In an astonishing display of gaming prowess, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has shattered all previous records to become the Zelda franchise’s fastest selling game ever.
In the mere span of three days following its launch on May 12th, the game sold a staggering 10 million copies worldwide.
To add context, this feat means that Tears of the Kingdom has sold a third of the copies of its predecessor, Breath of the Wild, and a fifth of Mario Kart 8, the best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time, within an incredibly condensed timeframe.
I’d say about 90% of my rupees have come from helping this guy put up signs and as this is where I get a majority of my income, that would make my main job being this guys sign putting up assistant pic.twitter.com/h23lEBiKp3
— Zelda Gif World (@GifZelda) May 17, 2023
The Irony of Zelda’s Fire Sale
The remarkable achievement is not without its ironies.
Tears of the Kingdom operates on six-year-old hardware, locked at a demure 30fps, primarily unfolding in a setting gamers have traversed and explored before.
And yet, these seemingly mundane factors have not deterred the Nintendo magic that continues to captivate audiences and command loyalty.
These impressive numbers over such a short period underscore the enduring appeal of Nintendo’s approach to gaming, specifically their knack for turning simple premises into masterpieces of gaming experience.
Notably, the game is a single-player tour de force, a beacon of nostalgic gaming in an industry increasingly focused on multiplayer experiences and the trendy, yet often maligned, battle pass systems.
Nintendo Leaps From Win to Win
The triumph of Tears of the Kingdom is another feather in Nintendo’s cap this year, following the billion-dollar success of the Mario movie and the much-anticipated opening of Super Nintendo World in Los Angeles.
Although it remains to be seen if Tears of the Kingdom can eventually dethrone Mario Kart 8 as the Switch’s bestselling game, given the initial response, we might not have to wait too long to find out.
Among the new features in the game is the Ultrahand, a tool that expands on Breath of the Wild’s open world, enabling players to build almost anything once they master it.
#Zelda #TearsOfTheKingdom "Destructible" environments like this are my favorite pic.twitter.com/ABrJdDj5xr
— Jhent (@Jhent0) May 17, 2023
Even the game’s creators admitted to creating “terrible things,” demonstrating the unbridled creative freedom that defines the gaming experience.
The Legend of Zelda has always excelled in crafting narratives that teeter between whimsicality and grandeur, but Tears of the Kingdom takes it a step further.
Building upon the open-world freedom introduced in Breath of the Wild, this new game allows players to interact with the world and its elements in even more creative and ludicrous ways.
Whether it’s crafting improbable flying machines or embarking on a self-imposed mission to save the world armed with nothing but kitchenware, the game encourages players to tread a path between genius and madness, with hilarious and captivating results.
Tears of the Kingdom: Revolution or Evolution?
In the grand scheme of the Zelda franchise, Tears of the Kingdom feels like an evolution rather than a revolution.
The unique features it introduces are iterations on the groundbreaking mechanics found in Breath of the Wild, allowing the player to engage with the familiar world of Hyrule in novel ways.
Despite the idiosyncrasies of these new features and the comedic misadventures they occasionally cause, they ultimately contribute to the charm and appeal of the game.
In its quest to keep the beloved Zelda franchise fresh and engaging after over three decades, Nintendo has pulled off an impressive feat with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
The game’s staggering initial sales and the exhilarating experiences it offers to players are a testament to Nintendo’s undying commitment to creative exploration and immersive storytelling.
As we plunge deeper into the enthralling world of Tears of the Kingdom, it’s clear that this title will hold a special place in the hearts of gamers worldwide, regardless of whether it manages to unseat Mario Kart 8 as the Switch’s bestselling game.
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