We’ve known about the existence of a new Zelda for quite some time now. In fact it’s almost a year to the day since Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto announced that a new Legend of Zelda title for the Wii was in development at last year’s E3 roundtable conference.

At that stage we were only shown an illustration of Link with Miyamoto explaining that he would like to make the new game compatible with Wii MotionPlus and that it would probably only be released in 2011.

Since then the publisher has been very quiet about the development, and as a result many Zelda fans were anticipating that the new game would be shown at Nintendo’s E3 press conference last night.

Well, not only did Nintendo reveal that the new game would be titled The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, but Miyamoto himself was there to demonstrate the first gameplay and explain a little bit more of what we can expect when the game launches next year.

Miyamoto wants this Zelda to be remembered as a key turning point in the series long history, and he believes that Wii MotionPlus compatibility will go a long way towards making the game offer the most intuitive play control of any game in the franchise to date. Every movement a player makes will be matched precisely by Link, for example, if you move to the left Link will swing from left to right. You will also find that enemies will defend against your attacks so players will be forced to strategise and make use of the precision control throughout the game.

Players will have the freedom to use Link’s sword, shield and items naturally using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Simply swing the Wii Remote to engage in swordplay or raise the Nunchuk to make use of Link’s shield. Players will also be able to enjoy new items such as the whip (which can be used to stun enemies or clear a grassy area) and beetle (which can be used to retrieve items), as well as other useful ones including the slingshot, bow and bombs, simply by selecting them on an item wheel.

You can get to know the new graphical style of the game a little better below in the first screenshots to be revealed, and also watch Link in action in the first gameplay over here if you like.