I was looking at how the Zelda series has faired sales wise this morning and noticed a very noticable pattern.

With every subsequent release on any single console the sales always drop.

I've compiled a couple of crude (sorry not an excel expert) charts to illustrate this. It should be noted that they don't include the GBA re-releases of the NES titles as I don't feel like they were major releases or the multiplayer games as they seem quite niche and spin-off in nature.

It should be noted that the GBC games were dual releases.

So can the new Zelda on Wii U buck this trend and sell more than WWHD? Will TPHD damage its sales even more? Is it destined to fail?

I personally think it'll sell well and break this 'Zelda curse'. 

What do you all think?

What?No!Of course not. WWHD and TPHD are remasters, are not new Zelda games.Thats why their sales are "low".Thats happens with every game.Normally the remaster versions are always lower.For example i love with all my heart OOT, but i didnt buy the remaster on 3DS.

And seeing the insane atach rates the Wii U games are getting, I am confident that Zelda Wii U will do wonderfully.5+ million easily in my opinion.

It will probably be released for two systems, one of them as a launch title. Plus, it's the most hyped WiiU game since Smash and Splatoon, so the public's interest is there. Plus, it's a whole new Zelda, and the first original Zelda the WiiU gets. It won't flop by any means.

So you're saying that Zelda U will sell less than 1.58m units? Not a chance.

What? How is TP Wii lower than TWW on the NGC, or OoT on N64 lower than ALTTP on the Snes?

Edit: read it wrong. TWWHD is a remaster. No new game.

Yes it will flop hard! Just like Splatoon!!!!!

But seriously, like what people said, its a NEW GAME. As you can see on the internet and threads here on VGChartz, people are already HYPE on it with very less footage we have seen from it.

I'd say it'll be the first to beat the "Zelda Curse". However I must admit that ALBW couldn't do this even when OoT was just a remake. Could spell doom, but I think there's little chance ZU will sell so desastrous that it won't beat WWHD and TPHD. And then there's the potential cross-platform release, though if that happens you'll likely be right about it having a low performance on the WiiU.

I very, very sincerely doubt it. In fact, I feel the trend will be reversed for the Wii U.

WW:HD was a remaster that came out when the Wii U was in a terrible position, so it's sales are disappointing but not unsurprising.

TP:HD looks like it might pass WW:HD's lifetime sales within a couple of weeks, if it's US preorder sales are even HALF of what vgchartz is showing. Whenever it's available, it ranks highly on Amazon, and WW:HD's final week's preorders were less than 80k (again, according to vgchartz).

Both of those are remasters, so I doubt there is any way a fully-fledged brand new 3d entry isn't going to outsell them both.

Though this is a lesser point, it's also notable that the 3ds Zeldas are still selling decently, so comparing a game like the OOO remake to LBW at the moment is a bit less indicative of the trend, since it former, which is one of the most highly regarded games ever, has two years on the latter. By the end, I imagine those three will be a lot closer in sales than the other generations (besides the Oracle games, which are a unique case)

I think he means that the first Zelda released on any given platform always sells more that the ones that come after it. But with the WiiU having two remasters before its original Zelda, this hypothesis will probably be proven wrong.

Nah I doubt it.

I'm pretty sure that Zelda U will do better than both WWHD and TPHd considering that those games were just HD rereleases.