Nintendo pre-empts the excitement of yesterday's event with a much-anticipated announcement: a teaser's up for Zelda E3 2014, though the game won't be released until next year.

The newest installment to The Legend of Zelda series takes on a different tack from previous games. It's set to launch on the Wii U, a console Nintendo is struggling to validate in a market dominated by Sony and Microsoft.

Hints of the new game was teased as early as 2011 E3, and Nintendo is upgrading the title into something that's truly apt to the Zelda fantasy; open-world gameplay, right from the get-go.

Technical constraints prevented developers from pulling off an open-world adventure in previous Zelda titles, especially when the series transitioned from 2D to 3D. The 2003 game (Wind Walker) offered open exploration of the world, but broken into islands serially loaded into memory.

The new Zelda E3 2014 will do away with the linear dynamic, instead offering gamers the freedom to roam its world from the start. There's plenty of eye-candy to experience, with a new style of cell-shaded graphics that's more mature and less kitschy.

Link, the main character in the series, looks like a teenager in the tease, showcased on the trailer riding horseback and through an intricately-designed landscape.

Nintendo usually offers titles in waves, the Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Zelda series as evidence. The legacy of iconic titles continues with reports Shigeru Miyamoto is working on a follow-up to the Star Fox series. The Mario creator introduced the tease himself in an invite-only reveal Sunday.

Aside from the Zelda E3 2014 reveal, additions to Nintendo classics were also announced, some offshoots of well-known titles. Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS is already confirmed in development, with regular updates to boot. The release of Mario Kart 8 should sustain Nintendo's appeal to its loyal, solid market of fans (theguardian.com).