• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Has Sold Over 13 Million Units

Ishaan

Ishaan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,702
rCqNVVl.png


  • Switch version has sold 11.68 million as of Dec 31st, according to Nintendo figures
  • Last-known number for the Wii U version is 1.61 million

Sales for the entire series (using last-known data) below:

DS8W9Hu.jpg


Thanks to Chris1964 and Celine for pointing me to more updated figures for the Oracle games and BOTW Wii U.
 
Last edited:
Linde

Linde

Banned
Sep 2, 2018
3,983
I always forget this series wasn't ever that huge of a sales machine

Wholly deserved. What a legendary game
 
diakyu

diakyu

Member
Dec 15, 2018
17,539
One of the greatest games I've ever played. Interested to see where Nintendo takes this formula.
 
sfortunato

sfortunato

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,740
Italy
When it's all said and done, Breath of the Wild might DOUBLE the previous best-selling entry in the franchise, Twilight Princess.
 
Tagg

Tagg

Attempted to circumvent ban with an alt-account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
2,717
I know plenty of people who bought a Switch solely for BotW (and loved every minute of it) so this does not surprise me in the least. I'd estimate at least 20 million lifetime sales are possible.
 
ASaiyan

ASaiyan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
7,228
It's crazy that in 30 years no other entry even comes close to touching those numbers.
 
Cronogear

Cronogear

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,984
Wow. BotW may eventually end up at double the sales of the next closest Zelda.
 
Starphanluke

Starphanluke

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Nov 15, 2017
7,336
It seems like BotW sold almost as much in Q3 this year as Mario Odyssey. Its legs continue to be super strong.
 

Deleted member 28386

Banned
Oct 31, 2017
2,304
I don't know if I'm happier because Zelda is absolutely killing it and more deserving than ever to keep being a part of videogamedom, or if 13 million people have got to experience my personal GOAT.
 
kadotsu

kadotsu

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,505
God I hope they keep the artstyle. This may be the one time I want Nintendo to do the "safe" sequel.
 
Ms.Galaxy

Ms.Galaxy

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
1,653
Well, that the end of the Ocarina formula for a good while. Thank God. Bring on the open world and freedom!
 
SuperFakerBros

SuperFakerBros

Member
Oct 26, 2017
9,827
I'm crossing my fingers Nintendo follows up on BotW sooner rather than later. I don't wanna go through another 5+ year gap for the next major console Zelda
 
Fliesen

Fliesen

Member
Oct 25, 2017
10,254
The biggest crime on this graph are the relatively low sales of ALBW, which is - imho - one of the best games of the series.
 
jman2050

jman2050

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
5,805
That Zelda number is truly astounding, I don't think even the most bullish posters thought the game would get this high, and it's going to continue selling for a while yet.

Let's go 20 mil.
 
Igor

Igor

Member
Oct 31, 2017
1,483
I wonder if this is one of the reasons why Nintendo cancelled Bamco produced Metroid Prime.

Both Mario and Zelda on Switch have redefined their series, and have become best selling entries - the stakes are high and I think Nintendo hopes to achieve the same with Metroid. Which is only admirable that they are so protective of the franchise.
 
OP
OP
Ishaan

Ishaan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
1,702
Igor said:
I wonder if this is one of the reasons why Nintendo cancelled Bamco produced Metroid Prime.

Both Mario and Zelda on Switch have redefined their series, and have become best selling entries - the stakes are high and I think Nintendo hopes to achieve the same with Metroid. Which is only admirable that they are so protective of the franchise.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I mean, Nintendo isn't the kind of company to put out bad tentpole games to begin with, but yeah, I would imagine they understand that Switch is the best shot Metroid has had in years of "hitting the big-time". And by the time they end up releasing Prime 4, Switch will have an incredibly large userbase for it to sell to. The potential is there.
 
WhiteRabbitEXE

WhiteRabbitEXE

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,609
Arizona
So even OoT + OoT 3D (13.22m) has unquestionably been passed at this point, so even if you include that combo BotW is the franchise king by any metric. Before too long the Switch release alone will pass that point.
 
Handicapped Duck

Handicapped Duck

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
May 20, 2018
13,662
Ponds
Well deserved, game was a blast to play through. The next Zelda I expect to also do incredibly well when it is released, though better than BotW will remain to be seen.
 
Last edited:
SirNinja

SirNinja

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 17, 2017
8,228
Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States
SuperFakerBros said:
It required an expansion pack and came out pretty late into its life, no? That's probably why
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
maluma baby! said:
Majora's mask came really late in the life-cycle of the 64 to the point that it launched the same day as the ps2 in NA and it also needed the expansion pack.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
jman2050 said:
Expansion Pack requirement and the N64 being on its way out at the time killed any sales potential it had, even ignoring that the game was probably not nearly as accessible as it needed to be at the time.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Fair enough. I actually forgot all about the expansion pack, lol. The PS2 I totally get as well, but it's still pretty crazy to me that people didn't make time for a new Zelda given how earth-shattering Ocarina was. In my circle of friends way back when, the PS2 and its launch games were just barely on our radar compared to Majora. The hype for that game in high school was off the charts! (Of course, once 2001 rolled around, that was a different story...)
 
Prof Bathtub

Prof Bathtub

Member
Apr 26, 2018
2,677
maluma baby! said:
Majora's mask came really late in the life-cycle of the 64 to the point that it launched the same day as the ps2 in NA and it also needed the expansion pack.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This is likely also why Minish Cap sold so little, since it released in the days of the DS being the "3rd Pillar" (when it was really just the next 2nd Pillar)

Khanimus said:
Funny that Triforce Heroes isn't even listed.

What about the HD/3DS remasters?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Neither are the Four Swords games and the CDI ones.
 
fourfourfun

fourfourfun

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,683
England
Sander VF said:
You can bring those back without ditching shrines.

I don't want them to ditch the shrines. I'd rather them cut down the numbers and focus on meatier ones like the one with the blue flames or the DLC ones.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Shrines were absolutely vital for the short play gaming loop. 15 mins on a train? Do a shrine. Need to get somewhere quickly because you've only got a small window to play in, shrine warps everywhere. The game was perfectly balanced to offer an experience no matter what time you have available to play on it.
 
takriel

takriel

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
10,221
Handicapped Duck said:
Well deserved, game was a blast to play through. The next Zelda I expect to also do incredibly well when it is released, though better than BoTW will remain to be seen.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
If the next game drops in 2020 and is a continuation or spiritual successor to BotW, it will certainly sell really really well.
 
NotLiquid

NotLiquid

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,769
Linde said:
I always forget this series wasn't ever that huge of a sales machine

Wholly deserved. What a legendary game
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You really would think that the series was more massive given how popular characters like Link are and how the triforce is one of the most recognized (and merchandised) gaming "logos" in the world. BOTW seems to finally be catching up to the legend.
 
BrickArts295

BrickArts295

GOTY Tracking Thread Master
Member
Oct 26, 2017
13,770
I'm surprised Skyward Sword sold so little (for a Wii game in 2011). Did it release too late into the gen? I thought the motion controls would be the killer app for that one. (Though I personally disliked them)

Good on BOTW, its a game that should be experienced by everyone.
 
Aniki

Aniki

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,805
Best Zelda getting the sales it deserves. I hope it has stamina left to reach new highs for years to come.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.