Key conclusions
- The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is off to a strong start on Nintendo Switch in Japan.
- The game sold 201,210 physical copies in its first week in Japan.
- Echoes of Wisdom outsold 2019's Link's Awakening in its first week in Japan.
New sales figures in Japan bear this out The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom had a strong start on the Nintendo Switch. For now Echo of Wisdom may not achieve the same level of success as Tears of the kingdom in the region, initial sales are still encouraging for Nintendo's latest entry Zelda franchise.
The past few years have been exciting for Zelda ventilators. Awarded Tears of the kingdomcontinuation Breath of the wildwas released in 2023 and live action Zelda the film was announced later that year. In 2024, Nintendo announced Echo of Wisdoma new top-down perspective Zelda game developed by Grezzo. With the game available on Switch, fans are starting to learn how well it's doing in terms of sales.
According to physical sales data from Famitsu, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was the best-selling title in Japan for the week of September 23-29, 2024. With 201,210 copies sold, the game surpassed its nearest competitor, Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria. EA Sports FC 25 and Moeyo Otome Doushi: Kayu Koigatari there were other new games at the top of the list, while the Asobi team is popular Astro Bot re-entered the top 10. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizonstwo perennial Nintendo favorites, came in eighth and 10th, respectively.
Estimated sales of the physical game in Japan (September 23-29, 2024)
1. [NSW] Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – 200 121 / NEW
2. [PS5] Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, Zemuria – 29,554 / New
3. [PS4] Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell O Zemuria – 17,838 / New
4. [NSW] EA Sports FC 25 – 13,332 / New
5. [PS5] EA Sports FC 25 – 13,265 / New
6. [PS5] Astro Bot – 6,381 / 34,902
7. [PS4] EA Sports FC 25 – 6379 / New
8. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 6,030 / 6,011,624
9. [NSW] Moeyo Otome Doushi: Kayu Koigatari – 5,396 / New
10. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 5383 / 7920305
While sales look promising, the game has underperformed Tears of the kingdomin the previous week, one of the sales by a significant margin. After release in May 2023. Tears of the kingdom it sold over 1 million units in its first week in Japan. however, Echo of Wisdom it's a whole different game. In addition, Tears of the kingdom likely got a push given how groundbreaking it is Breath of the wild was originally on the Switch.
with Echo of Wisdom only a few days old at the time of these sales figures, it will be interesting to see if the game can maintain its momentum in the coming weeks. It should be noted that the game was ahead of schedule Link Awakening the Switch remake sold over 50,000 copies in its first week. The 2019 Game Boy remake was a huge success for Nintendo, selling over 6.46 million units. Given the Nintendo Switch's much larger install base at this point in its lifecycle, Echo of Wisdom could see similar, if not better, results, especially given the overwhelmingly positive reviews it's received from critics. However, fans will have to wait and see how the game holds up on the charts in Japan and other regions.
