Eiji Aonuma, one of the legends behind the Zelda franchise, recently said that he will continue to work on the game series, alongside Shigeru Miyamoto, for a long time to come.

Aside from Mario, Nintendo wouldn't be the gaming giant it is today without hype from its other famous characters.

Case in point, Link from The Legend of Zelda series. Eiji Aonuma, long-time producer of the Zelda series describes how the newest incarnation of Link's adventure on the Nintendo DS, The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass, is akin to the original Legend of Zelda game that first came out on the NES.

Aonuma reminisces on the aspects that first drew gamers into the series in making The Phantom Hourglass. Also, he relates how the game setting itself became an unintentional sequel to the story of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker game on the Nintendo GameCube.

However, The Phantom Hourglass still has many unique aspects that make it different from the others in its series. Aside from the inherent stylus control, the game also incorporates a head-to-head multiplayer mode which pits one player Link against another who controls three Phantoms in a sort of "capture the flag" game.

Aonuma ends this interview saying that he aspires to create his own series aside from the Zelda projects. Seeing his already impressive credentials, it would be interesting to see what kind of games Aonuma would make if he were given free rein.

Anyway, take a look at the video interview of Eiji Aonuma as he talks about his latest Zelda platformer on the Nintendo DS.

Check out the video interview of Eiji Aonuma right after the jump!

Game Informer managed to talk with Eiji Aonuma, designer of The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, and got some interesting insights about making a Zelda game for the DS, as well as info on two new additional characters making their way to Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Aonuma said that the DS supported Toon Shading and required a lower number of polygons than other consoles, which helped ease the translation of the game into the DS handheld platform. Tasked with the creation of a DS Zelda game, Aonuma made sure he was is going to make a game specifically for the DS and it clearly shows in the way that Phantom Hourglass makes full use of its touchscreen and stylus features.

While he didn't specify a specific DS hardware limitation, Aonuma did mention that a big difference in Phantom Hourglass was the classic top-view camera angle. He explained that a top-view camera angle was more natural for the DS because players tend to look down at the lower screen while playing. Aonuma even stated that it was also the reason why Phantom Hourglass is his favorite Zelda game to date: because it gave the feel of older, classic Zelda games.

He also alleviated the fears of those who want to get Phantom Hourglass but haven't played its direct prequel, The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker. Aonuma assured players that a summary of Wind Waker will be shown at the beginning of the game with storyboards, so anyone will be able to pick it up without getting confused.

As for the controls, the development team did not give an option to switch controls to the D-pad. Check out his explanation why:

Actually, the idea of giving the player the option of being able to use the D-pad and the touch screen was brought up in the course of development. But as a game developer, I really don’t like the idea of switching controls, because it removes the player from the experience and the player has to think about which controls they’re using and at what point they have to switch and always keep that in mind. That was a conscious decision on my part to not give the player that option. With regard to the hand getting in the way, that’s something I’ve thought about, but I’ve found a solution in using a longer stylus.

On a related note, Aonuma confirmed the addition of two more Zelda characters, Sheik and Ganondorf, to the roster of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. It was not mentioned whether they would be playable, or act as assist trophies, or whether Sheik would come into play in a similar fashion as Zero Samus. We'll keep you informed so expect more updates as they come happen.

Gaming site IGN caught up with Twilight Princess Director Eiji Aonuma and Nintendo Producer Shigeru Miyamoto a while ago at E3 and when you have the two at hand, you shouldn't let anyone go without asking a Zelda-related question - be it related to the current video game title on Wii or even about future iterations.

IGN went for the second question and received quite a few interesting answers from the two. According to Miyamoto, there is a high possibility that a new Zelda game will be released on the Wii because the console has a lot of potential and there are many areas that they haven't fully explored yet. The producer added,

It's really hard to say because we've never had a Zelda that's appeared so early in the life cycle of the system, so it's definitely possible that there would be another Zelda on Wii. Of course, the challenge is that typically a Zelda game is something that takes three years to develop, so we'll just have to wait and see.

While Director Aonuma agreed with Miyamoto's statements, he was a bit more vague regarding future projects. He added that it is true their team has some ideas in the works but none of them have been approved yet. Aonuma also said that they are still very much in the planning process.

Eiji Aonuma also brought up the DS title Phantom Hourglass, "The Phantom Hourglass has been released in Japan and reception has been very, very positive. We've actually been able to receive feedback from the users and we'll definitely take all of those comments into consideration when creating the next Zelda, whether it be for Wii or DS".

Good news for hardcore gamers! Nintendo Power has unveiled a couple of more details on games that may hit the Wii console soon. August issue's rundown covered a good deal of titles, although some of Nintendo's most awaited have still been left out. The several games that have been mentioned are:

• Ghost Squad -  The game will include 25 weapons, and thermal and night vision goggles.
• Tony Hawk's Proving Ground -  This possible port will be expanding on the Nail the Trick gameplay.
• Battalion Wars 2 - Nothing much was said for this title except that it will arrive by September 2007.
  
• Soul Calibur Legends - Being developed by a team of developers from Tekken, Ace Combat and Soul Calibur. Look forward to this one folks. The team seems bent on testing how far the Wii can go to bring you ace visuals.
• Tomb Raider Anniversary - This remake of Lara's original adventure will feature "real time" weapon aiming using the nunchuck, plus puzzles that can be solved with the Wiimote.  This is another title to watch out for.
• Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers -  The Final Fantasy series arrives on the Wii with a lot of cinematics.
  
• Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker - Although no promises were made, Eiji Aonuma has said that he would love to make a version for the Wii.

Other games that will be released on the Wii are new word games, Carnival Games from Take-Two, and Geometry Wars Galaxiesfrom Kuju Entertainment.

In Eiji Aonuma's Nintendo Power interview - in which he gave comments to the many games he's currently involved in - the game director and producer has expressed his wish to see a Wii port of the highly successful The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker game for the GameCube.

Since we're talking about a Nintendo bigwig here, there is a glimmer of hope for those who want to relive the epic game in their Wii Consoles, complete with Wiimote motions. Slap a budget price on it as well, and non-GameCube owners (who have Wiis) will have a grand time indeed. So how about it, Nintendo?

Check out his other comments in the Read link!

There's silent war going on between those labeled as "casual gamers" and "hardcore gamers". It doesn't help that the Wii has gained a huge chunk of the casual gamer market prompting the latter to worry some more.

One of the reasons why hardcore gamers are so upset over this trend is their fear of gaming going mainstream. Will Nintendo be driving out hardcore gamers in favor of the bigger and possibly more lucrative casual gaming bunch?

Apparently, this wave of interest into gaming has caught the attention of the director of Zelda: Twilight Princess Eiji Aonuma and he has taken a few minutes of his time to assuage our fears regarding the matter.

It's because of gamers that games have come as far as they have… it's not Nintendo's intent to alienate those people… We think we can involve everyone — people who played games in the past because the approach is so new, and people who were never gamers.

So will we be seeing a world where hard core and casual gamers can peacefully co-exist without prejudice from one faction or another? Well, as Martin Luther King said "I have a dream..."

It's a no-brainer that everyone hates game delays. Each time that a release is moved to a later date, the whine of gamers is met with a standard-issue "we want to add more quality to the game and we need more time to do it" type of response. Most of the time, it's enough to silence the fans. According to analyst Michael Pachter, that's only half of the truth.

In fact, business strategy is the other half of the story. True, creative and technical issues are considered, but publishers may opt to hold in the title for a period of time if that's what it takes to generate better profits. Whether the company is looking for a date where it can cash in on holidays or if it wants to go head to head with the competition, nothing happens by accident as even the smallest details are considered.

One good example of a game delayed for business strategy would be The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess which could have been released for the GameCube 16 months earlier than the actual ship. But Miyamoto and crew seem to have had a business-savvy plan in mind to give the old 'Cube and the new Wii a mutual benefit.

In E3 2004, the world first laid eyes on the next installation in the immortal Zelda franchise. It took a year, however, before we got our hands on a playable demo. That was E3 2005 where Nintendo promised a November 2006 release. What happened next was a series of moves that would lead us to the status quo of electronic entertainment.

According to Pachter, Twilight Princess was good to go on the GameCube in the original release date or somewhere close, but director Eiji Aonuma may have hit a snag with Miyamoto and crew. The game was apparently deemed good enough for the Wii and development of a port was ordered. The game was to be released simultaneously for the Wii and the GameCube to give the new console the additional firepower for its launch. It was the logical thing to do.

Nobody can argue with the results. Together with other Nintendo titles, Twilight Princess propelled the Wii to becoming the hottest-selling console on the planet, edging market leader Xbox 360 in the first quarter of 2007. At the end of the day, everyone, including Nintendo loyalists, was happy.

Don't you just love weekends? It's on slowdowns like these that you actually get to find really cheesy news while weaving through the Winding Nether that is the Internet. And guess what we picked up? Yep, it's another video. But this time, it isn't as much about culture as it is about opinion. Or maybe opinion is culture.

J. Stewart Burns, behind your zany mornings (or evenings) with The Simpsons, talked on IGN TV about the Homerazzi episode. Okay, so he didn't. He talked about how much he loved the Nintendo Wii. In fact he was very eager to say that the Wii just blew him away. He started out easy with Wii Sports tennis with his wife, then moved over to bowling without slipping a disc. Soon he moved on to the mainstream games such as Zelda: Twilight Princess.

And he loved it even more. According to him, Zelda delivered on every front. At least you can't say he isn't emotional - poor guy cried at the end. Chalk one more up for Eiji Aonuma. Aonuma has been down about struggling with a dying franchise. At least now he's got some star power to back his self-esteem now.

But probably the most worthy of note, despite the short time span it was mentioned in the video, is his recommendation for the Xbox 360 to the mainstream gamer. And we won't even quote him on what he said about the PlayStation 3. You're going to have to find that out yourself, by watching the video below.

Snooping around Yahoo! Answers while searching for a Nintendo Wii, you might have come around this little official question that Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto himself asks. Looks like the game development guru needs a little "tapping the market" for future development. Or he could be suffering from the same dilemma Eiji Aonuma has been with his revival of the Zelda franchise.

So is he going through a midlife crisis? Oh wait, at 54 you sorta had to trudge through a few of those... If he's worried about Nintendo's reputation, that's sort of pegging him pretty high on the modesty meter. Anything with his sweat and blood on it, turns to ornate gold. With 4306 answers (a huge jump from 4220 just a few minutes earlier) and rising, the question is grabbing a lot of positive feedback. That's not to say that there have been a couple of negatives hushed here and there.

If you haven't already, lead ol' Shigeru back to the light and give him your two-cents worth for his question: "How old were you when you first heard the term, "Nintendo," and what does the name mean to you now?" Jump right over to the Yahoo! Answers page by clicking the "Read" link below.