[Update] Eiji Aonuma Talks Wii Zelda, MotionPlus Improvements, 2011 Release?

Update: Thomas East of Official Nintendo Magazine has confirmed to The Wiire that this interview was conducted in December, "just before the release of Spirit Tracks". This would keep Aonuma's comments about "next year's" E3 to mean E3 2010, five months from now.

Eiji Aonuma, Director of the upcoming Legend of Zelda Wii title, has told ONM that MotionPlus was not originally planned for the game, but will now improve its playability.

"The fact of the matter is that MotionPlus was actually not conceived at the beginning of the development of this new Wii version of the game," Aonuma explained.

"We thought about the possibility of integrating the Wii MotionPlus technology into the Legend Of Zelda idea so we then had to start experimenting. Now we have come to the stage where a very convenient result has been realised. In the end, Wii MotionPlus will be something really great for improving the playability of the game."

This interview comes after yesterday's rumors suggesting the new Wii Zelda title would be a Majora's Mask sequel, among other things. Coincidentally, Aonuma's first Legend of Zelda title that he directed was Majora's Mask.

As The Wiire reported last week, we believe Nintendo may announce an official title, release date, screenshots and video footage in March at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Last year, the company used GDC to announce "The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks" for the DS; this year they may do the same for the new Wii Zelda title.

However, Aonuma seemed to counter that idea, saying "I hope that we can show you something at the E3 show next year and it is something that we are hopeful will be surprising."

It is unclear why Aonuma said "next year" regarding E3, as this year's 2010 event is still 5 months away. The comment does not appear to be an error, as he reiterates the same timeline when asked later on about Zelda artwork speculation.

"I'm afraid that you will just have to wait until next year when we can further elaborate on this and many other things."

This timeline could put a new Wii Zelda in 2011, a direct contradiction to recent comments from Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata who confirmed a 2010 release. The Wiire has reached out to OMN for clarification on when the interview took place and is awaiting response.