The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom already surpasses Breath of the Wild in terms of pre-orders in Japan.
In 2017, Nintendo put a new spin on the familiar Zelda formula with a beautiful open world for players to explore at their leisure. Breath of the Wild is not only considered by many to be the best game in The Legend of Zelda series, it is often among the top contenders for the best game of all time. Now, over six years later, fans are eagerly awaiting the release of Tears of the Kingdom, and judging by the pre-order numbers, the upcoming sequel will be even more popular than its predecessor.
As spotted by Twitter user Pierre485, data from Japanese retail chain COMG shows that the total number of pre-orders for Tears of the Kingdom has already surpassed that of Breath of the Wild. This was released on March 17, eight weeks before the game’s release, so there’s still plenty of time for Tears of the Kingdom’s pre-order numbers to increase even further.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has just surpassed Breath of the Wild’s pre-order total, 8 weeks before release (COMG). TOTK is set to make the biggest debut in franchise history. pic.twitter.com/1ttZFIi85kMarch 17, 2023
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It should be borne in mind that these figures relate to a single distribution chain in a single country and that it has a relatively small market share. “COMG is a specific chain of 14 stores”, explains Pierre485 in a follow-up tweet (opens in a new tab). “COMG’s market share is around 0.1%. Which means a pre-order usually translates to 1,000 copies across Japan.”
While the data isn’t perfect, given Breath of the Wild has garnered a ton of interest in the series and the Switch has a much larger install base than it did in 2017, Tears of the Kingdom could end. by selling more. Breath of the Wild, both in Japan and globally with a fairly large margin at launch.
Tears of the Kingdom launches exclusively for Switch on May 12, and its pre-order incentives from select retailers have been pretty unusual. Fans who get their orders early with GameStop in the US get a piece of wood, while Amazon Japan gives players a spoon.
Take a look at our Stash from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Guide to the best prices in the world.