Nintendo explains why it didn't show Zelda Wii U at E3 2015

Nintendo had new footage of Zelda Wii U but elected not to show it at E3 this week.

Nintendo had confirmed weeks prior to E3 that it won't be bringing Zelda Wii U to the show. However, in an interview with IGN, designer Shigeru Miyamoto said that they did in fact have new footage and confirmed that the game is also still coming to Wii U, despite the NX rumours.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime spoke to IGN following the publication of Miyamoto's interview to try and explain why the footage wasn't shown.

"We just fundamentally don’t believe in showing content at E3 that is going to be a long term proposition," Fils-Aime began.

"We like to show content that typically will launch in the upcoming Holiday and maybe extending into the first half of the following year. And at this point, the new Zelda for Wii U is not a 2015 project," adding that when they showed it in 2014, they believed it would be a 2015 game.

"There’s also a recognition that we didn't want to frustrate the consumer. We could have scored a lot of points and showed some little tidbit of Zelda Wii U, but in our collective opinion the belief was, in the end, that would cause more frustration than benefit."

Zelda Wii U is expected in 2016. A Nintendo Direct later this year is probably a safe bet for when footage will appear.