In 2011, Nintendo released more Zelda games (remakes and new releases) than any other year to coincide with the series’ 25th anniversary. This was definitely an exception to the usual release cycle for both console and handheld Zelda games which we’ll now take a look at to see when we might see a new Zelda game release on the 3DS.
Handheld games by year
- Link’s Awakening (1993)
- Oracle of Ages/Seasons (2001)
- Minish Cap (2005)
- Phantom Hourglass (2007)
- Spirit Tracks (2009)
Console games by year
- Legend of Zelda (1987)
- Zelda II (1988)
- A Link to the Past (1992)
- Ocarina of Time (1998)
- Majora’s Mask (2000)
- Wind Waker (2003)
- Four Swords Adventures (2004)
- Twilight Princess (2006)
- Skyward Sword (2011)
Looking at the list of Zelda games, we can make some basic predictions on when a new handheld Zelda might release. If we look at the time between Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, we see a huge gap of 5 years between console games. But in that same span we had 2 major handheld games released. Now that Skyward Sword has been released, we could easily see a new Zelda game on the 3DS by the end of this year or definitely in 2013. Nintendo has, in the last few years, been showing announcement trailers for games very close to their actual release dates. In 2009, Spirit Tracks was announced at the Game Developers Conference in March, and then released in December. Nintendo didn’t announce a new 3DS game at GDC this year, but we could definitely see it appear at E3 with a possible Holiday 2012 release or possibly Spring 2013.
What we know
- Nintendo has already stated they’re working on a new game in the Zelda series on the 3DS.
- Just recently, Aonuma-san sent out a Swapnote indicating we might hear something about the Zelda series in the near future.
- The 3DS is now an established system and the timing would seem right for a Zelda 3DS game given previous time frames of Zelda games on the DS.
- Given Nintendo’s past release dates for Zelda games, we can estimate a new Zelda game to be released in the next 12-15 months.
While nothing is set in stone until Nintendo announces something, history shows that Nintendo could be planning on a release possibly by the end of the year. Let us know what you think in the comments below and feel free to offer up any evidences you might have.
