Who would replace Aonuma?

[DuelMark]

It's funny, 5 years ago I asked what would Zelda's 30th anniversary would be like. Here we are.

Those of you who watch Doctor Who know that showrunner Steven Moffat is stepping down. So, with this happening, I look to Eiji Aonuma. We all know someday he's going to be stepping away from being main producer. Looking at who else is in the series, from other producers to game directors, who do you think could have the potential to one day take Aonuma's place?

 

[Mellow Ezlo]

Michael Bay. Imagine a futuristic Zelda game with bazookas, grenades, atom bombs, etc. Explosions galore. We'll blow the **** out of Ganondorf.

 

[Derek Francis]

The Splatoon developers maybe.

 

[VitaTempusN92]

Hiromasa Shikata obviously!

Michael Bay. Imagine a futuristic Zelda game with bazookas, grenades, atom bombs, etc. Explosions galore. We'll blow the **** out of Ganondorf.

lol! Imagining Ganon getting blown to bits made me laugh a little!

Anyway, what's with you people making a big deal Michael Bay and explosions?! Like everyone always keeps talking about that. Like wtf? So what if the guy just happens to make a lot of movies that just so happen to involve explosions in some way. A lot of movies have explosions. People need to get over that. Seriously.

 

[the8thark]

The Splatoon developers maybe.

I can agree on this. The Nintendo Garage team needs to get more and more prominent at Nintendo. They are the future on Nintendo. All the old masters there will not live for ever. Someone has to replace them. Best they come through the Garage team and know what Nintendo values.

 

[Derek Francis]

Yes, that's exactly why I said this. I appreciate the old masters of Nintendo, but I also realize they're stuck in their ways and we need a strong generation of younger devs to replace them. Considering that Splatoon was their first game, I think that team has lots of potential.

 

[Spirit]

Retro Studios

 

[DarkestLink]

New blood, hopefully. That's what Nintendo needs right now, I think.

 

[Dio]

Someone younger and less set in their ways than Aounuma. I have been of the opinion that Aounuma has needed to go for a while now. He has been holding the series back and allowed it to become stagnant and mediocre.

 

[Ronin]

MonolithSoft, or just Tatsuya Takahashi would be fine. He started out working for Squaresoft back in the day and lent a hand with classics such as Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, and Chrono Trigger. Eventually he broke away to form MonolithSoft and developed Xenogears, Xenosaga: Episode I/II/III, and the Xenoblade games. I also recall reading someplace that he and his team would be willing to help out with Zelda, if the opportunity presented itself...

 

[Lozjam]

MonolithSoft, or just Tatsuya Takahashi would be fine. He started out working for Squaresoft back in the day and lent a hand with classics such as Final Fantasy 6, Final Fantasy 7, and Chrono Trigger. Eventually he broke away to form MonolithSoft and developed Xenogears, Xenosaga: Episode I/II/III, and the Xenoblade games. I also recall reading someplace that he and his team would be willing to help out with Zelda, if the opportunity presented itself...

MonolithSoft has already assisted the development of Skyward Sword, and A Link Between Worlds as well.

 

[Djinn]

The way things have been going, I am thinking that Nintendo is in desperate need of new blood.

someone that does not want to keep things squarely in the 80's and hold back development in favor of new and weirder control gimmicks. Sadly Nintendo only really hires and attracts people who are die hard fans of the whole traditional Nintendo concept. So most up and comers will want to repeat what Aonuma and Miyamoto have been doing for years.

 

[VitaTempusN92]

I don't think the Zelda main series should be handed over to a third party (at least, not yet anyways), second party, or another team.

I really do think that Hiromasa Shikata should be the one to take Aonuma's place. He's already up and ready for the task. Plus, he's already starting to take a bigger part in the interviews revolving around Zelda and even Zelda games altogether like Aonuma did last decade. I really do think he's going to be the next producer. And I think he might turn out to be better than Aonuma has been lately than we may think.

Shikata is somewhat younger than Aonuma after all. Aonuma is now around the same age as Miyamoto was when Aonuma take Miyamoto's place as producer. And now Shikata seems about the same age Aonuma was when he became producer. So it makes sense that Shikata is definitely the next in line.

That said, Zelda U may be Aonuma's last big Zelda project. That could be why he wants the game to be so perfect.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Yoshiaki Koizumi? Apparently he's been considered by people since 2012. He worked on both Super Mario Galaxy games, and was responsible for most of the sidequests in Majora's Mask.

I'm really not sure, I agree that new blood is crucial.