The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time the remake became a smash hit, selling 5 million copies in just four days of availability, but the Nintendo Switch2 remake of one of the best games ever released was in danger of never seeing the light of day. According to the old Nintendo of America marketing leads Kit Ellis And Krysta Yangthe franchise was going through its darkest days before the launch of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwith new games selling like nothing.
“The show was in dire straits. They were selling like nothing,” said Yang during the last episode of Podcast Kit and Krysta. “Yeah, I remember going to the focus groups. It was a really dark time.” added Elise. “The feedback is that the fan base is shrinking, it’s not bringing in new players. We had so much data on every match that the audience interest was getting smaller and smaller. They had to do something drastic.”
Looking at the timeline, it is very likely that The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword contributed greatly to the franchise’s dark ages, which required a massive overhaul of the open world. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The first 3D entry in the series built from the ground up for the Wii system sold only 3.67 million units, a disappointing figure given the 101 million Wii consoles sold worldwide. This figure is even more disastrous because the Nintendo Switch Remaster HD released in 2021 surpassed the original in just a few months, benefiting from the enormous popularity of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
With The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake enjoying such incredible popularity, it will be interesting to see where Eiji Aonuma and his team will take the franchise. While both Breath of the Wild And Tears of the Kingdom are incredible games, they can feel too big at times, a feeling highlighted well by the game’s immaculate pacing. Ocarina of time remake, granted by the great Hyrule design. Regardless of the direction that defines the next era of the franchise, it is clear that the dark days are well and truly over for Link And Zelda.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small media outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining the Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he’s not reporting or reviewing, Francesco performs the genres he loves most, spends time with his six cats, reads, writes music, and plays guitar and drums for his progressive rock band.
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