In his recent interview with Wired magazine, Miyamoto brought up Nintendo’s collaboration with Retro Studios on the recently-released Mario Kart 7. He explained that Retro had a hand in designing the visual layout of numerous courses, while the Nintendo EAD studio handled the major gameplay components, and that the collaboration had proven rather effective. He went on to mention later that ”we have already collaborated with Retro for the Metroid Prime series in the past. And I think when we talk about any other franchise, Zelda might be a possible franchise for that collaboration.”
He made no mention of any existing plans or agreements, which seems to indicate that such a collaboration is still purely hypothetical. Retro Studios is currently working on an undisclosed title for the upcoming Wii U system. The full interview can be read here.
This isn’t anything close to a confirmation, which is a bummer because it sounds like the greatest idea I’ve ever heard. Retro Studios has never released a critically panned game, and I’d love to see their take on such a revered series. When Capcom took the Zelda helm on Game Boy, they made some pretty respected titles.
