Analyst predicts new Zelda game in 2009

by Jason Dobson { Dec 24th 2008 at 11:26AM }

Here's a little-known fact: If industry analysts go too long without foretelling something – anything – they break out in a nasty case of hives. That may be why Lazard Capital Markets' Colin Sebastian has come forward with his latest prediction, namely that Nintendo will release a new Zelda game for the Wii sometime in 2009.

While anticipating "potentially fewer hit titles" across the board next year, the soothsayer notes to Gamespot that his prophecy for a follow-up to Twilight Princess, as well as a new "Princess Peach adventure," is little more than guesswork at this point. Traditionally, Nintendo has released just a single principle Zelda title per console cycle, though given that the last game started life on the GameCube gives Sebastian's prediction a bit more weight, if only slightly. As for us, we gave up trying to read Nintendo's body language a long time ago, and have just resigned ourselves to take the waggles as they come.

Tags: analyst, colin-sebastian, lazard, lazardcapitalmarkets, nintendo, predictions, princess-peach, the-legend-of-zelda, zelda

Related From Joystiq

Hands-on: The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks
13 days ago
Atlus shipping 3D Dot Game Heroes in North America on May 11
19 days ago
Nintendo 'hasn't committed' to new Zelda for Wii in 2010
28 days ago

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

syrik zero @ Dec 24th 2008 11:27AM

That would be AWESOME!

Bleu @ Dec 24th 2008 12:07PM

Yes it would....it would give me a reason to buy my second wii game (first was smash) and a reason to turn it on. LOL, I just hope they make another mediocre game like twilight was.

Cody @ Dec 24th 2008 2:28PM

smh @ bleu and every other poster on here that keeps bringing up that tired ass argument. Just stop it please!

Foetoid @ Dec 24th 2008 5:30PM

Lol Cody good call. Its just weird hearing about all these people who don't turn on their Wiis when in the last 2 years since launch, i've played it, on average, 6 days out of 7. I could name 2 dozen games worth owning that are out right now, but it's christmas morning, so you get off lucky!

MowDownJoe @ Dec 26th 2008 8:54AM

To be honest, I haven't bought a new game for my Wii OR my 360 in a while... though being poor is a part of that.
Although I have been playing my DS more than my Wii... Wii had a bit of a dry spell in the second half of this year.

Cody @ Dec 30th 2008 2:43AM

@Cody

Something's fishy here...

JCD @ Jan 2nd 2009 11:09AM

I think alot of you guys view the past through rose-tinted glasses. Go back and play OoT after giving TP say an hour or so. The refining that the controls and animations alone have gotten are so substantial that I find OoT almost painful to play in retrospect.

Also, I wouldn't call TP "OoT 1.5" by a long shot. There were MANY additions to your "arsenal" (dual hookshot, bombchus, and the spinning hover-disk thingy) which enabled a slew of puzzles not previously possible.

The end result is that Zelda is, and always will be, a combination of puzzle solving and action/adventure. There are elements that will always be there (Ganon, Link, Princess Zelda, a fire temple, an ice temple, etc), but if you take the time to appreciate how the puzzles have evolved and grown over the years, you'll realize that TP really has taken the series to new heights.

Vcize @ Dec 24th 2008 11:31AM

Hopefully it'll be better than the last one, which I got too bored with to finish.

More like OoT please, which is one of the best games ever.

Wii60 @ Dec 24th 2008 11:38AM

First off, Twilight Princess was awesome. Classic Zelda fun.

Second, Go Vols!

Vcize @ Dec 24th 2008 11:44AM

Go Wyoming!

Oh sorry, too soon?

;)

Roto13 @ Dec 24th 2008 11:47AM

I think it's pretty much impossible for a game to be more like Ocarina of Time than Twilight Princess without being Ocarina of Time.

Vidikron @ Dec 24th 2008 11:49AM

TP bored me too. Just seemed lifeless for some reason.

Levi @ Dec 24th 2008 11:59AM

Wii, whether you liked TP or not, it is NOT a classic Zelda game. Go play A Link to the Past, or Link's Awakening. Those are classic Zelda games. Starting with Ocarina, Zelda became something different.

I, too, got bored with Toilet Paper, and didn't finish it. I agree that it felt lifeless. Whereas I have a lot of problems with Ocarina, it still felt like a great game, TP just felt like a money maker.

Marzz @ Dec 24th 2008 12:14PM

Actually that's one of the reasons i liked Wind Waker/Phantom Hourglass so much, is because they actually still /felt/ like traditional zelda games, even if they were in 3D.

Quattro @ Dec 24th 2008 10:37PM

I disliked TP as well, but I don't think it needs to be more like Ocarina of Time to be good. In all honestly, I would prefer another game like Majora's Mask.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 24th 2008 11:34AM

I hope it first person like Oblivion.

syrik zero @ Dec 24th 2008 11:36AM

A first person Zelda could be pretty cool. I would like it to have it's own engine though. I would prefer it not to be like Oblivion.

samfish @ Dec 24th 2008 11:49AM

That would be awful.

Roto13 @ Dec 24th 2008 11:51AM

Oh dear god no.

syrik zero @ Dec 24th 2008 11:54AM

I'm open to new ideas. And I did only say it "could" be pretty cool. There is a lot more room for failure there though. Either way, it will sell, it's Zelda.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 24th 2008 11:59AM

Zelda games are getting pretty stale now, we need something new, it's not "like you play a zelda game, you play them all" yet but I don't know the same thing over again.

( I want something radical like Majora's mask)

Levi @ Dec 24th 2008 12:01PM

First person would not be good for Zelda. I agree they are getting pretty stale. I think the best way to rejuvenate the series is to look to the last games, maybe even take some of the mechanics of the older ones and put them into the new style. Perhaps going the opposite route, instead of first person, make it overhead again?

Wiinterfang @ Dec 24th 2008 12:05PM

Maybe a New Setting like Arabia or a Northern Region.

Roto13 @ Dec 24th 2008 12:07PM

The only reason Twilight Princess felt at all stale is because they did what people like Vcize had been asking for for 8 years and made Ocarina of Time 1.5. One game that doesn't feel completely unique doesn't mean the series is getting stale. The last 3D Zelda before Twilight Princess was Wind Waker. Did that feel stale?

343 Guilty Fart @ Dec 24th 2008 12:23PM

I dunno, I'm still working my way through Phantom Hourglass and I'm just getting bored. I love me some Zelda and all but it's just the same formula again and again and again. Instead of getting the bombs in dungeon 2 you now get them in dungeon 3 - zomg!!

Vcize @ Dec 24th 2008 2:34PM

TP was more like Ocarina of Time 0.5, because it was half the game OoT was.

In A World (XBL) @ Dec 24th 2008 3:34PM

Well Zelda could certainly borrow a few things from Oblivion, like voice acting (using more than just 4 actors though, please), tons of sidequests, more weapons and armor, custom spells, more interactivity with the NPCs, orchestrated music, and the ability to continue playing the game after the main quest, so you can see the aftermath of your latest defeat of Ganon.

Haggard @ Dec 24th 2008 4:19PM

You could set it in space?

..oh wait

BrokenBycicle @ Dec 24th 2008 11:35AM

Well, Miyamoto acknowledged that they were working on a new Zelda. As for it being released in 2009... Frankly, if we get a teaser trailer at E3, that's probably as good as it's going to get for a while.

FrannieBaby @ Dec 24th 2008 11:35AM

...Okay, I predict that there is no way in hell a new Zelda will come out next year.

Can I get paid to be an analyst now, too?

capt_carl @ Dec 24th 2008 11:37AM

Make sure Link is left-handed plsthx.

M @ Dec 24th 2008 12:18PM

For real!

GhostofGrendel @ Dec 24th 2008 11:38AM

I thought Wind Waker was an amazing game, I loved the way it looked and played. I've never had a chance to play Twilight Princess though :-(.

zero2dash @ Dec 24th 2008 12:22PM

I agree, I think WW was passed over and generally disgregarded because of the cel shading but IMO WW has been the best Zelda in the post-16 bit era.

OoT was good also, but I liked WW more.
[Yes, I know that's probably blasphemy according to most Nintendo fans.]

Paviel @ Dec 24th 2008 11:38AM

I know how he came to that conclusion:

Ocarina of Time came out in 1998, Majora's Mask came out in 2000, Windwaker came out in 2003, and Twilight Princess came out in 2006.

CTC XBL-supapaypamawio PSN-ctclaw @ Dec 24th 2008 11:40AM

"Traditionally, Nintendo has released just a single principle Zelda title per console cycle"

Anyone else see something wrong with this?

NES:Zelda 1, Zelda 2
SNES:Link to the Past
N64:Ocarina of Time, Majora's Mask
GC:Wind Waker, 4 Swords, Twilight Princess
Wii:Twilight Princess
GB:Seasons, Times, Link's Awakening

Etc, Etc...

Alex @ Dec 24th 2008 11:47AM

Beat me to the punch :) Right on!

SoulBlade @ Dec 24th 2008 11:52AM

I'm sure what they meant by principle was first, so you can only have one first Zelda title per console - so while Zelda 2 was epic on the NES, it wasn't a principle title since Zelda 1 was the first one... err yea that's it.

Kevlar @ Dec 24th 2008 12:44PM

"Traditionally, Nintendo has released just a single principle Zelda title per console cycle"

The keyword there is PRINCIPLE Zelda Title.

NES: Zelda 1
SNES: Link to the Past
N64: Ocarina of Time
GC: Wind Waker
Wii: Twilight Princess
GB: Link's Awakening

There. Fixed that for ya.
The others were all good games, but hardly the ones of the series that get the recognition. (Possible exception is Majora's Mask, but that's for Nintendo themselves to decide)