it implies the new console might be under powered with zelda nx being nothing special to look at and maybe only on a par with the wii u. I then had a serious concern that what if the nx is literally a portable wii u type console. That would be horrible.
But nintendo not showing at least an nx game clip at e3 makes no sense. I seriously do not understand why they wouldn't show a clip. Unless maybe its so good looking on the nx they don't want to give sony and ms a heads up. Nintendo have baffled for the last 5 years and they keep doing it.

[conanlifts]

Will they show the wii u version or the nx version at e3? I wonder what there focus will be.

[NukaCola]

Are they coming to E3?

[Monster_Tard]

Probably the Wii U version, it wouldn't make much sense to show the NX version without showing the console .

[Yukes]

It was confirmed in Nintendo's release that they'll be at E3 showing off the Wii U version, but that the NX won't be the focus, which seems baffling to say the least. Surely that would be the time to give us details?

[-Foxtrot]

No offence but a lot of people saw this coming, when we spoke about this die hard Nintendo fanboys were quick to say things like "it won't happen", "Nintendo wouldn't do that", "you're a troll" and so on but it was quite easy to spot the signs. Yeah it's their fault and I'm shifting the blame but if you still feel betrayed now despite the other handful of things Nintendo has done over the years then you've only got yourself to blame.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Agreed I see no benefit to the company holding back the game simply to appease an install base.

What is so strange is the series has very little history of ever having titles stay on a platform for life with the exception of that god-awful Skyward Sword. (but even that remains to be seen as we don't know the future and it could very well be ported years later)

For someone to not know that they would do such a thing despite Twilight Princess is kind of strange. These companies have no ode to any consumers to prevent their future platform from succeeding by selfishly holding back content to make them feel good about themselves.

Like you said if they believed such a thing the fault is on their own.

[Zeldafan64]

If you think Skyward Sword is bad then you must have been playing it wrong because I think it's an absolute masterpiece.

[_-EDMIX-_]

@Zeldafan-..........

I mean....you're name is Zeldafan. Pretty sure you think all Zelda games are um "masterpieces". Skyword Sword might be one of the worst console Zelda's to ever release.

[conanlifts]

It was pretty obvious. For me they seem to have given up on the wii u after mario kart and smash bros failed to ignite sales. Maybe even before then. The positive of this is they have had a lot of time to get games ready for the nx.

[RosweeSon]

I'll be first to admit I thought they were gonna keep it to Wii U at least for now, however I'll be getting NX day one either way Wii U hasn't disappointed since day one still got it for Rainy days into between work life and ps4, however I'll also just wait until we know what's what I'll prob grab the Wii U version for the collection as the twilight princess GameCube version was very rare in the end. One for the collection.
I'll play the game on NX tho I would have thought unless it's clearly better on Wii U all depends on the control schemes for either console and what the differences are.

I know people want Zelda NX Day one but it's a shame Nintendo couldn't get Wii U Zelda out for Christmas 2016 at very least and then maybe get the NX Version out end of summer or Christmas 2017 looking all spruced up and fresh on a new console like rockstar did with GTA5. Rather than just a port.
Either way knew NX wouldn't be out this year glad as well gives me 6-9 months to enjoy my Wii U, get through the summer first ;)

[gamer7804]

nintendo just continues to disappoint... i've lost almost all excitement i once had for a successor with this twilight princess pull again and all their censorship of games.

[Psytrix]

It's not just with Zelda either - check out some of their other top developers, haven't released squat since 2014. I'm expecting one hell of a line up next year - possibly Nintendo's best ever.

[Sly-Lupin]

That would be a very smart move on their part.
Which is why it's the exact last thing I'd expect.

[conanlifts]

Development had been stalled on the wii u for a long time. Even before smash bros their attitude to wii u was unusual. It was barely marketed and big releases were massively spaced out. I expect, as you said, a huge and strong line up. Maybe e3 will show snippets of the games to come.

[OldGuyStillGaming]

It makes no difference to me
As an owner of a ps4/ X1/ wiiU there will always be something to play

I waited a long time for the Last Guardian and I know its coming

Same feeling for Zelda U...It's coming some day and I'll hang on to my Wii U until then
I actually just got games for it from the humble bundle

[Sly-Lupin]

Nintendo shafted WiiU owners when the only new game for 2016 was a half-assed remake of an N64 game. Releasing an upcoming game on the WiiU on the WiiU and one other platform is, in fact, the opposite of shafting. Remember all those fanboys who bought PS3s for Final Fantasy XIII Versus and Kingdom Hearts 3? Yeah.

[Fullmetalevolust]

In my head, it coincides with the release of the NX, and the NX is probably releasing after the ps4 neo in anticipation of the specs and the marketing they'll have to do to one up the ps4 neo. Then again, it's all in my head.
If I were Nintendo I wouldn't release a new gen console before fully knowing what the PS4 neo holds in store. I'd then modify my marketing strategy to make my new system look better with the innovating things it can do instead of the competition.

[mhunterjr]

It makes no sense to feel shafted. You're getting the game on the system you have.

[Kalebninja]

Coming from a Wii u owner, its still coming to console, so get over it, the delay just means a more polished game.

[IanTH]

It is an absolutely sensible move and one just about everyone saw coming a mile away. I mean they literally already did this with Twilight Princess, so precedence was there. It is a bit in the same vein as how PC owners who bought an XBOX One feel each time a hardware exclusive finds its way to the PC (yeah, that's me lol). You still get the game, but it isn't exactly the same. And in this case, it's a fair assumption to say the game was delayed so as to ship day/date with the NX version. At the very least Wii U could have had it released early, but that would certainly take the shine off the NX release as just a "remaster/port". So yea. I get it, but it does kinda suck.

Something that was supposed to add value to your system by virtue of that being the only place to play it is now coming to another platform, reducing the value (if only perceived) and actually making the previous exclusive platform the lesser place to play it. It's not a huge deal, but I've only got maybe a dozen Wii U games and it would have been nice to keep this exclusive. It is a little petty, I admit, but it feels a little less special and will (presumably) be the second best place to play it.

I'll be a little gunshy about buying the NX early, hopefully the relative dearth of Wii U games for the last...while lol...means whatever was in the pipeline for Wii U has been shifted to NX development and there will be a lot to play in the 1st year & on the early roadmap to tempt me (and a bunch of others) to buy it.

[conanlifts]

Although with the xbox and pc i hope ms would either stop or go with it completely. Let me get all xbox games on pc, with cross platform play and i can keep my pc and sell my xbox one.

[PhoenixUp]

Nintendo should've just released the Wii U version this year and the NX version at a later date.

[Segata]

Yup I feel cheated.

[Dunban67]

To Nintendo, those of us who bought the Wii U are just another group of suckers- few companies treat their customers as poorly as Nintendo treats theirs- yes, there are a persistent group of Nintendo fans who will "buy what they are selling" no matter what- but they have lost alot of good fans over the years with that mentality and it is a big reason they are doing so poorly in a growing games market

[Sentient09]

They shafted Wii U and 3DS owners a while ago.

[StormLegend]

I own a WiiU , bought it because of Zelda U and the other previous titles such as TP and Wind Waker. I'm very dissapointed in Nintendo, The Wii was a way better console (IMO) The WiiU is by far the worst Nintendo console ever made. I'm still gonna keep my WiiU for Zelda U, since I know nothing of the NX. Having to wait until next year is the worst news yet from Nintendo.

[originaljohn]

Nope I don't feel shafted, Nintendo have yet to deliver a bad game for me and the decision is purely business. They want NX to have a huge start, it actually makes sense. If anyone should feel shafted it should be those 40 million ps4 owners who are about to have their console replaced by a .5 model.

[Lon3wolf]

My only concern is that the NX architecture will not be that far removed from the Wii-U's, as I cannot see them doing whole new code for the NX version, hopefully I am wrong.

[Nivekki]

'E3: Nintendo changes its approach to the show every year. This June, Nintendo will focus its attentions on the upcoming game in The Legend of Zelda series. 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.'

The only playable game they will have at the show. I'm sure they'll have other games to announce but that's pretty much saying that's it for the Wii U. I hope they turn things around and learn a lot from the Wii U, it had some great games but it could have been so much better. Hopefully the NX will be a success for Nintendo, they need to have a steady stream of games for it though and they really need to have 3rd party sorted out this time.

[Picnic]

Twilight Princess proves that sometimes the version on the old console is preferred by people depending on available control system. They should have released Zelda WiiU as soon as they could and then worked on a better port for the NX.

Instead, now they're going to have to make a WiiU version when surely most WiiU owners are fairly diehard and are likely to buy a NX anyway. Yet they can't cancel the WiiU version without looking bad.

[Relientk77]

It was obvious with the Wii U sales lacking. Surprised more people didn't see it. Called the Twilight Princess release strategy over a year ago

[gamerb6]

Yep and Sony has shafted the ps4, what's new?

[Stealth20k]

This article is retarded. They shafted them? No. ,When Warner cancelled MK for PS3/360 THAT was shafted.

[lizard81288]

I hate to say it, but the wiiu sold badly so there is the potential that it wouldn't piss off as many people as it could. I think the Nintendo news that came out is strange and what nintendo is doing too.

[Emme]

Yeah those bad sales could work for NX, especially when titles get the hd rerelease treatment :)