Unsurprisingly, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has sold over 10 million units worldwide in the three days since its launch, and is officially the fastest-selling game in the history of the Legend of Zelda series. In the Americas, it sold over four million units in that time frame, thus claiming the title of fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game and the fastest-selling Nintendo game for any system in that territory.
Considering there are over 125 million Nintendo Switch units in the wild, it might be a bigger surprise that Tears of the Kingdom has been purchased by only 10% of the player base. The direct sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is also Nintendo’s first game priced at $69.99, which also proves gamers are willing to pay that amount for a polished game that is actually feature complete.
Breath of the Wild is on my list of the best games I’ve ever played, but I anticipate that it will be replaced by Tears of the Kingdom. The bigger question is whether it gets bumped up a spot or even two. For now, I am taking my time to explore and uncover everything this version of Hyrule has to offer. Somehow, the game is living up to my expectations.
“Many players are returning to Hyrule with all its new mysteries and possibilities, and with the record-breaking launch of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom for Nintendo Switch, we can’t wait to see what they’ll create in the game and the stories they’ll share next,” said Devon Pritchard, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales, Marketing and Communications. “We’re grateful for all of our fans who’ve shown their passion for The Legend of Zelda over the years, and these sales numbers for the latest installment continue to show the strong momentum for both the franchise and Nintendo Switch this year.”
