Nintendo has announced that its latest Zelda game has sold over 10 million copies in just three days. According to the report, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has become the fastest-selling Zelda game to date.
Legend of Zelda record sales
In comparison, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time sold 7.4 million copies during its entire run, according to gaming aggregator Metacritic.
Tears of the Kingdom was released on Friday as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. And, with the exception of Breath of the Wild, it has already sold more copies than any other game.
According to Statista, Breath of the Wild, which was released in 2017 on both the Switch and the Wii U, sold nearly 30 million units.
Meanwhile, Elden Ring, the 2022 Game Awards winner, had sold an estimated 20.5 million units as of March 2023.
However, the fantasy game, developed by the successful role-playing series Dark Souls, was released on a variety of consoles, including the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and even PC.
According to source, Tears of the Kingdom has also become 2023’s biggest physical video-game launch in the UK, selling 50% more physical copies than Hogwarts Legacy.
“The huge opening sales of the latest Zelda place it amongst the biggest paid-for games ever released,” Ampere Analysis’ Piers Harding-Rolls told BBC News.
“With estimated gross sales of well over $600m [£480m], this title is comparable to some of the best-ever launches but falls a little short of the very biggest.
“For example, Grand Theft Auto V delivered over $1bn in sales in its three-day launch window.
“Zelda has always been a beloved franchise for Nintendo fans but the success of the Switch console and the reinvention of the franchise into an open-world experience has transformed its appeal.”
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