The Hylia - Zelda: Rumor Control

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GameSpot reported Monday that Nintendo of Europe's UK/Ireland branch posted a news update on their fourth quarter release schedule. The interesting tidbits were the confirmation of Twilight Princess on GameCube in that region, though there was a notation that the title was "tentative". Additionally, Phantom Hourglass was absent from the schedule. Niether is conclusive, but still intriguing.

It's long been known that with the exception of The Minish Cap (which was purposely released later in North America so Nintendo of America, Inc., could focus on Metroid Prime 2: Echoes and the Nintendo DS WiFi launch), every single Zelda game comes out in Japan and North America before Europe. So, in regards to the Phantom Hourglass tidbit, it seems that this unfortunate truth may strike again, as many industry analysts predicted a December 2006 release for Phantom Hourglass in Japan and North America.

I should point out, again, that Phantom Hourglass last week moved ahead of Twilight Princess on the official Nintendo of America Press Page Release Schedule. Again, nothing definitive, but still interesting. Maybe this will mirror the A Link to the Past/Four Swords and The Wind Waker releases back in 2002 and 2003, when North America got Four Swords first, and Japan got The Wind Waker at that time. Japan got Four Swords after North America, though we got The Wind Waker later. Still, Phantom Hourglass' release date is a big mystery. I don't think we'll hear anything about it until at least August.

As for Twilight Princess, I know this has sent a lot of fans into a frenzy, but please note that only the UK/Ireland site for NOE has that info as far as I saw. The Official Wii Site for Spain has the name as Twilight Princess, and UK/Ireland site doesn't even have an official Wii page yet. USA, Japan, Canada, Australia and Spain all have one, but not UK/Ireland. That should tell you just how up-to-date the UK/Ireland division is.

However, Golin/Harris has officially stated they've heard nothing about a name change, several NOA employees who speak to me on the condition of anonymity also said there is no plans to change the title in North America, and one went so far as to say he believed the NOE site was just an error.

Still, pundits from various forums, including Zelda Universe and GameFAQs, pointed out the official Zelda.com site has the directory name for Twilight Princess as "legendzelda", whereas Phantom Hourglass is "phantom". To clarify, from another anonymous NOA employee, the naming of those pathways has NO IMPACT ON THE OFFICIAL TITLES. The naming of the Twilight Princess pathway was done before there was an official title. That is why it is that, and to change the pathway would be a lot of work (those who actually work with websites, especially a CMS, know the doom of updating a directory when your CMS has no auto-update referential links option).

Either way, though nobody would go on record, it is obvious the title is still going to be Twilight Princess in North America, and that NOE made an honest mistake. Hopefully sites that report on such stuff will not tag this as "official" unless there's a public statement somewhere. Now, can Nintendo please give us the release date already?

Source: Nintendo of Europe (UK/Ireland)

Did you know there is a documentary on The Legend of Zelda series? Unfortunately, it is only in Japanese, but with the help of some fans, one day this priceless work may be translated for all to enjoy!