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Breath of the Wild is the Highest Selling Zelda in Japan in 19 Years

Ishaan

Ishaan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,702
0Gb07Ke.png

I felt this was worth its own thread, since so many of these "micro-discussions" get lost amidst all the other conversations in Media Create threads: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is officially the second-highest-selling Zelda game in its domestic market of Japan since Ocarina of Time (1998).

To rephrase: it has outsold every other Zelda game that has been released in the past 18 years.

Here are the facts:
  • As of last week, the game has sold 957,752 units in Japan at retail
  • This figure only accounts for retail sales, so the number is even higher when accounting for digital sales
  • This figure also does not represent the latest sales figures for the Wii U version
  • Ocarina of Time has sold approximately 1.25 million units in Japan
  • The previous second-highest-selling Zelda was Phantom Hourglass (2007) at 907,821 units sold

How we got to this point:

At the risk of a little self-promotion, I'd like to highlight an article I recently wrote on the subject of Breath of the Wild's sales in Japan. You can find it here: Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Beating All Expectations in Japan

A forum post isn't really conducive to lengthier write-ups, but the article goes into fair detail about the development philosophy behind Skyward Sword, how that hurt the Zelda brand, and what corrective steps Nintendo took to rectify the situation. It also discusses the success of other open-world games in Japan such as GTA, pointing out that this sort of success isn't necessarily unheard of.

I want to keep highlighting more interesting Zelda stuff in the future this way. I actually maintain an enormous spreadsheet that basically tracks the development history of the entire series dating back to the early games using interviews with various development staff. It's a project that took me more than a year to compile and it's been incredibly educational.

If anybody would like to see the actual sheet itself, I'd be more than happy to share. In fact, I think it would give Zelda fans in here tons of material to create their own threads with (wait until you see some of the Miyamoto quotes over the years, heh), and help accurately inform people in the process as well.
 
Yerffej

Yerffej

Prophet of Regret
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,451
Recently came back to it and am enjoying it more than ever. Can't wait to see how they expand on this new formula.
 
Ventara

Ventara

The Wise Ones
Member
Oct 25, 2017
710
Nice! BotW 2 when?

Skyward Sword and Link Between Worlds need more love, though.
 
K Samedi

K Samedi

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,989
I think it will continue selling for a long time. Surpassing Ocarina of Time is not out of reach, especially if you count the combined WiiU and Switch sales.
 

Deleted member 9971

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
9,743
It's gonna reach 10m world wide on switch alone probs, wich is quite insane really for a zelda game.
 
Skittzo

Skittzo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
41,037
With digital it will definitely outsell OoT too. Great performance in Japan, and worldwide too.
 

Deleted member 4021

Oct 25, 2017
1,707
Watch out Hero of Time the Wild Boy is coming for you.

It's only a matter of time before the game passes OoT this year. The really interesting thing will be the marathon to reach original LoZ numbers. Not an easy goal, but BotW has a ton of time to do it.
 

Vault

â–˛ Legend â–˛
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,576
That Ocarina of Time number is really impressive considering how poorly the N64 sold there

Minish cap was fucking robbed its 10x better then Phantom hourglass
 
Nabbit

Nabbit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,421
Conor419 said:
100% happening, it'll be 2019/2020.
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I don't think we can say this with any certainty. The only 3D Zelda sequel we have seen is Majora's Mask, and that was so significantly different from OOT that it may as well not have been a sequel in terms of gameplay and world. (That's no knock on the game, it's one of my faves.) Given Nintendo's frequently stated wish (and Aonuma's, if I recall correctly) to make each new entry significantly fresh and unique, I think (and personally hope) the next game will be at least aesthetically and world-wise very different, and very possibly not a direct sequel to BOTW.
 
jariw

jariw

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,283
Ishaan said:
0Gb07Ke.png

I felt this was worth its own thread, since so many of these "micro-discussions" get lost amidst all the other conversations in Media Create threads: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is officially the second-highest-selling Zelda game in its domestic market of Japan since Ocarina of Time (1998).

To rephrase: it has outsold every other Zelda game that has been released in the past 18 years.

Here are the facts:
  • As of last week, the game has sold 957,752 units in Japan at retail
  • This figure only accounts for retail sales, so the number is even higher when accounting for digital sales
  • This figure also does not represent the latest sales figures for the Wii U version
  • Ocarina of Time has sold approximately 1.25 million units in Japan
  • The previous second-highest-selling Zelda was Phantom Hourglass (2007) at 907,821 units sold
How we got to this point:

At the risk of a little self-promotion, I'd like to highlight an article I recently wrote on the subject of Breath of the Wild's sales in Japan. You can find it here: Zelda: Breath of the Wild is Beating All Expectations in Japan

A forum post isn't really conducive to lengthier write-ups, but the article goes into fair detail about the development philosophy behind Skyward Sword, how that hurt the Zelda brand, and what corrective steps Nintendo took to rectify the situation. It also discusses the success of other open-world games in Japan such as GTA, pointing out that this sort of success isn't necessarily unheard of.

I want to keep highlighting more interesting Zelda stuff in the future this way. I actually maintain an enormous spreadsheet that basically tracks the development history of the entire series dating back to the early games using interviews with various development staff. It's a project that took me more than a year to compile and it's been incredibly educational.

If anybody would like to see the actual sheet itself, I'd be more than happy to share. In fact, I think it would give Zelda fans in here tons of material to create their own threads with (wait until you see some of the Miyamoto quotes over the years, heh), and help accurately inform people in the process as well.
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Of the games with "first week" numbers, it seems like the legs of BotW is already proportionally longer than for all the other titles, except Twilight Princess. At what numbers will BotW surpass Twilight Pricess' legs/firstweek ratio?
 
Thornquist

Thornquist

Member
Jan 22, 2018
1,499
Norway
Deserved. Its the first game in 20 years that actually focused on the essential Zelda experience: Adventuring and exploring.
 
Conor419

Conor419

Banned
Nov 26, 2017
2,320
London
Nabbit said:
I don't think we can say this with any certainty. The only 3D Zelda sequel we have seen is Majora's Mask, and that was so significantly different from OOT that it may as well not have been a sequel in terms of gameplay and world. (That's no knock on the game, it's one of my faves.) Given Nintendo's frequently stated wish (and Aonuma's, if I recall correctly) to make each new entry significantly fresh and unique, I think (and personally hope) the next game will be at least aesthetically and world-wise very different, and very possibly not a direct sequel to BOTW.
Click to expand...
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Nintendo tend to do direct sequels when the big ones do well.

Galaxy 1/2
OOT/MM
Metroid Prime 1–3
Super Mario World 1/2

There's deff gonna be a BOTW2.

The only glaring omission is Super Metroid imo
 

Deleted member 4021

Oct 25, 2017
1,707
jariw said:
Of the games with "first week" numbers, it seems like the legs of BotW is already proportionally longer than for all the other titles, except Twilight Princess. At what numbers will BotW surpass Twilight Pricess' legs/firstweek ratio?
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Well, just like TP, BotW is one of the only Zeldas to launch with a system(while also releasing on the previous gen system). However, the Switch looks to be far more popular than the Wii in Japan, and along with the game's popular reception, it makes sense that it would have longer legs.
 
Solid Shake

Solid Shake

Member
Oct 28, 2017
2,254
Oof I don't ever pay attention to Japan sales but I thought Zelda would have sold much better there.
 
Herb Alpert

Herb Alpert

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
9,033
Paris, France
I'm happy that the risks they took paid off so much !
This game is important for Nintendo's future and I hope they'll learn the right lessons from its results.
 
Nabbit

Nabbit

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,421
Conor419 said:
Nintendo tend to do direct sequels when the big ones do well.

Galaxy 1/2
OOT/MM
Metroid Prime 1–3
Super Mario World 1/2

There's deff gonna be a BOTW2.

The only glaring omission is Super Metroid imo
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I see your point, but there are so many other massively successful games you left off that did not get direct sequels. But, if you consider OOT/MM and SMW the kind of direct sequel situation we could see with BOTW, where the aesthetic and world are significantly different (and potentially, the gameplay), then I think it is not as unlikely, though I don't necessarily expect a BOTW2 kind of title/premise, as the only Zelda games like that while featuring the same game world is significantly different in gameplay (LTTP2), and I guess my overall point is more just that I don't foresee a sequel using the same world as I think that would be a massive disappointment to fans in many scenarios.
 
StormEagle

StormEagle

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 29, 2017
672
The DS games sold way better than Link Between Worlds... Japanese Market has horrible taste. So we should not put too much weight to their sales.
But I am pretty sure Breath of The Wild will surpass Ocarina of Time. It is not even a year old and the Switch is still building its base.
 
Dwebble

Dwebble

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
9,621
Ocarina won't stand against it when all is said and done, either. The original is the only one that might have higher sales- and I do mean might.

Worldwide's not an argument- BOTW will be the highest-selling Zelda, and by no small margin.
 
Conor419

Conor419

Banned
Nov 26, 2017
2,320
London
Nabbit said:
I see your point, but there are so many other massively successful games you left off that did not get direct sequels. But, if you consider OOT/MM and SMW the kind of direct sequel situation we could see with BOTW, where the aesthetic and world are significantly different (and potentially, the gameplay), then I think it is not as unlikely, though I don't necessarily expect a BOTW2 kind of title/premise, as the only Zelda games like that while featuring the same game world is significantly different in gameplay (LTTP2), and I guess my overall point is more just that I don't foresee a sequel using the same world as I think that would be a massive disappointment to fans in many scenarios.
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Like what though? TP is the only one i can think of from those three franchises, but that game already very directly ties in with OOT & MM.
 
wrowa

wrowa

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,371
Nabbit said:
I see your point, but there are so many other massively successful games you left off that did not get direct sequels. But, if you consider OOT/MM and SMW the kind of direct sequel situation we could see with BOTW, where the aesthetic and world are significantly different (and potentially, the gameplay), then I think it is not as unlikely, though I don't necessarily expect a BOTW2 kind of title/premise, as the only Zelda games like that while featuring the same game world is significantly different in gameplay (LTTP2), and I guess my overall point is more just that I don't foresee a sequel using the same world as I think that would be a massive disappointment to fans in many scenarios.
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Click to shrink...

When people talk about a potential BotW2 they usually aren't referring to a straight sequel that re-uses its world, but to a game that directly builds up on its tech and assets. Similar to Galaxy/Galaxy 2 and OoT/MM.

I definitely see it happening, in any case. Switch just launched, so the Zelda team's next game will definitely still target the platform. At the same time, they'll surely want avoid another 5 year development cycle, because it would put the next Zelda once again in the awkward transition period between consoles.
 
Noppie

Noppie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,748
wrowa said:
When people talk about a potential BotW2 they usually aren't referring to a straight sequel that re-uses its world, but to a game that directly builds up on its tech and assets. Similar to Galaxy/Galaxy 2 and OoT/MM.

I definitely see it happening, in any case. Switch just launched, so the Zelda team's next game will definitely still target the platform. At the same time, they'll surely want avoid another 5 year development cycle, because it would put the next Zelda once again in the awkward transition period between consoles.
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I remember someone from Nintendo, possibly Aonuma, mentioning that they're looking into ways to reuse assets/systems/engine from BotW to reduce development time and not having to start from stretch again. I'd say the chances of a new 3D-Zelda in 2020/2021 are extremely likely.
 

Deleted member 24550

Ac
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,398
Noppie said:
I remember someone from Nintendo, possibly Aonuma, mentioning that they're looking into ways to reuse assets/systems/engine from BotW to reduce development time and not having to start from stretch again. I'd say the chances of a new 3D-Zelda in 2020/2021 are extremely likely.
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Was that talking about Zelda though? IIRC Nintendo shares (parts of) their engines across titles, with Zelda and Xenoblade teams working together on assets. I could also imagine other franchises getting the open world treatment hereafter. (though I'm not sure necessarily which one outside of Metroid)
 
Thornquist

Thornquist

Member
Jan 22, 2018
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spekkeh said:
Was that talking about Zelda though? IIRC Nintendo shares (parts of) their engines across titles, with Zelda and Xenoblade teams working together on assets. I could also imagine other franchises getting the open world treatment hereafter. (though I'm not sure necessarily which one outside of Metroid)
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Please be Pokemon.
 
Noppie

Noppie

Member
Oct 27, 2017
13,748
spekkeh said:
Was that talking about Zelda though? IIRC Nintendo shares (parts of) their engines across titles, with Zelda and Xenoblade teams working together on assets. I could also imagine other franchises getting the open world treatment hereafter. (though I'm not sure necessarily which one outside of Metroid)
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I'm not sure, I'm having trouble finding the original quote. I read it in the context of the next Zelda, but it could be that they meant what you're saying.

EDIT: You are correct, the quote didn't specificially mention Zelda or it's engine and was talking more in the broad sense of things. My bad.
 
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Alek

Alek

Games User Researcher
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Oct 28, 2017
8,465
Is that not simply in line with the Switch's early popularity?
 
Alek

Alek

Games User Researcher
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
8,465
Ishaan said:
The article linked in the post goes into a lot of the different factors at play. It also talks about why Nintendo have been reluctant to create a game like Breath of the Wild until now.
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Interesting.

I feel as though the overall media attention that resulted from its critical acclaim is a potential overlooked factor too. I also think the article downplays the involvement of the Switch. Describing the Switch as 'something inbetween a handheld and a console' is doing the system a disservice, as it's clear that many consumers see the system as fulfilling both roles competently. Effectively generating a larger audience than either handheld, or home console would have alone.
 
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