Nintendo sold 5.2 million copies of its “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” remake in just four days, invigorating the Switch 2 platform that had been waiting for a blockbuster hit.
Released on Nov. 5 for $59.99, the 2026 edition is a complete recreation of the 1998 classic action-adventure game for the Nintendo 64 console, replete with new graphics, level and character designs. It ranks among the best-reviewed video games of recent times, earning a score of 96 out of 100 from both players and professional reviewers on aggregator Metacritic.
The Switch 2 console has had an uneven first year on the market, challenged by the rising cost of memory pushing hardware prices up. The fast start by the new “Ocarina of Time” takes the Zelda game past the cumulative sales of “Donkey Kong Bananza,” another popular title from 2025. Only “Mario Kart World,” which was part of a launch bundle with the Switch 2 console, has sold more units so far.
The first Switch, released in 2017, got a huge boost from having “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” as a launch-day title that helped draw in gamers from outside the Nintendo ecosystem. Though a remake, the new “Ocarina of Time” may have a similar effect as Nintendo heads into the crucial holiday season.
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