That's sales data for other Zelda games. PH is probably a week or two away from outselling TP on Wii which has been out for more than half a year. PH is doing amazing well for a Zelda game. What will determine how well this game sells well in the long term is who these new Zelda purchasers are. If PH has simply attracted old Zelda fans who didn't buy TP for whatever reason, we'll likely see sales fall rather quickly as time goes on (though it will still sell solidly). However, if PH has attracted the casual market, we'll likely see this game high up in the charts for many months to come, much like New Super Mario. I don't think it'll sell as well as New Super Mario, but I think it'll sell LIKE New Super Mario, in that it will continue to sell well long after its release.
Retailers estimate that 350,000 of the original shipment of 400,000 have sold out in Japan. This is great news given the downward trend for Zelda titles in Japan.
We've created a new Zelda title that can be played with a single stylus.
When we decided to develop a Zelda title for the DS, we wanted it to be a fun game with the essence of the DS. Of course, we were worried whether we could make a good Zelda game that used the stylus control scheme of the DS, but once we did it, the game didn't lose its Zelda essence. I think we've created a new Zelda title that can be played with a single stylus. If you want to try something, you just need to touch the screen with the stylus; it's very intuitive. That's how this new Zelda game is.
Take the pots, for example. When you touch a pot, Link (the main character) will get next to it, and if you touch the pot again, Link will lift it. Then you just have to touch twice the screen in any direction to throw it away. If you want to do something, you just touch the screen with the stylus and Link will move. So, rather than controling Link, you can indicate him what you want to do. It's the same when fighting some enemies, if you touch an enemy with the stylus, Link will attack him with his sword. Now on the DS, you don't need to remember which item used which button, or you don't have to push a button to wield your sword.
With less than two weeks before its Japanese release, Nintendo has opened the official website for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass. Treasures hidden within include several new videos that show off basic gameplay and Link's touchscreen control.
You know, I've been in on this stock for awhile now and I always felt strongly that it would do well, but never over invested in it. Well now I'm sort of kicking myself that I didn't start earlier; though I'm glad that I haven't started too late.
I was just looking at sales figures for the new super mario brothers as well as previous zelda games and it suddenly re-occured to me how much of a smash hit this game is destined to be. Link is popular everywhere, the ds is popular everywhere and the game will be released, you guessed it, everywhere. Now I'll admit, 400 is a solid place for this to cap out at for the moment, but given the incredible potential this has and the fact that that number is respresentative of lifetime sales, I think it could easily end up doubling with time - and not too much time at that.
Mark my words, six months or so from now, the people who got in early will be reaping the benefits of a veritable cash-crop.
4
http://vgchartz.com/japtotals.php?name=zelda&maker=&console=
That's sales data for other Zelda games. PH is probably a week or two away from outselling TP on Wii which has been out for more than half a year. PH is doing amazing well for a Zelda game. What will determine how well this game sells well in the long term is who these new Zelda purchasers are. If PH has simply attracted old Zelda fans who didn't buy TP for whatever reason, we'll likely see sales fall rather quickly as time goes on (though it will still sell solidly). However, if PH has attracted the casual market, we'll likely see this game high up in the charts for many months to come, much like New Super Mario. I don't think it'll sell as well as New Super Mario, but I think it'll sell LIKE New Super Mario, in that it will continue to sell well long after its release.