MM-3DS Will Majora's Mask 3D Outsell The N64 Original?

[A Link In Time]

I saw this thread on another forum and thought it was a worthwhile discussion topic for ZD.

Majora's Mask 3D is one of the most hyped, if not the most hyped, 3DS games of 2015. Nintendo finally has a chance to deliver this cult classic to the masses.

According to vgchartz, the original N64 version of Majora's Mask sold 3.36 million units making it the 11th best selling version of a Zelda game to date. The N64 version of its predecessor, Ocarina of Time, is the best selling version of any Zelda game at 7.60 million units sold. Ocarina of Time 3D sold 3.56 million copies putting it 10th in Zelda sales.

There are a few things Majora's Mask 3D has going for it. First of all, there are more 3DS owners than there were Nintendo 64 owners (50 million vs. 33 million). More importantly, Majora's Mask on the Nintendo 64 required an additional investment in the form of the N64 expansion pack.

Unfortunately, Majora's Mask has the legacy of being one of the least accessible Zelda games, particularly due to its save system. Newer Zelda games are also struggling in sales. Skyward Sword and A Link Between Worlds sold 3.86 million and 2.37 million copies, respectively. The 3DS remake of Ocarina of Time only sold a bit less than half of the Nintendo 64 version's numbers.

I'm sure there are a few other arguments for either side, but I think I've touched on the most important ones. Do you see Majora's Mask 3D surpassing the sales of the N64 original or will it struggle on store shelves?

 

[JoyPendant]

Well, I think it's entirely possible. Especially since most of the people who will be purchasing the 3D remake will be the older fans who played Majora's Mask when they were kids. Also, there's the fact that there are many younger kids now with a 3DS, and many of those kids have been influenced to play Zelda by their older siblings, who most likely grew up with playing the Zelda games too. It really comes down to the fact that the Zelda franchise has grown in popularity since the time of the original, so I do think the remake could potentially outsell the original.

 

[misskitten]

I think the gap between the sells of MM and OoT will be smaller with the 3DS version, but I'm doubtful MM3D will exceed OoT3D, because I think anyone who'd want the MM3D game would most likely buy the OoT3D as well. But who knows, only time will tell.

 

[DarkestLink]

I doubt it. When it comes to business, this online niche fandom isn't a good place to gauge potential success. Even with Project Moon, one of its founders admitted that, in the end, all PM did was prove how unpopular Majora's Mask really was. In the end, though I am very pleased that Nintendo is remaking this game, I would be shocked if Majora's Mask 3DS achieved even 3m sales.

 

[Skullkid96]

MM3D has been hyped way more than MM64, fans been crying for it since '11 (me included) Now that's it being released with bonus (thank you target for not letting people pre order, now I have a change to get one!) MM3D is going to outsell the original one, over the years its been hyped, more people played MM so theres a bigger fan base to MM from when I first played it and loved it ('05). People also own more 3ds's than n64s. So yup it will. for awhile

 

[Justac00lguy]

Does the 3.36 million include virtual console as well? Just curious.

Anyway, I think it will be a tough feat to top that figure even if Majora's Mask was the game the fans wanted. There's a few reasons for this. First off, you'd think, because there are more owners of a 3DS than the N64, that it would surely sell more than the original, right? Wrong. Majora's Mask was coming off the hottest the Zelda series had ever been with the huge impact Ocarina of Time had and lest we not forget that Zelda was all the craze back in the day. Not to say the series is outdated, but it's certainly not as big as it used to be.

Another reason is based off the figures A Link Between Worlds and Ocarina of Time 3D did. The former was an actual new release, so I think it's safe to assume it would garner more interest than a remake (that and it's close resemblance to ALttP). The latter title sold, what, 3.56 million you said? And not only was it Ocarina of Time, but it was a launch title. Even though there is a huge appreciation for MM, it's nowhere near as popular as OoT. A lot of Nintendo die hards may differ, but the amount of times you hear gamers talking about OoT and they're not even Nintendo fans says a lot.

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It will be tough for Majora's Mask to reach that figure as the 3DS, even though highly successful, is on the decline. Don't take that word as a bad thing, all I mean is that it's peaked in its product life cycle. Nintendo introducing these "new" editions of the console only prove that point. It's called product extension and it's designed to extend the life cycle and revenue short term. So even though the 3DS is still going strong, it's on the route downwards, which may play a part in sales for MM.

 

[Spiritual Mask Salesman]

Its not impossible, but MM has always been more of a game for the fans, not the general public. I'm sure all of us fans will go out and buy the game, but the difference in the sales numbers will highly be determined by the general public. What I mean by that is will an 8 year old's mom go out and buy that kid a copy of MM 3D assuming that kid has a 3DS? Probably not, that kid will more than likely get Mario Kart for 3DS.

 

[Emma]

I'm going to guess probably not. I'd like to think it will. However too many people are of the opinion: "How DARE you create a remake instead of a new game?!! I will have no part of this abomination!!!" Many people will defiantly avoid it out of pure spite. Even if they never even played the original, and therefore it would essentially be a new game to them. I'm certain that played a role in Ocarina of Time 3D not reaching the sales of the original. Nintendo fans have a remarkable intolerance to remakes, despite the fact that Nintendo does a pretty good job at remakes, while the same can't be said of Sony or Microsoft. So almost certainly it's not going to get as many sales as the original. Not unless by some fluke of random chance, Nintendo fans drop their crazy attitude about remakes. Personally I'm absolutely going to get it because I've been completely unable to play it in any form for some time and it was definitely one of my favorite games from my childhood.

 

[MW7]

I would bet against this happening. As much as I love Majora's Mask and how well-respected it is by Zelda fans, the game pales in comparison to Ocarina of Time in terms of cultural recognition. I was part of the generation that grew up on these two games, and a lot of the people I know are aware of Ocarina of Time but not Majora's Mask. I know several people that refer to Ocarina of Time as Zelda because not only do they not know about Majora's Mask, but they don't even realize that there are other Zelda games besides Ocarina of Time. So if Ocarina of Time 3d barely outsold the N64 version of Majora's Mask, then I doubt the 3DS version of Majora's Mask will. I would guess it will have about 1.5 million sales, but I'd be happy to be wrong since I would love to see the game do well. You do raise several great points about why it could do better than the original version though. It could happen.

 

[Heroine of Winds]

I highly doubt it. Zelda games don't sell very well these days compared to back then. It also doesn't help that many people moved on to other consoles because both the 3DS & Wii U are very niche since not everybody owns either one of them. MM3D's sales might suffer from it, too.