Will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Overtake Wind Waker in the UK?

Which Zelda game do you think had the most successful launch in the UK gaming industry? (Let's pretend the answer isn't already revealed in the headline.) Was it Breath of the Wild? Not exactly, but also kind of... let me come back to that point later. How about Ocarina of Time? Not quite, but also somewhat... bear with me, and I'll revisit that topic as well. The biggest Zelda game launch on a single platform in the UK is actually The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, released on GameCube in 2003. This is impressive, considering the console only sold one million units in the UK. You might have noticed a caveat - I mentioned "on a single platform." Almost every Zelda game has been released on only one platform. Even Twilight Princess, released in 2005, launched on Wii a week before the GameCube version. However, there is one exception: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which was released on both Wii U and Switch in 2017. If we combine the launch sales on both platforms, Breath of the Wild actually becomes the biggest Zelda launch in the UK, albeit by a narrow margin of 2,000 units. All data points in this article are courtesy of GfK. Both Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess were launch titles for their respective consoles, and as GfK games boss Dorian Bloch noted, "You can't sell more of your flagship game than the console itself, right?" Here's another interesting statistic: while Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker may have had the biggest launches for a Zelda game, the largest sales week for a Zelda game in the UK was actually the second week of Ocarina of Time. The N64 game was in short supply during its debut week, but when the stock arrived the following week (just before Christmas 1998), it shot to the top of the charts, becoming the Christmas No.1. That week remains the biggest one for a Zelda game in the UK. Will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom break the records set by Wind Waker, Breath of the Wild, and Ocarina of Time? It is likely to do so. All the data presented here is from GfK, which has been tracking physical game sales in the UK for decades, with data going back to 1993. Some games are missing from the figures, including the first game, Link's Adventure, A Link To The Past, and the first two CDi Zelda games (Faces of Evil and Wands of Gamelon). In terms of the best-selling Zelda game in UK history, Breath of the Wild is the clear winner. It has sold more than double the units of Twilight Princess, even when excluding the Wii U version. Globally, Breath of the Wild has sold three times more units than Twilight Princess. What explains the difference? The UK is a more competitive market for Nintendo, with Xbox and PlayStation holding significant market share. Although the Switch is extremely successful in the UK, it hasn't quite reached the same level of dominance as it has in other regions. In fact, while the Switch has surpassed the Wii's install base globally, it still lags behind Nintendo's iconic motion-controlled console in the UK. The Wii was a huge success in the UK, as evidenced by the fact that Link's Crossbow Training, a Wii spin-off, is the fourth best-selling Zelda game in UK charts history. As you can see, while new Zelda games are the main drivers of sales, remakes and remasters have also been key contributors to the series' success. Can The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom surpass Breath of the Wild? Top-Selling Zelda Games in the UK (Physical Sales Only) Pos Title Platform(s) Release Year 1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Nintendo Switch 2017 2 The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Wii 2006 3 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time N64 1998 4 Link's Crossbow Training Wii 2007 5 The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass DS 2007 6 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D 3DS 2011 7 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening Nintendo Switch 2019 8 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Wii 2011 9 The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker GameCube 2003 10 The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds 3DS 2013