Nintendo's Legend of Zelda franchise has always been popular, but its popularity seems to have increased immensely in the last couple of years. Zelda: Breath of the Wild helped kick off this stronger-than-ever popularity, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has cemented it. In just three days, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has sold over 10 million copies. This has made it the fastest-selling game in the series so far, and that number will only grow as the years go by.
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's success seems to only be matched by the Pokemon and Mario franchises. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet were also able to sell over 10 million copies in their first three days, breaking a series record. Both are impressive sales numbers, but Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is also the fastest-selling Nintendo game in the Americas. It may be unbeatable, and there is a chance that it will overtake the Pokemon franchise to become Nintendo's next premiere series sometime soon.
Zelda is Cementing Itself as Nintendo's New Premiere Franchise
Since its inception, The Legend of Zelda has been one of Nintendo's biggest franchises. While the titles may range in quality, they all seem to be relatively consistent sales-wise. Most games have sold anywhere between three and seven million copies and have mostly been regarded as hits. This was the series trend for years; however, something changed drastically when the Nintendo Switch launched.
Before the Nintendo Switch, most modern Zelda games were relegated to Nintendo's handhelds. These were fun fantasy adventures but were also very limited by their hardware. Home console entries like Zelda: Skyward Sword and Zelda: Twilight Princess were miles ahead of their handheld counterparts, but none of them were able to crack 10 million sales. It seemed like the series was going to remain successful, but never reach the heights of franchises like Pokemon.
The release of Zelda: Breath of the Wild changed all of that, and the series has not looked back since. It served as the major launch title for the Nintendo Switch as well as the final Nintendo game for the Wii U. Nintendo crafted a brand-new type of Zelda game, and the fans flocked to it. It ended up winning many Game of the Year awards and is often considered one of the greatest video games of all time. It truly was an impressive feat, and the sales numbers speak for themselves.
By 2022, Zelda: Breath of the Wild had sold around 30 million copies. This has made it the best-selling Zelda game and put it on the same level as Pokemon's most successful titles. It is still one of the biggest names in the open-world genre and has helped redefine what it means to be a Legend of Zelda game. While older Zelda games could only dream about this success, Zelda: Breath of the Wild did it without breaking a sweat.
While Zelda: Breath of the Wild could have just been a one-off thing, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has proved that this franchise will be a core part of Nintendo's future. It has broken a franchise record by selling over 10 million copies in three days, and that number will only grow to rival its predecessor. It has breezed past the lifetime sales of almost every single Zelda game before it, and its sales now rival that of PokemonScarlet and Violet.
The Legend of Zelda franchise has come a long way from its NES days, and its popularity will only continue to grow. While it will be a while before the franchise can match the over 400 million Pokemon games sold, its latest titles are giving it a fighting chance in becoming Nintendo's next premiere franchise. This makes it a pretty exciting time to be a Zelda fan, and it will be interesting to see just how Nintendo capitalizes on this newfound success.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now on Switch.
