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Wii U owners looking forward to the Star Fox crew’s triumphant return in Star Fox Zero will have to wait a little bit longer, as Nintendo has announced the game has been delayed until the first quarter of 2016.
The announcement came from the company’s Facebook page. According to a statement from Miyamoto, the decision to delay the title was made in order to further refine certain aspects of it, such as level design and cut scenes. The full statement reads as follows:
A Message from Mr. Miyamoto Regarding Star Fox Zero
I made a big decision last week.
We have been developing Star Fox Zero for Wii U with the aim of releasing it this year. Although we felt that the development had been progressing well, we now believe that we will need a little more time to work on areas such as the unprecedented discovery that we want players to experience in the game by using two screens, and further polishing the level designs and perfecting the tone of the cut scenes. While we have already reached the stage where it would be technically possible to release the title in time for the year-end holiday season, we want to polish the game a bit more so that players will be able to more smoothly grasp the new style of play that we are proposing.
To the people looking forward to the launch of the game this holiday season, I am very sorry.
Star Fox Zero is going to bring new game play and experiences that take it far beyond the framework established by Star Fox 64. All the members of the development team are doing our best so that the final product will not betray your expectations. And the game will not be delayed for a very long time – we’re aiming to launch the game in Q1 2016. Please stay tuned for further announcements.
This is certainly disappointing news for Nintendo fans, especially as the company’s holiday lineup was rather sparse to begin with. On the bright side, Wii U owners will now have more time to devote to Xenoblade Chronicles X, which is still slated to launch on December 4.
What are your thoughts about Star Fox Zero’s delay? Were you looking forward to playing the title this year, or are you glad Nintendo is taking the time to further polish it before release? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Source: Nintendo (via Facebook)
I’m glad it’s being delayed, since with Nintendo it only means that the game will turn out better. It has been the case in the past, and besides there are plenty of other titles coming out for WiiU that already are taking my money. No big deal.
This reminds me of the Wind Waker delay back in ’02. Ended up being the right call, even though it was a bummer. Now I might get a chance to check out Xenoblade, though.
Exactly. I want to get the Xenoblade collectors edition, and that thing is like 90 bucks. Plus, there are other games like Yoshi and Rodea the Sky Soldier, and I’m sure a few other ones I’m not thinking of at the moment. It is a bummer, but it’s probably only a couple months at best and the wallet will be replenished at that point!
Definitely mixed feelings about this news. I’m certainly not sold on the game in its current state, but it seemed like the closest thing to a big holiday Wii U title that we would get. Mario Tennis isn’t going to cut it.
I’ll likely be playing Xenoblade Chronicles X for quite a while after release, but I wonder how heavy of a hitter the game will actually in terms of sales.
I wasn’t sold about the game either after seeing it in action, so hopefully the delay means good things. Of course, Xenoblade will most likely not sell all that much compared to other titles, but it is kind of a niche game, same with the Wii U in certain ways. To those who bag on the Wii U: that’s their loss. I know several people who were holding off on getting one, but as I and several other people told them how good it was; they took the leap and bought one. I heard nothing but how underrated and awesome the system is. No kidding. As long as I get a copy of Xenoblade, I’ll be happy. Kept passing up on the Wii game and regretted it due to how high the prices went. Glad I picked up Xenoblade 3D.
A Miyamoto delay has never proven been a bad thing.