So it occured to me - since I argue that Zelda as a series experiences zeniths and nadirs in its popularity, with the zeniths being represented by LoZ, OoT, and TP - that the absolute numbers for the series are somewhat problematic.
If we accept that Zelda maintains a similar level of popularity over time, then software sale per region should remain roughly the same or rise. Right? Right. Zelda doesn't do this: the best-selling Zelda titles all hover around 7 million sold and have never managed to climb past this mark.
I have seen it argued that Zelda is less popular now than it was twelve or twenty-three years ago because it sales in America/Japan do nont stack up (Nintendo was not big in Europe at the time, so this is a reasonable argument).
Now, I knew offhand that Japan was slowly buying less and less Zelda over time, so I decided to test the validity of the Americas/Japan argument wit quick comparisons of VGChartz numbers for the three "zenith" titles. They are listed in order of release for perspective.
Twilight's sales numbers are combined because that is how I roll.
| Americas | EMEAA | Japan | |
| Zelda | 3,800,000 | 1,020,000 | 1,690,000 |
| Ocarina | 4,080,000 | 2,060,000 | 1,460,000 |
| Twilight | 4,240,000 | 2,340,000 | 640,000 |
Now granted these numbers aren't perfect - it's been suggested that TP is overtracked, particularly in the Americas, and that may well be true, but in the first place I'm working with the numbers I have and in the second place the general trend still shouldn't be too far off - TP would be roughly on level with OoT in the West rathe than above it.
Now, we can see the trend in the West is that the apex Zelda titles are becoming more popular over time rather than less, with each zenith in the series being higher than the last. The problem of Zelda sales lies almost solely in Japan, where sales are down to only slightly above a third of what they were twenty-some years ago for worldwide zenith titles.
For the sake of completeness I'll mae a sort list of all mainlin Zelda titles for which we have both JPN and Worldwide numbers, and the percentage of WW that JPN numbers represent. I've combined Link's Awakening with Link's Awakening DX, but did not include other ports or rereleases because I enjoy messing with you.
All percentages are rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent.
| Japan | JPN/WW | |
| Zelda | 1,690,000 | 26.0% |
| Adventure | 1,610,000 | 36.8% |
| Past | 1,160,000 | 25.2% |
| Awakening | 1,050,000 | 17.3% |
| Ocarina | 1,460,000 | 19.2% |
| Majora | 740,000 | 22.0% |
| Seasons | 410,000 | 22.0% |
| Ages | 410,000 | 21.4% |
| Wind Waker | 890,000 | 19.6% |
| Minish | 270,000 | 20.1% |
| Twilight | 640,000 | 08.9% (!) |
| Hourglass | 950,000 | 20.2% |
| Spirit Tracks | 690,000 | 27.9% |
Here is where the problem becomes really pronounced.
Looking at this table in conjunction with the first, a few things become clear:
1. Japanese sales of Zelda games are dropping while Western sales tend to rise (on the whole - there are still zeniths and nadirs in both hemispheres).
2. The percentage of Zelda sales made in Japan is dropping over time.
3. The more popular a Zelda game is in the West, generally speaking, the worse its percentage of Japanese sales.
4. Handheld Zelda titles don't necessarily do any better in Japan than console ones do (until you count Twilight Princess)
Now, this is problematic for several reasons.
Firstly, Zelda as a series is on a slow slide toward near-irrelevance in Japan after starting off as a second-tier Nintendo game in the region (which is an extremely good tier). If it goes on this path for much longer, it wil end up like Dragon Quest currently is in the West.
Secondly, Nintendo doesn't seem to have hit on a formula for reinvigorating Zelda in Japan. Hourglass was the best-selling Zelda in the country in TEN YEARS, but it still couldn't crack a million.
Thirdly.... I don't have a thirdly. My thoughts are getting away from me.
This isn't a topic about discussing sales. This is a topic about discussing what differentiates the appeal of Zelda in the West vs. the East, and why it's slowly becoming more popular in one while becoming rapidly less popular in the oter.
What does this come down to? Why is Zelda leaning more and more heavily to the West?
Let's discuss this.
