Summary
Not even two months after its launch,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomhas officially surpassed 18.51 million units as of June 30 of this year. That’s over half of the 30.65 million thatBreath of the Wildhas sold in over six years, so if this pacing keeps up, it’s entirely possible that the latter could be outsold by its sequel.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomwas easily one of the most hotly anticipated things to come out of Nintendo in 2023,alongsideThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. It takes what worked inBreath of the Wildand adds onto it, with two extra maps sandwiching the original overworld, an array of inventive new mechanics, and a darker story involving the return (and killer redesign) of fan favorite villain Ganondorf, alongside several other tweaks and enhancements.
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According to Nintendo’s latest financial report, which covers the gaming giant’s earnings throughout April, May, and June of this fiscal year,The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdommade up half of it first-party game revenue. It was Nintendo’s biggest moneymaker alongside the billion-grossingMariomovie, and the company also took the time to note that a growing percentage of its sales came from players who had not touchedBreath of the Wildbeforehand. Furthermore, even ignoring digital copies,Tears of the Kingdomhas quickly become the ninth bestselling Nintendo Switch game and one of the highest-grossing games this year.
As a testament toTears of the Kingdom’s success, it currently marks Nintendo’s second biggest launch ever, just behindthat ofPokemon Scarlet and Violetlast year. The Nintendo Switch itself also set a new sales milestone in 2023, having reached an impressive 129.53 million units and is now within striking distance of Nintendo’s own DS, making it the third overall bestselling gaming hardware of all time.
All in all, it seems that despite some fears, Nintendo is showing no signs of slowing down even with an aging console on its hands and a potential reveal of its next console on the horizon. The company has been all but unstoppable since the Switch launched in 2017, and with itsobvious plans to replicate that year’s success in 2023, there’s no telling when Nintendo will hit a wall. And without a doubt, Link’s latest outing is partly to thank for this.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdomis available exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.
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