Nintendo delays Star Fox Zero to 2016

Nintendo and Platinum Games' new Star Fox game for Wii U won't make its previously planned holiday 2015 release. In a post on Facebook, Nintendo said it's pushing Star Fox Zero to 2016 in an effort to further polish the game.

A statement from game designer Shigeru Miyamoto broke the news that Star Fox Zero had been delayed into the first quarter of next year.

"We have been developing Star Fox Zero for Wii U with the aim of releasing it this year," Miyamoto said on Facebook. "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."

Nintendo officially announced Star Fox Zero, which it's developing in cooperation with Platinum Games, at this year's E3. The game is designed to give players a cinematic action experience and show off the gameplay strengths of the Wii U's GamePad.

In today's delay announcement, Miyamoto apologized for the game slipping to 2016.

"Star Fox Zero is going to bring new game play and experiences that take it far beyond the framework established by Star Fox 64," he said. "All the members of the development team are doing our best so that the final product will not betray your expectations."