Nintendo's Zelda Team head and Skyward Sword producer, Eiji Aonuma, has been speaking to GamesRadar about all things Zelda. In the interview he was asked about the future of motion controls in the Zelda franchise, and about the Zelda game in production for WiiU.

GR: So do you think you'll continue to use motion control in the future? Will you ever go back to traditional controls?

EA: I don't think we could go back to button control, especially after creating something that's as natural to use as the interface that we have with the Wii Remote Plus in Skyward Sword. I think Nintendo will continue to have that focus on motion control and we'll see that continue to evolve. And the hardware as well, in a way that will let people control things very naturally just using their own motions.

GR: Looking forward, can you say anything about the Wii U Zelda project?

EA: What can I say...? It's a difficult question (laughs). We're just getting started on it even as we speak, so I'm just worried that if I let something slip that's off that mark...

The feedback that I've been getting from a lot of people on Skyward Sword is that they like the game very much, so of course I think probably the most important thing that we're focusing on right now is how do we take those elements that people seem to really love about Skyward Sword, and really bring that and connect that to what we do with Zelda on the Wii U while still continuing to evolve the game.

GR: Is there any particular feature of the Wii U hardware that you're excited to work with?

EA: Obviously, it's the new controller that's got the screen built into it, and in particular we're looking at how we can combine that new controller with something like motion control, and perhaps use the new controller in such a way that it becomes a new item that you're able to use to make the game feel fresh and new.

On 3DS Zelda:

GR: So are there any aspects of the 3DS that you think work particularly well for the Zelda series?

EA: Of course with the Nintendo DS games, one of the things that we looked at was how we could utilize touch control with the Zelda series, particularly of course with the first game, Phantom Hourglass, and then refining it again after that. With Ocarina of Time 3D for Nintendo 3DS that was another thing we looked at, was what sort of touch screen control was really suited to that game. I do think that in general, touch control is something that works very well for the Zelda series. But the other thing we did with Ocarina of Time 3D of course was the motion control. The idea is that you're able to take some of those items that you use to aim in first person, and you can now aim them yourself with the motion control. In particular, it gives the feeling that the game world extends beyond the screen and really helps give you the feeling that the game world exists all around you. I thought that was something that worked really well with Ocarina 3D.

GR: So working on Ocarina 3DS, did you get any ideas for a new Zelda 3DS game?

EA: Of course! But I can't give any concrete examples...

GR: Is there any chance of seeing Majora's Mask on 3DS?

EA: I did hear that there's a website here that was launched in North America by some people that are hoping we'll release a 3D version of Majora's Mask. Of course I'm very flattered to hear that so many people are asking for that game, so I hope that at some point in the future hopefully, maybe, we'll be able to do something with it.

GR: At this point in time, would you ever consider making another 2D Zelda game?

EA: Well actually, even Mr. Miyamoto himself has been talking recently about going back to the 2D Zelda games, in particular the ones that were designed with multiple levels to the world like A Link to the Past, and taking those 2D graphics and recreating them in 3D so that you could get a sense for the depth of those worlds. That's something that might be interesting to do, so I would say there might be a possibility of something like that in the future.

If we had had time, we would have probably done something like that for Four Swords.

Thanks to GamesRadar

I sure wouldn't mind a new 2D Zelda. 

Well Miyamoto seems very keen to make a 3D remake of Link to the Past.

Aonuma has also mentioned the possibility of Zelda having her own game while speaking to IGN:

“The way we present Zelda is always a topic when we think about creating a game. Normally she would be kidnapped and someone would save her in the end. But this time (with Skyward Sword) we decided to give Zelda more personality and provide more information about her. Of course, in presenting the character in more detail, it can be questioned whether or not she should have her own game. Perhaps it is an idea we can think about in the future, but for now I do not know.”

- Eiji Aonuma

motion controls are an annoying gimmick and no one cares about zelda remakes outside japan.

why wasn't this question asked - "when are you going to get a half decent online service?"

@phrali said:

motion controls are an annoying gimmick and no one cares about zelda remakes outside japan.

why wasn't this question asked - "when are you going to get a half decent online service?"

The gimmick as you put it, has won out, long live the gimmick I say.

If you truly mean decent, the answer would be very soon, next month in fact, Nintendo have taken some very positive steps with Mario Kart 7's online mode, they're basically allowing 3DS users to create their own private servers, and create their own settings and community groups. You can also now add people from your friends list, rather than having to punch in codes.