The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks

Moving away from the for a moment, Miyamoto said that the new version of will be shown off at E3 in some detail - with three modes available on the show floor. For the purposes of this talk, however, the designer wants to show us a standard dungeon from the game. Phantoms will be a friendly force in this new outing; a new way to solve puzzles, while Link will forego oceanic voyages for a land-base outing, where he will travel around by train.

Miyamoto is something of a train fanatic it would seem, the designer talking up the impact this will have on gameplay. Moving onto matters less specific, we were told by the designer that he had hoped to unveil a new Zelda for the Wii at E3, but with question marks still hanging over the series' future direction, his team have instead opted to continue development, delaying any announcements.

What we were treated to, however, was an impressive slice of Zelda artwork - and Miyamoto confirmed that the new adventure will land in 2010. More over, the new title may well require the Wiimote extension in order to play, the big cheese telling us to look at the swordplay and archery in Wii Sports Resort for further clues.

Moving the discussion away from Nintendo's line-up, the veteran invited questions from the floor and responding to one poser about the motion technology coming from and Microsoft; Miyamoto cautioning that technology demonstrations are not full games, while also hinting that Nintendo have their own evolutions in development. Referring to the full body motion technology, the designer said that he's "seen these things before".

Nintendo's pulse-taking Vitality Sensor was under discussion, this unique contraption regarded by Miyamoto as an evolution of game interfacing. The designer waxed lyrical on the manner in which most game inputs are user prompted, while the sensor would be all about involuntary input. Apparently, the the idea was inspired by a robot Miyamoto-san once tried out - which was controlled by the users brain waves.

With the clock now firmly ticking, Miyamoto admitted that he'd like to see the Wii Speak peripheral used in more ways (New Super Bros. won't make use of it, sadly), while admitting that while the Wii's hardware is limiting, every platform has its eventual constraints. Miyamoto was asked about his influences, too, revealing that Will Wright's Sim City has been an important game for him, before wishing the crowd good evening with a polite bow. After an illuminating session we're reminded once again why is still the most important name in video gaming.

By Luke Guttridge