Analyst predicts new Zelda game in 2009

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.