It seems like every time Nintendo unveils a new console, the first question out of gamers’ mouths is when will The Legend of Zelda be hitting said platform? While some Nintendo consoles have had to endure a much longer gestation period before Link graces its presence, others, like the Wii, have had a Zelda launch title to help boost sales.

While we have only had about a month now to really wrap our heads around the Wii U and all that it is capable of, it looks like Nintendo has confirmed the most important part of this next gen console: it will be featuring an HD Zelda title.

A long time in the making — especially after the Wii was revealed to be only capable of low-resolution graphics — this HD Zelda confirmation comes straight from the mouth of the series' creator, and should do plenty to increase sales for the console. There may still be some doubt as to how many controllers the console will support, but there is no longer uncertainty about Zelda.

Speaking with Kotaku about all things Wii U, Shigeru Miyamoto spoke the words that all gamers have been waiting so long to hear:

"This is an HD system, our first HD system, and we want to create a real HD Zelda game for it. You will see a lot of these in-depth and deep experiences in terms of visual style. You will also see some play styles that are fun and interesting because of the play structure."

Although the Wii U is capable of delivering HD gameplay experiences, and Nintendo plans to deliver HD versions of their prized properties, that does not mean the company is forcing third party developers to follow suit. Of course Nintendo wants their partners to try to make the best looking games possible, but they are not requiring boundary pushing on the level that gamers might have expected.

"We are not planning on putting any restrictions in terms of requiring developers to leverage HD in a particular ways. Even if you are using a simpler visual style it will still look very beautiful."

Really, the best thing to come from this whole talk of Nintendo and HD capabilities on the Wii U is the fact that an HD Zelda is confirmed. While our hands-on time with the Wii U showed off a demo of Zelda that was rendered in HD it was more of a tech demo than a confirmation a Zelda was in development.

It might be a ways off from releasing — what with the majority of Nintendo’s focus on Skyward Sword at this point in time — but just the thought of Link in glorious HD is plenty good to generate some buzz.

How happy are you to hear that an HD Zelda is finally coming to a Nintendo console? What other Nintendo properties would you like to see make the leap to HD?

Source: Kotaku