10m copies in three days: Latest Zelda set to be another record-breaker for Nintendo
In 2017 Nintendo reinvented its long-running Legend of Zelda franchise with Breath of the Wild, a game that became so popular – selling more than 30 million units – that the Japanese giant seemed unlikely to replicate the impact with a sequel.
Yet by all appearances, this month’s The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom may end up even bigger.
In its first three days of availability, the game sold more than 10 million copies globally, according to Nintendo, blowing away multi-platform competitors like FIFA 23 and Hogwarts Legacy.
The game has been topping charts since pre-orders opened, and has been trending solidly on social media since release.
* Review: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is video game bliss * New Zelda game Tears of the Kingdom is like nothing we've seen before * Sony's new PlayStation 5 will launch November 12
The Legend of Zelda has stuck closely to its themes over almost four decades, but it’s also been modernised into one of the most impressive open worlds in gaming.
The latest instalment has had by far the most successful launch of a Zelda game in the series’ 38-year run, and is the faster to reach this sales milestone of any previous Switch game.
And only part of the reason for all of this is that Nintendo currently operates the second most successful home video games platform of all time (the Switch has sold more than 125 million units to date, behind only Sony’s PlayStation 2).
It’s also down to the fact that Nintendo has amassed an immense amount of trust; retaining its biggest talents and investing in software, while also being one of the few major publishers whose games tend to launch without any major bugs or technical issues.
And from the critical reception it seems that trust
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