The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom continued to shatter records across the board, and recently broke another notable record just days after its launch. As the latest entry in Nintendo's long-running series, Tears of the Kingdom caught the attention of critics and gamers alike, as it became the highest-rated game of 2023.
Though Tears of the Kingdom continues the story of Breath of the Wild, players have found other ways to enjoy the game besides completing the main quests. With a vast number of creations to make, players have made great use of Link's Ultrahand and Autobuild abilities. Between the social media posts of players building amazing vehicles and dubious Korok torture devices, Tears of the Kingdom will not leave the spotlight anytime soon. This spotlight also earned Nintendo some more attention from a reputable record-keeping source.
With over 10 million units sold in three days, Tears of the Kingdom set the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling Nintendo game to date. The previous Guinness World Record holder was another Switch title, 2018's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which sold over 12 million units in 24 days. Before the Switch, the fastest-selling Nintendo release was 2009's New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which eclipsed 10 million copies sold in the first eight weeks. However, both Tears of the Kingdom and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate have the added benefit of being readily available both physically and digitally via the Nintendo eShop. By comparison, New Super Mario Bros. Wii was exclusively physical at the time of its record-setting period.
However, it is not currently known how many physical and digital copies of Tears of the Kingdom have been sold precisely. Nevertheless, with another record under Guinness World Record under its belt, The Legend of Zelda series remains one of the top record-setting video game franchises in history. Though the numbers do not match the figures of some other top-selling titles, that does not take away from what Nintendo has been able to accomplish in a short span.
As another record-holding title, Tears of the Kingdom is a game that players will not be putting away anytime soon. While it took one streamer nearly 140 hours to finish the game with 100% completion, it remains to be seen how many other players will finish the game, and how long it will take them to finish their adventure.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: Guinness World Records