Zelda Tears of the Kingdom already sold 18.51 million copies by the end of June
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been blowing expectations out of the water – or the sky – ever since being released earlier this year: It silenced all the doubters, who thought that Breath of the Wild could not be topped, and is developing into a commercial juggernaut as well.
Nintendo’s report about Q1 is out and states that Tears of the Kingdom sold 18.51 million times as of June 30, 2023, meaning that it’s well on the way to break the 20 million sales milestone by the end of summer. The game launched on May 12, 2023.
This also means that Tears of the Kingdom broke into the top ten best-selling first-party titles on Nintendo Switch, entering the ranking in ninth place:
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 55.46 million
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 42.79 million
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – 31.77 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 30.65 million
- Super Mario Odyssey – 26.44 million
- Pokémon Sword / Pokémon Shield – 25.92 million
- Pokémon Scarlet / Pokémon Violet – 22.66 million
- Super Mario Party – 19.39 million
- The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom – 18.51 million
- New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe – 16.17 million
Nintendo notes that first-party software sales were the highest ever recorded in a first quarter thanks to Tears of the Kingdom driving up the numbers.
Tears of the Kingdom has been on a commercial roll so far.
Nintendo
The report also reveals that the Nintendo Switch has sold a total of 129.53 million units by the same date. It’s the third best-selling video game console of all time, chasing the Nintendo DS and the PlayStation 2.
There is no information about Pikmin 4’s numbers yet, since the game launched after Q1 ended. The report does confirm the release dates for upcoming first-party games, though:
- Detective Pikachu Returns – October 6, 2023
- Super Mario Bros. Wonder – October 20, 2023
- WarioWare: Move It! – November 3, 2023
- Super Mario RPG – November 17, 2023
- Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon – 2024
- Untitled Princess Peach game – 2024
- Metroid Prime 4 – TBA
Yes, Metroid Prime 4 still doesn’t have a release window, so fans will have to stay patient.
Alongside several game releases, 2024 should also see the Nintendo Switch successor being launched. Hints about this console have become more dense as of late, indicating that we’ll see some news about it soon.
