Animal Crossing > Zelda?
Zelda has always been considered in Nintendo's big 3 selling series along with Mario & Pokemon. It is always a very anticipated game and often mentioned as a game that will help revive a failing system.
Animal Crossing is a somewhat newer series that has only been around for about a decade. It is often considered a casual-type of game that the more core player wouldn't want to play. Yet, its sales have been very good as it is often considered a best seller on each Nintendo system released.
- GC) Zelda TWW: 4.6 Million compared to Animal Crossing: 3.1 Million (1.5 Million difference)
- Wii) Zelda TP: 6.7 Million compared to Animal Crossing CF: 4.4 Million (2.3 Million difference)
- DS) Zelda PH: 4.9 Million compared to Animal Crossing WW: 11.8 Million (6.9 Million difference)
- 3DS) Zelda OOT3D: 3 Million (so far) compared to Animal Crossing NL: 3.9 Million (so far) (900K difference)
OOT3D is just a remake but New Leaf will have no trouble selling at least double ALBW.
All in all, Zelda outsells AC on consoles by a good amount but on HH's AC by far outsells Zelda. People often consider Pokemon as a bigger series than Zelda despite its weak console sales. Can the same be said for Animal Crossing? Plus, unlike Pokemon, AC still sells very well on home systems too. I also anticipate Animal Crossing U being the biggest console AC yet, even possibly outselling Zelda U.
Some might say it isn't all about sales, and that Zelda creates much more hype in the gaming community. I disagree, and say AC obviously creates anticipation too, just not as much for the core gamer.
In the end, I personally rank Animal Crossing in Nintendo's Top 3 big sellers along with Mario & Pokemon. I think it has now passed Zelda in terms of importance. Do you disagree? State your reasoning and we can discuss it!