Tears of the Kingdom Has The Biggest Zelda Launch In UK History, Second Highest Week-One Revenue In Nintendo History
Posted on May 16 2023 by Sean Gadus
Ever since it was originally announced as “the sequel to Breath of the Wild” at E3 2019, Tears of the Kingdom has been one of the most hotly anticipated games across all video game platforms. With the game finally releasing, it has been fascinating to hear fans and critics reacting to the highly anticipated Nintendo game. One big question going into the release of Tears of the Kingdom was if the game could be as financially successful as its predecessor. With over 30 millions copies sold across two consoles, Breath of the Wild is by far the best selling Zelda title. It will be interesting to see how the opening months of sales for Tears of the Kingdom compare to Breath of the Wild.
While we will have to wait years to see the full picture on how many copies of Tears of the Kingdom will be sold, the game is already breaking sales records in its launch weekend. GameIndustry.biz reports that Tears of the Kingdom has had the biggest boxed video game launch of the year in the United Kingdom. In terms of revenue, Tears of the Kingdom had the second best launch in Nintendo history, trailing behind 2008’s Wii Fit + Balance Board. Tears of the Kingdom and Wii Fit + Balance Board both launched at price points above the price of other Nintendo games of their eras, so it is not surprising to see them leading the way in revenue. In terms of units sold, Tears of the Kingdom‘s launch was fourth highest in Nintendo history, only trailing Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon, Pokémon Scarlet & Pokémon Violet, and Wii Fit + Balance Board. It is important to remember that this data does not include digital sales as Nintendo does not share digital sales data.
Comparing Tears of the Kingdom‘s UK launch to the UK launch of other Zelda games further illustrates how impressive the game’s sales have been so far. The game had the largest UK week-one sales of any Zelda title, and the game sold 2.7 times more in its opening week than Breath of the Wild did in its opening weekend. In terms of overall sales in the United Kingdom, the game is already the eighth best selling Zelda game just edging out Skyward Sword (Nintendo Wii) and The Wind Waker (Nintendo GameCube). In an interesting twist, the release of Tears of the Kingdom has pushed Breath of the Wild up the sales charts in the United Kingdom as well. For the week end May 13, 2023, Breath of the Wild was the 8th best-selling game.
What do you think of the UK opening week sales data for Tears of the Kingdom? How many units do you think Tears of the Kingdom will end up selling across its lifetime? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: GamesIndustry.biz (Via My Nintendo News)
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
