Successful bet for Nintendo. The latest production of the Japanese group, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, made an excellent commercial start in France. According to our information, the title exclusive to the Switch console has approached half a million sales over the weekend.
This figure only includes physical copies purchased in-store and on e-commerce sites. To this must be added the sales made in digital format on the Nintendo e-Shop store, whose performance has always been kept secret by the Japanese group. For comparison, Fifa 23, the best-selling video game of 2022 in France with 1.7 million units, had sold 420,000 copies in physical format on PlayStation, Xbox and Switch consoles during its launch weekend.
The long queues in front of Micromania and Fnac stores, which had exceptionally opened their doors at midnight Thursday night, were an indication of the enthusiasm of the French public. The Fnac of Paris Saint-Lazare alone welcomed 600 fans and closed its doors at 2 am. At Micromania, some stores didn't pull back the curtain until 4 a.m. Nightly sales, common in the 2000s, had become extremely rare in the video game sector in France.
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On Friday alone, we sold 100,000 copies of Zelda, including 80,000 pre-orders. This is a historic level for Fnac," explains Charlotte Massicault, multimedia and gaming director of the cultural distributor. "On Saturday night, we were at 117,000 sales and we crossed 120,000 on Sunday via our website," continues the manager.
Another reason for satisfaction for Fnac, Zelda fans came out with a basket filled between the game, the official controller, the carrying bag, the Switch console in the colors of the game, the collector's editions ... "We also sold 8,000 Amiibo figures" representing the hero Link, smiles Charlotte Massicault.
Out of stock in sight
The gaming director warns, however, that the game may be out of stock at several distributors, including Fnac, by the end of May. "Nintendo is doing its best but we must expect difficulties," she warns. Since the beginning of the year, the Japanese group had already had to revise several times upwards the quantities to be produced for the French market, as the level of pre-orders has continued to climb to reach record volumes for a Switch game.
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The excellent critical feedback on the game, as well as the rain of viral videos that have invaded social networks since Friday, suggest that the level of sales of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom will remain strong in the coming weeks. According to the opinion of experts, the game should easily climb to the top of the ranking of the best-selling games of 2023.
Across the Channel, the latest Zelda sold 200,000 copies over the weekend, making it the best physical launch of the year. The UK market is more digitally oriented than France, and Nintendo's performance is notoriously weaker. The Japanese and American figures are now expected with firm feet.
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