The problem of Zelda in Japan

[Khuutra]

puffy said:

Khuutra said:

I guess that's true, but it doesn't really explain why the whole series is on a downward trend there while it's up everywhere else. Wind Waker performed badly too, and even Phantom Hourglass didn't do great.

Wind Waker had a better percentage than Ocarina of Time and 900k going by the numbers above which I would say isn't really 'performing badly.' You have to remember that it is much more rare for a game to hit 1 million in Japan than it is in the west. 

On to why Zelda has lost sales over time.. I'm guessing it's simply lost relevance in the Japanese market.. The gameplay has changed over the years as has gamers taste in gaming. Nintendo may be able to increase interest with Wii MotionPlus but if not then it's clearly a core gameplay problem.

That it's losing relevance is apparent, but change being too radical or not radical enough isn't apparent as muc in this series. Is the quality that makes it more and more enticing in the West over time exclusive of the quality that used to make i appealing in Japan, or is it down to something else more problematic?