Zelda: Breath Of The Wild Needs To Sell 2 Million Copies To Make A Profit

2 million seems a lot; didn't Splatoon only hit 1 million recently? (could be very wrong about that) Of course I hope it meets that goal, and I do think it's possible, but it does seem a bit optimistic.

EDIT: Turns out I was very wrong about that number (Splatoon's apparently sold over 4 million as of last Febuary) so 2 million seems a very achievable number; unless something goes horribly wrong I can't see it not hitting that.

That's actually quite a small magic number, considering the support it's received so far and the fact that it's multi console. Also great that they will now be able to develop open world and physics based games much faster

2 million is nothing.

It couldn't possibly not reach that.

So at least we know it's guaranteed to be profitable.

I believe one analyst said the NX version will ship 10 million NX systems in the first year alone. Of course, analysts are largely idiots making wild guesses, but I wouldn't be surprised if this particular guess was fairly accurate.

So the biggest game ever made by Nintendo only needs 2 mill in sales to be profitable. Seems like a sure thing really at this point. I'd be surprised if it didnt sell 2 million just on Wii U

I believe it'll happen! I'm sure it'll sell beyond 2 million.

@teamshortcut Splatoon has hit 1 million copies sold in Japan alone. It hit 4 million sold worldwide in february.

@teamshortcut Nope, 4m xP
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-02-02-splatoon-has-sold-4m-copies-bought-by-a-third-of-all-wii-u-owners

2 million is the Magic number!

Unless the NX is controlled by simultaneously juggling 9 touchscreen controllers, I don't see it not hitting much larger sales than that.

That or if the game were bad. Not sure which would be less believable.

Does this point to them using the engine for other games? A new Xenoblade, New Mario, New Metroid? NX already has a huge open world template type thing to use with our other IP

@Wouwter Ah right, in that case 2 million seems reasonable; especially since presumably that figure includes NX sales.

I think this marker is a no-brainer at this point. The reception was too strong. The only way this game would bomb is if the NX is a complete atrocity

@EverythingAmiibo Yeah, got that one pretty wrong...

With the NX version this shouldn't be a problem...

@A01 Skyward Sword sold 3.4 million copies, and 122,000,000 people owned a wii.

12,000,000 people own a Wii U, so 1/10th of the possible audience.

Here's hoping the NX does really well! Like...........15x better than the Wii U well.

In comparison, Wii Party U sold 1.58 million copies (according to Wikipedia). I forgot that game even existed.

Yeh it's gonna hit that no problem, judging by the hype and the fact that loads of people have said it was the best game at e3.

And BotW being the most talked about game of E3, I bet it can sell
.42 million copies more than Wii Party U

Well, I'm getting at least 3 copies myself, one to play and 2 to collect (Wii U/NX versions), plus whatever bundle they throw out at me.

@russellohh In this case it's not about how many people owns a console, but how many of the owners are also Zelda fans. I bet a lot of Wii U owners are the right target for a Zelda game, while most Wii owners simply weren't.

so the budget is 120 million dollars

It will sell WAY more than 2 million copies. I guarantee it. Even Skyward Sword sold over 7 million, and people hate that game (not myself, I love it).

If you say that first party developed games like Zelda garner $20-30 of pure profit, that means that they spent $40-60 million on development of this game alone. Whether that's a lot or not, the real question is whether they are still subsidizing the price of hardware through their software sales. Because if the NX is sold at a loss as is standard by others in the industry, Zelda would be a huge benefit in recouping losses incurred by the NX. However, if Zelda won't even start to recoup costs until after 2 million units, that could hurt.

Edit: Nintendo has said they will not sell the NX at a loss. Good on em. Wii U reportedly still sold at a loss.

A main-line console Zelda title has never sold under three million, so I think they're good on this one.

And if it helps drive NX sales then naturally the investment pays itself back in multiple ways.

It should break the 2 million mark.

...I think they'll be good.

Well, i'm not Zelda fan but at least i can give recommendation for my local seller to provide this title in order to help Nintendo making huge profit. Maybe it will outselling in big country like Europe , USA and Japan but will be very few in small country like mine, Indonesia.

They will easily hit 5 million. 10 million or more is even possible.

2 million? I'm optimistic that Nintendo can make a profit on that number on the Wii U alone.

@YeshaYahu5417
lol. I was about to say the same thing. There are quite a few games that have broken 2 million, and this game is not only going to be an NX launch title, but it's also a ZELDA title.

The bigger news would be if it somehow made under 2 million.

I think Shiggy doesn't know what he's talking about here. I'm willing to bet that number is much higher then that.

Of course it will hit 2 million.

Two million for a game like Breath of the Wild seems very doable. Now the question is...how much of that is "just" for the Wii U version and for the NX version? No matter what both versions of the game must have cost a small fortune, with the large number of staff, long development period, and (more than likely) trying to re-optimize it for the NX. Still I'll do my part and get two copies (hell maybe three, never know the U version might be worth a pretty penny, like Twilight Princess on the 'Cube is in the future)

Well, I say that this game is a REQUIRED purchase for all Wii U owners, so they should make that amount of sales easily. If you own a Wii U, you should be REQUIRED to buy this game, or else why would you have bought a Wii U in the first place?
Yes I know everyone will argue that it was for the other games or the promise of more games (I, a launch owner, bought it on a promise that Nintendo couldn't keep), but I don't care, you're all required to buy this game.
If you don't have the money, sell a kidney, or your hair, or your finger nails, or your soul, or even your first born child; I don't care, just buy this game.
The many, many hardships that Nintendo's awkwardly named child has gone through, and her very few, miniscule triumphs, have culminated in this game's release next year. And it'll be beautiful.

well it's coming to NX as well so it's definetely gonna sell beyond 2 million!

It might happen...

It does seem naive not to mention the NX in all this, whatever it is. Surely the bigwigs at Nintendo are just as interested in "how many NXs can Zelda sell?" as how many copies it can sell of itself. The Wii U's faltering start didn't exactly help set it up for a golden future, and every new console sold is going to worth a lot more in the long run that he sales on one game.

I'm calling it.
Masterpiece,
GOTY,
Nintendo milestone,
Money printer.

@Utena-mobile
Yeah i agree. And for the most part Nintendo consumers only buy into "Nintendo game franchises" so, I really don't see a struggle or strain on the numbers they expect to sell for profit. Nintendo does have their back against the wall, but also in the position to out do themselves.

I predict this game will sell 6 million copies or more.
This game didn't just get the attention and interest from Zelda and Nintendo fans, but also non Nintendo fans. Which is amazing! So selling 2 million copies is nothing

If this were most any other company, I'd be worried. Nintendo is one of the few companies that can make a multi-million seller without compromising the game's integrity.

@Evenmoresteven Sold over 7 million? As of this year, Skyward Sword sold has sold 4 million copies. I don't know where you got that number from, but that's totally wrong.

At this point, I think the main problem of these ambitious games for Nintendo is not budget - 2 million copies should be more than doable for a game that is going to be released on two home consoles - it's the time required to develop them. It was announced in 2014 as something imminent and we have yet to play it. I fear that new Nintendo games, especially those on the NX, will require much more development time than before in order to be groundbreaking.

Saying that is like asking can a fish swim.

Unless the NX sells really bad it should be easy to pass 2 million games sold. Everyone is pretty excited about this game after all.

I think it will sell 2 million on the Wii U alone.

@Peraa didn't you know that 75% of statistics are made up on the spot?

Honestly it's an easy mark, if Fire Emblem Awakening almost did it, it was very easy to a game like Zelda, specially with the good reception so far.
Square is trying to hit 10 million with FF XV, and that's a hard hit number.

When Yoshi's Woolly World has sold nearly 1.5 million copies, 2 million for the new Zelda will be easily met. Especially with the game getting such positive press at E3. MK8 holds the record at 7.5 million - with it being released simultaneously on the NX, I wonder how close BotW could get to that figure.

Just bear in mind, 2 million appears to be the break even figure. Given its a flagship series, Nintendo would kind of hope for a lot more than that.

@BensonUii ok lets say 100 mil

I think it's safe to say at least 2/3 of all Wii U owners will buy a copy. I mean, if you bought a Wii U (and haven't traded it in yet), it's because you're into Nintendo games, and it's hard to find a "Nintendo gamer" who doesn't dig TLoZ...

@Pikachupwnage Unfortunately, I doubt 10 million will ever be achievable. Not a single Zelda game in Nintendo's history has ever gotten near that.

Maybe Ocarina of Time if you combine both the N64 original and 3DS remake sales together. Or maybe Twilight Princess if you combine all three versions together.

5 million should be pretty attainable though. Especially when you consider all the people who "bought a Wii U just for Zelda." The Wii version of Twilight Princess did really well probably because it was a launch title. Everyone inclined to buy a console for a Zelda game would find it quite justifiable to jump in at the beginning. Skyward Sword didn't fare as well because its much harder to justify buying a console at its death for one game.

It has my 1/2,000,000th of it, at the very least.

New home console Zeldas always sell in the millions. Since this is going to be released on 2 systems, it should hit the target easily.

I'm surprised that this is supposedly the biggest game they've worked on and the company only needs to sell this little to make a profit. Pretty impressive.

@teamshortcut Yeah, every home console version of Zelda has sold at least 2 million, so this should be an easy feat.

Source: http://vgsales.wikia.com/wiki/The_Legend_of_Zelda

Considering this will be a dual console release (Wii U/NX) I imagine sales will be similar to those of Twilight Princess, if not just slightly lower depending on the new system cost. But with the great showing that they had at E3 this year there is a lot of hype in the general public for this game.

@kamikazilucas Still WAY too high. In the days of the Wii, retailers were paying $35-40 per copy of a game (so 60-70%).
...and then besides manufacturing and shipping, the distributors take their cut.

I honestly think its more reasonable to say that Nintendo gets 50% (+/- $5) of the retail price of their Wii U games.
...but then again, they probably make more on what they sell in their official store in NY and through the eShop (but they also have server/payment processing fees).

@teamshortcut think that 1 million recently was in japan alone actually might've even been 2 mil they love splatoon over there

I've already got mine preordered.

@arojilla at least I'm not the only one. Really wishing I picked up the GameCube version of Twilight Princes when it came out

I think that's a pretty realistic goal. This is a really ambitious looking entry in one of Nintendo's most beloved franchises. 2 million should be nothing.

"the company can create 'compact titles' by sharing resources from Breath of the Wild's development."

I mentioned this to lilith, that because Nintendo took longer to make the physics engine for the game, they now have it to use for other games. Basically the same as what they just said

It should clear 2million over 2 consoles easily. However even if it didn't the cost could be recouped over future titles that use code from breath of the wild

That's nothing compared to some AAA companies like Capcom, who think 6 million is a failure.

I don't think that 2 million will be an issue. Especially if that is a worldwide total. Getting it for wiiu and nx so I'll be doing my part!

@Gerbwmu
Yeah, I feel Miyamoto's answer pointed to that - they didn't only make the game, they developed a new internal engine for smaller teams to use. That would make the development cycle shorter for new games in the NX, hopefully.

It'll easily reach 2 million.

@teamshortcut splatoon reached a million within a month after it was released

Easy peasy, considering the positive reception and all the hype this game has built up lately, including amongst non-Zelda fans.

It's also not something that people will skip on purchasing only to watch gameplays of it on YouTube, since it's a game that doesn't have a set path and can be played in many different ways. In that sense, 50 YouTubers = 50 different gameplays, I imagine. So, people will probably want their own personal experience with it, especially since it's evidently not so story-driven as, let's say, Skyward Sword, making it less of an "interactive movie" (for lack of a better term) and more of a pure gaming experience.

Piece of cake

They will kill that number.

The least successful Zelda game (Majora's Mask) sold over 3 million copies. BotW should have no problem reaching 2 million copies sold.

It's going to be a pack-in title for a new system launch; of course it's going to shatter that 2M mark.XD [Especially after this E3's showing. Too much hype for this game!]

@shinesprite wii games were 40 dollars though

Considering this is a full-blown Zelda game spread across two systems, I don't know how it couldn't achieve those numbers worldwide.

They'll probably be able to sink 2 million sales on the Wii U version alone.

Wow, that's impressive budgeting.

If I remember right, even Majora's Mask sold 3 million on the N64, despite requiring a peripheral. Skyward Sword and Wind Waker sold 4 or 5 million each, Ocarina sold 7.5 million, and Twilight Princess sold 7 million on the Wii and one million on the GameCube.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Wii U version alone passed 2 million, never mind the NX version.

Wow! Nintendo sure knows how to keep their budgets in check!
Two million copies sold should be eazy, judging by the E3 reseption, by the amount of sold copies in the older titles and the added benefit of (probably) being an NX launch title! Oh, and a lot of Wii U owners who aren't ready to move on will be starved to buy something for their Wii U come next year, eheh... :---D

@Lizuka you know that Mario kart 8 has around 7.5mil lifetime sale right? While NSMBU, 3D world and SSB4 Wii U has around 5mil

@Lizuka If splatoon can get 4.25mil sales, I doubt Zelda can't hit over. Remember, this will also be released for the NX and most (if not all Wii U owners as the casual audience have forsaken this console) are people who already love Nintendo and so I believe most Wii U owners will pick this game up

What does 2 million copies mean anyway ...? In US$ I'd guess it would mean the budget for BotW was around 120,000,000$ ? But they give a generous cut to retailers.. don't give such cut to digital customers.. What's the usual % of digital purchase for their other big games? There's shipping, taxes, Nintendo VIP taking a cut, paying organized crime for whatever reasons, advertisement...

I'd guess it's at least 60 million $+ in production budget. If I understood anything.

Just 2 million sales to generate a profit? That will be a easy goal considering the dual release on Wii U and NX.

If this doesn't reach 2 millions being available on two different platforms and being the most anticipated Nintendo games in years...

Oh it'll sell that much on Wii U alone.

It'll easily sell that many copies, especially across both Wii U and NX versions.

I'm going to make a wild prediction now. BOTW will sell 12 million copies. I was going to say 24 million but I got conservative.

@kamikazilucas Maybe where you live, but here in NA most non-budget titles (eg. Brawl, MKWii, DKCR, & Skyward Sword) were sold for $50 USD and around $60 CA.

On a side note, WOW! I just noticed that Walmart Canada's going rate for Wii U games is $75

Just with sales from blindly fanatical Nintendo fans (who... me?) they will sell more than two million copies.

I doubt they won't reach 2 mil. The interesting part will be seeing which gets more sales: the Wii U or the NX versions.

Judging by how hyped up people are getting about this game I think it is safe to say that it will exceed two million sales by a longshot. Between the Wii U and the NX versions I can't see how it wouldn't reach that, and then some.

NX will be sold more if there is a Special Edition bundle with body color matching with the game (Like 3DS XL Zelda bundle with Black X Gold color + Tri Force pattern). It will sold crazily like a hot pancake.

Sounds like a cakewalk since it's a NX launch game

@Piersen Hey, don't give Nintendo any ideas, LOL.

Even if the game turns out to be a huge failure it will hit 2 million sales! And considering what we have seen, the pedigree of Zelda, and the fact it will be released on NX as one of its biggest and most popular first titles to come to the mystery system, I would say that goal is in the bag already.

@SLIGEACH_EIRE There are very very few games that sell over 20 million units. I could be wrong but I think only Final fantasy vii, GTAiv and V have ever acheived that great a number. 12 million though? If NX proves to be a great system to not just me and you, the "hardcore" but to casual gamers and family's too? Yeah I think 12 mil could be achieved.
To be honest, I don't care if the game sells 2 million or 200 million, as long as I am one of that number I will be a happy man!

That's nothing new, Zelda Triforce Heroes reused Link between World's resources, it's almost an elaborate multiplayer DLC.

What Miyamoto implied is: you are going to get a lot of offshoot Zelda games based on Breath of the Wild's world.