Summary

  • The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom had a strong start on the Nintendo Switch in Japan.
  • The game sold 201,210 physical copies in Japan during its first week.
  • Echoes of Wisdom beat the first week sales of 2019's Link's Awakening in Japan.

New sales numbers from Japan reveal that The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom has had a strong start on the Nintendo Switch. While Echoes of Wisdom might not reach the same levels of success as Tears of the Kingdom in the region, the initial sales are still encouraging for Nintendo’s latest entry in the Zelda franchise.

The last few years have been exciting for Zelda fans. The award-winning Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to Breath of the Wild, was released in 2023, and a live-action Zelda movie was announced later that year. In 2024, Nintendo announced Echoes of Wisdom, a new top-down perspective Zelda game developed by Grezzo. With the game now available on Switch, fans are starting to learn how well it is performing sales-wise.

According to physical sales data from Famitsu, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was the best-selling title in Japan for the week of September 23-29, 2024. With 201,210 copies sold, the game beat out its nearest competitor, The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria. EA Sports FC 25 and Moeyo Otome Doushi: Kayu Koigatari were the other new games near the top of the list, while Team Asobi’s popular Astro Bot cracked the top 10 again. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons, two of Nintendo’s perennial favorites, landed in the eighth and 10th spots, respectively.

Estimated Physical Game Sales for Japan (September 23-29, 2024)

1. [NSW] Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom – 200,121 / NEW

2. [PS5] The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria – 29,554 / New

3. [PS4] The Legend of Heroes: Kai no Kiseki – Farewell, O Zemuria – 17,838 / New

4. [NSW] EA Sports FC 25 – 13,332 / New

5. [PS5] EA Sports FC 25 – 13,265 / New

6. [PS5] Astro Bot – 6,381 / 34,902

7. [PS4] EA Sports FC 25 – 6,379 / New

8. [NSW] Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – 6,030 / 6,011,624

9. [NSW] Moeyo Otome Doushi: Kayu Koigatari – 5,396 / New

10. [NSW] Animal Crossing: New Horizons – 5,383 / 7,920,305

While sales look promising, the game has fallen short of Tears of the Kingdom’s previous week one sales by a considerable margin. Following its release in May 2023, Tears of the Kingdom sold over 1 million units in its first week in Japan. However, Echoes of Wisdom is a very different game. In addition, Tears of the Kingdom likely received a hype boost, given how innovative Breath of the Wild was originally on the Switch.

With Echoes of Wisdom only out for a few days at the time of this sales data, it will be interesting to see if the game can maintain its momentum in the weeks ahead. It is worth noting that the game has outperformed the Link’s Awakening remake on Switch by more than 50,000 copies in its first week. The 2019 remake of the Game Boy game went on to be a significant success for Nintendo, selling more than 6.46 million units. Given the Nintendo Switch’s much larger install base at this point in its life cycle, Echoes of Wisdom could see similar, if not better, results, especially considering the very positive reviews it has received from critics. However, fans will have to wait and see what type of staying power the game has on charts in Japan and other regions.

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The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Tag Page Cover Art

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
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Adventure
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Systems
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Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 93%
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Released
September 26, 2024
ESRB
E10+ For Everyone 10+
Developer(s)
Nintendo, Grezzo
Publisher(s)
Nintendo
Engine
Havok
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WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
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Save Hyrule—this time with the wisdom of Princess Zelda!

The people of Hyrule are being stolen away by strange rifts—and with a certain swordsman among the missing, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save her kingdom in the latest adventure in The Legend of Zelda™ series!



Team up with the ethereal creature Tri and use the Tri Rod to create “echoes,” which are imitations of things you find in the environment—then recreate those echoes whenever you like to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Use echoes like water blocks to reach new heights, make bridges out of old beds, throw rocks at foes, or find your own combination of echoes to do things your way. You can even make echoes of monsters to fight at your side in combat!
 

Platform(s)
Nintendo Switch
Genre(s)
Adventure
How Long To Beat
20 Hours
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty