It took just three days for Tears of the Kingdom, the latest installment in the Legend of Zelda franchise, to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. Four million of those sales were in the Americas, where it became Nintendo Co.’s fastest-selling game ever. It’s likely to be the biggest-selling game of the year on any platform.
Meanwhile, the Super Mario Bros. movie smashed past $1 billion at the global box office in less than two months. As of May 21, it was the third-most popular animated film ever. Even Nintendo’s rivals can’t resist its charms, with Sony Group Corp.’s chief executive officer, Kenichiro Yoshida, telling investors last week: “I watched Super Mario. Beautiful IP, wonderful IP. I played Super Mario games 30 years ago, and I was so intense playing it. A lovable IP can survive 30, 50, or 100 years.”