May 12, 2023 was a glorious day. On that day, one of the most anticipated games of the last four years was finally released, Tears of the Kingdom. Many of us suspected that this game would go on to do amazing things. Zelda’s influence has spread throughout the gaming world and caused various other games to emulate some part of it, whether it’s the music, the gameplay, or its lovable characters. There is hardly anywhere you can go without someone knowing or at least hearing about The Legend of Zelda; its influence is that deep. So, it should barely be a surprise to anyone that Tears of the Kingdom has gone to set a Guinness World Record for being the fastest selling Nintendo video game of all time.
On May 15, 2023, according to Guinness World Records, Tears of the Kingdom became the fastest-selling Nintendo video game. It sold 10 million copies in its first three days! Many knew the hype for this game was real but this just takes the cake. The previous record holder was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate which sold 12.08 million copies in just 24 days back in 2018. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was easily one of the most coveted games during that time so its success came as no surprise. Before that it took Nintendo almost nine years to beat its previous title holder, that being New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii which came out in 2009. The Wii was selling like hot cakes during that time so New Super Mario Bros. was an easy win for Nintendo with it seeing 1.4 million copies sold in 7 days and ultimately 10.05 million copies by its 8th week of release.
It’s always exciting when one of your favorite games or genres does exceptionally well. Tears of the Kingdom seemed like it took forever to get here but now that it’s here its reception and praise has been highly positive. In addition to setting records, it’s gaining worldwide acclaim and even has a Metacritic score of 96. That may not mean much to some people, but for others it’s enough of a good score that it might push them to at least try the game, and as the common saying goes, “a win is a win.”
It’s been three months since Tears of the Kingdom’s debut and there are no clear signs of its success slowing down. For a decade or so it seemed like many games felt incomplete or lacked something, and DLC released with it afterwards as a result. Tears of the Kingdom is the first game in a long time that feels like it’s a full game. Many fans in the community have recently expressed wanting DLC for Tears of the Kingdom. However, it is important to note that many had previously thought Tears of the Kingdom would be DLC for Breath of the Wild in its development. That is definitely not the case now, of course. If this game never sees future content, it wouldn’t diminish the value one bit. As for me, I’m hoping we still get that Skyward Sword Loftwing DLC.
