The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary

February 21, 2011 marked the 25th anniversary of the , commemorating the Japanese release of the original The Legend of Zelda. This was celebrated with a series of game releases as well as special events throughout the course of 2011, most of which were announced during the E3 2011 Nintendo conference. The logo for the Zelda 25th birthday was revealed during the 2011 Game Developers Conference, where Nintendo announced that they had special plans prepared for the anniversary, mentioning that it would be handled differently than the Mario anniversary.

Additional 25th anniversary events will be announced later on by Nintendo.

Nintendo E3 2011 Conference Opening
The Nintendo E3 2011 conference opened with a special tribute to the franchise, consisting of a highlight reel of previous Zelda games, starting with the original The Legend of Zelda, all accompanied by a live orchestra and choir. The clip also showed a new Skyward Sword trailer. Shigeru Miyamoto then asked the orchestra to play some of the classic songs from the series, such as the Fairy Fountain medley, the jingle when a puzzle is solved, as well as the music played when a Treasure Chest is opened.

Game Releases
Nintendo also announced each of their current generation consoles would see a release of a Zelda game.

Link's Awakening DX
It was announced at Nintendo's E3 Press Conference by Shigeru Miyamoto that Link's Awakening DX would become available that day, June 7th, 2011, for the Nintendo 3DS eShop. The price for the game is $5.99 in the United States, $9AU in Australia, and £5.40 in the United Kingdom.

Ocarina of Time 3D
The Nintendo 3DS remake of the critically acclaimed Nintendo 64 Zelda game was released in June 2011: Japan's release date was June 16, 2011, followed by the European release date on June 17 and finally released in the U.S. on June 19, 2011.

As part of the Zelda 25th anniversary, Nintendo announced during their E3 2011 conference that anyone who registered their copy of Ocarina of Time 3D in Club Nintendo would be receiving the official soundtrack of the game for free. However, the giveaway was only available for residents of the United States and Canada, and the offer started on June 19, 2011,  which is when the game was released in North America.

Four Swords
Four Swords will be available as a free download for both the Nintendo DSi and Nintendo 3DS in September 2011.

Skyward Sword
Skyward Sword, the first Zelda game created specifically for the Wii, is scheduled to be released during the 2011 Holiday season. To go along with the game, Nintendo will be releasing a golden Wii Remote Plus that has the Royal Crest embedded on it.

The Legend of Zelda Wii U Tech Demo
The Legend of Zelda Wii U Tech Demo is a short cinematic unveiled during Nintendo's E3 2011 conference. Although the demo lead fans to speculate that Nintendo was developing a Zelda title for the Wii U, it was later revealed to have been designed to help demonstrate the console’s graphical capabilities and control scheme.

The Legend of Zelda Symphony Worldwide Concerts
A The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony will be performing worldwide, making its first performance in Los Angeles on October 21, 2011. On October 25, 2011, the Zelda Symphony will make its only performance in Europe, in London. In 2012, the symphony will return for a number of yet to be announced performances in North America. A Zelda Symphony CD, with music from the concerts, will also be released in conjunction with the Skyward Sword release.

Official The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Website
The official The Legend of Zelda 25 Anniversary Website was also launched. The site includes: a brief history of all the Zelda games, details about the Make Your Own Zelda Flipnote contest (including a sample animated video made by Nintendo), wallpaper downloads of various Zelda games illustrations, details on The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony, a video of the Zelda Symphony performing at E3 2011, and links to the Ocarina of Time 3D and Link's Awakening DX websites.

Super Mario 3D Land
The upcoming Nintendo 3DS Super Mario title will pay homage to the Zelda series by including a top-perspective level that will be in the style of the dungeons found in the original The Legend of Zelda game, full of enemies that Link usually encounters.

The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Events at GamesCom 2011
At the 2011 gamescom convention in Cologne, Germany, Nintendo organized the The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary flashmob cosplay gathering, inviting fans of the series to show up as their favorite Zelda characters. The first 111 cosplayers were awarded a goodie bag, including a limited edition t-shirt and a can of Deku Nuts.

Nintendo also host The Legend of Zelda Quiz, where three players tested their knowledge of the Zelda series for a chance to win one of three exclusive prizes: the Twilight Princess golden Link/Epona figurine, or a Zelda 25th anniversary treasure chest replica filled with extra merchandise.

Skyward Sword Bundle
Upon its North American release, a special edition Skyward Sword bundle will be available at the price of $69.99. The bundle will include a copy of Skyward Sword, as well as a gold Wii Remote Plus. Additionally, a limited edition CD, featuring music from The Legend of Zelda 25th Anniversary Symphony Concert, will also be packaged alongside all early purchases of the standard and special edition copies of Skyward Sword.