Can The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Surpass Wind Waker's UK Sales Record?

What is your take on the most successful Zelda game launch in the UK gaming industry? Let's consider the facts without giving away the answer just yet. Could it be Breath of the Wild? Not exactly, although we'll revisit this later. Perhaps Ocarina of Time? Not quite, but we'll come back to it as well. Interestingly, the highest-selling Zelda game on a single platform in the UK is The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which debuted on GameCube back in 2003. This achievement is impressive, given the console's limited sales of one million units in the UK. You may have noticed a specific condition - the term 'single platform' was used. Most Zelda games have been released on one platform only. The exception to this is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which launched on both Wii U and Switch in 2017. When combining the launch sales of both platforms, Breath of the Wild becomes the best-selling Zelda game in the UK, albeit by a narrow margin of 2,000 units. The data for this article is courtesy of GfK. It's worth noting that both Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess were launch titles for their respective consoles. As Dorian Bloch, GfK's games boss, puts it: 'You can't sell more of your flagship game than the console itself, right?' Another interesting statistic is that while Breath of the Wild and Wind Waker may hold the top spots for the biggest Zelda launches, the best-selling week for a Zelda game in the UK belongs to Ocarina of Time's second week. Due to initial supply shortages, the game's sales skyrocketed the following week, just before Christmas in 1998, securing the top spot for that year. Will The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom break the sales records set by Wind Waker, Breath of the Wild, and Ocarina of Time? It's likely to happen. GfK has been tracking physical game sales in the UK since 1993, providing valuable insights into the gaming market. Although some titles, such as the first game and Link's Adventure, are missing from the data, it still offers a comprehensive look at the series' performance. Breath of the Wild is clearly the best-selling Zelda game in the UK, with sales more than double those of Twilight Princess, excluding the Wii U version. Globally, Breath of the Wild has sold three times more than Twilight Princess. The reason for this disparity lies in the competitive UK market, where Xbox and PlayStation have significant market shares, making it more challenging for Nintendo to dominate. Although Switch has been extremely successful in the UK, it still lags behind the Wii in terms of install base. The Wii, on the other hand, was a huge hit, as seen in the success of Link's Crossbow Training, a Wii spin-off that ranks fourth in the UK Zelda games chart. As the data shows, while new Zelda games are key performers, remakes and remasters have also been crucial to the series' success. Could Tears of the Kingdom surpass Breath of the Wild's sales? Here's a list of the top-selling Zelda games in the UK, based on physical sales: 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)