Thanks to data from Circana, we now know exactly what we thought, and can confirm that The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is a huge hit. Having sold more physical copies since it launched than both Resident Evil 4 Remake or Star Wars Jedi: Survivor have sold full stop. That is huge numbers!
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It couldn’t match the numbers of the hugely successful Hogwart’s Legacy, at least not yet, being the second most successful physical launch of the year so soon after launch is nothing to scoff at. Even more impressive is that these are only physical numbers, without including the digital Nintendo eShop data in the figures, it’s likely that Tears of the Kingdom will actually be number one.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Managed the Impossible
It is unlikely that you’re a gamer who hasn’t heard of Zelda or Link at some point. That’s like being a film buff and not knowing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. You might not have personally experienced it, or spent time with it, but you’ll know the basics.
That’s why over the years there has been one outstanding Zelda game after another, but things had definitely hit a stagnant period come the release of the excellent Breath of the Wild. With that interest in the franchise was fully reignited, and come the release of Tears of the Kingdom, expectations were almost unfairly high for the sequel.
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And yet, it not only met those expectations, but seemingly passed them all. Many considered Breath of the Wild to be the best Zelda game, even better than franchise cult classic Ocarina of Time, but that may well have changed again. It’s no easy feat for a franchise to regularly out perform itself, and yet Nintendo seems to with both Zelda and Mario.
The success of the sequel wasn’t the gaming world’s best kept secret, with Nintendo announcing to the world that Tears of the Kingdom had sold ten million copies in three days! Ten million! In a world where according to developers we all want multiplayer experiences above all else, this goes to show that single-player gaming isn’t dead, far from it.
Physical Editions, A Dying Trend? Not This Time…
It’s an unfortunate trend currently that the biggest AAA games are going digital only. With games like Alan Wake II, Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name and the Nintendo Switch port Batman: Arkham Trilogy all going completely digital, or offering a weird amalgamation of digital and physical releases, it seems the days of having a huge collection of games on the shelf is over.
According to a report by the BBC, physical editions of video games accounted for as little as 10% of total sales, meaning the other 90% were digital! It cannot be argued that the mass production of video games in a physical form is obviously unneeded and a past relic, but as shown by Tears of the Kingdom, if the option is there for the biggest franchises, then the sales will follow.
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With the contentious nature of digital libraries, licensing issues and the inability to lend friends your copy, a purely digital market won’t be well accepted by fans in the long run. Would you be happy not being able to buy your favourite games as a physical release? Let us know in the comments!
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