More good news for Zelda in America

[Nintendarse]

Let's go to the video tape...or in this case, the press release.

Gamers Take Detour from Vice City and Head to Hyrule; The Legend Of Zelda: The Wind Waker Generates Record Pre-Sell Numbers

REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 12, 2003--Since it was first announced, The Legend of Zelda®: The Wind Waker™ pre-sell program for Nintendo GameCube™ has captured the hearts and attention of gamers across the country.

Still two weeks from launch, more than 560,000 Zelda fans have reserved their copy of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and received the nearly sold-out limited-edition disk featuring two playable, full-length games originally for the Nintendo® 64: The Legend of Zelda®: Ocarina of Time® and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Master Quest, for a suggested retail price of $49.95. This makes The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Nintendo's most successful pre-sell program in history.

"The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is the most anticipated video game in Electronics Boutique's history based on our pre-orders, even outpacing last year's Grand Theft Auto: Vice City," says Jerry Madaio, vice president, merchandising, Electronics Boutique. "And the number of pre-orders is still growing! Clearly, this game's appeal is so wide, that it is a 'must-have' for any Nintendo GameCube owner."

"Given the history of the Zelda series, we expected overwhelming interest, and this solidifies the ever-growing phenomenon and attraction gamers have to the characters and story," explains George Harrison, senior vice president, marketing and corporate communications, Nintendo of America Inc. "It doesn't matter which system you own, gamers across the world respect and anticipate the launch of any Zelda game and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is a killer application that will move hardware."

Launching March 24, The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker is an epic adventure that will have the character Link sailing the high seas and searching for clues to his sister's mysterious disappearance. The game is brought to life with incredible toon-shaded visuals and a unique facial animation system. Link's eyes not only show his emotions but also provide hints and spot danger, inspiring a sense of wonder in players of all ages. Connect the Game Boy® Advance, via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable, and players can summon the mapmaker Tingle to uncover hidden secrets to help Link in his voyage.

To date, worldwide sales of The Legend of Zelda series have surpassed 36 million software units.

I think the Nintendo statement of being the most pre-ordered game in history is based on on of two things:

1.It is the most pre-ordered Nintendo game in history.
2.It is the most pre-ordered game in EB history (coming from the EB quote in the press release).

PR people have a history of taking little quotes like the one made by the EB vice president of merchandising and extrapolating them into statements like, "Zelda is the most pre-ordered game ever." I'm always skeptical of PR.

About my previous post, I'm sorry for putting such a pragmatic emphasis on it. The thing is, from a total sales perspective, the dropoff from week one to week two is a key factor. People can predict the overall sales of a game given the release date, first week of sales, and second week of sales. And that really interests me.