Kirby and the Forgotten Land has broken a franchise record by becoming the best-selling game in the series. The game was released earlier this year to mostly positive reviews and currently holds an 85 score on Metacritic. Kirby and the Forgotten Land is the third game in the franchise to be released on Nintendo Switch.
Kirby was originally introduced into the world in the 1992 Game Boy game, Kirby's Dream Land. The character would then go on to star in several other solo games over the next 30 years and would become a fan favorite in the Super Smash Bros. franchise. The next game in the franchise is set to be a remake of Kirby: Return to Dream Land, though it's hard to say if it can come close to Forgotten Land's sales.
From the start, Kirby and the Forgotten Land was a big seller, moving over 380,000 copies in its first week. Now the game has gone on to become the best-selling installment of the franchise. As of this writing, Kirby and the Forgotten Land has now moved over 5.27 million copies worldwide. The next best-selling installment in the series was the original Kirby's Dream Land which sold over 5.14 million copies, followed by Kirby Star Allies which sold 3.98 million.
When it comes to the Nintendo franchises, Kirby has remained a fan favorite but is something of a dark horse in the company's lineup. The character lacks the pop culture power of say, Mario or Link, but is still a recognizable brand for the company. Kirby will be the center character of a new arcade game in Japan and fans have made their own tributes to the iconic pink ball. Now it appears that the fandom has translated into big sales for the character.
This is just the latest in a series of great sellers for the Nintendo Switch. Super Mario Odyssey went on to sell nearly 34 million copies worldwide, making it the 6th best-selling game in the franchise. Fire Emblem: Three Houses likewise became the best-selling installment of the franchise as did The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Metroid Dread had initial strong sales before becoming the best-selling game in the franchise. Now Kirby and the Forgotten Land has followed suit, reaching new heights for the long-running series. Whether the franchise or indeed Nintendo will be able to keep up this momentum remains to be seen.
Kirby and the Forgotten Land is available now on Nintendo Switch.
Source: GameSpot