While Nintendo's E3 2012 Press Conference was all about the Wii U, it was surprisingly devoid of exciting first party titles. Yes, the presence of Pikmin 3 was enough to sell die-hard fans on picking up the console at launch, the lack of a new Zelda or Metroid left cause for concern. Ultimately, the conference left many a gamer wondering if Nintendo wasn't ready to show their hand just yet.

Along with speculation that Nintendo was holding something back, came rumors that Nintendo had tasked Retro Studios, developers on the GameCube and Wii Metroid titles, and more recently Mario Kart 7, with creating a new Zelda experience for the Wii U. Unfortunately, Shigeru Miyamoto has squashed that rumor, revealing that Retro Studios is working on something, but not a Zelda title. Beyond that, though, Miyamoto wouldn't say much more about Retro Studios' new project.

In the past it would be assumed that Retro would be working on a Metroid title for Nintendo's new console, but after having worked on both Mario Kart and Donkey Kong all bets are off for Retro. There are some inherent advantages to using the Wii U's tablet controller as a form of scanning or inventory management in Metroid, but even that isn't a guarantee that's what Retro is working on.

As far as Zelda is concerned, it seems entirely unlikely that Retro would be working on the next entry in the long-running franchise. In Miyamoto's mind, work on a Zelda title by anybody but Nintendo's Zelda team would require his close attention, and unfortunately Retro Studios is based in the States, Texas to be specific.

Most likely Retro is working on a new title for the Wii U (perhaps that rumored Metroid/Star Fox crossover), but it's in the early stages of development, and is not ready to be talked about just yet. Our hope is that the developer finds a clever way to incorporate the Wii U's tablet controller into those Metroid mechanics, and gives us a killer app for the system.

Would you like to see a Zelda title developed by Retro Studios? What do you think the developer is working on?

Source: IGN