Zelda's Popularity Around the World (particularly in the UK)

[zeldan]

Hey guys, I'm a huge fan of the Legend of Zelda series and have been since I was a child but I've noticed that the series isn't as popular with the vast majority of people where I live.

I have lived in the UK for my whole life and I know very few people who actually play Zelda personally. I have a few close friends who play zelda as much as I do but other then that I know very few people I would consider huge fans of the series and I know only a handful of people who play it casually but aren't hardcore Zelda fans.

I figured that I was just unlucky that the place I came from didn't have too many Zelda fans but since I started University at Lancaster (a town in the north west of the UK) I struggled to find anyone who is even aware of the existence of the series at all.

Just wondered if other people had the same issue where they come from or have had a different experience of Zelda's popularity around the UK. I know Zelda is hugely popular on the internet so it obviously does have a large fanbase but I was just wondering if its popularity is more highly concentrated in the USA and Japan then it is in Europe and the UK?

thanks

 

[Cfrock]

I know exactly what you mean. I'm from the UK as well and Zelda simply isn't a big deal here, it seems. Besides myself, I only know one other person who I would call a hardcore Zelda fan (he has the Triforce tattooed to his shoulder) and a few more who like the series but aren't fanatic about it. Most of those people have only played a handful of Zelda's, most notably Ocarina of Time and Twilight Princess.

I hope to find more Zelda fans when I go to university next month but, honestly, I don't think I will. At least, not hardcore fans. I imagine I'll meet plenty of people who played Ocarina of Time or Majora's Mask but who have probably never heard of the likes of Phantom Hourglass, Oracle of Ages or Four Swords. Shame really.

 

[Dragoncat]

Well, I'm in Wyoming, the least populous state in the US, and I know like 2 or 3 people who play it. But only one of those people is a hardcore fan, and as a matter of fact, she's the one who got me into it in the first place. Sounds like a similar situation to what you're describing.

I would think Japan would have the most Zelda fans, not just because that's where its from, but because video games are a big part of their culture. Here in the US, we have video game players, but our culture in general leans more toward movies and TV as entertainment. So I think people are more likely to say that they're a fan of Spiderman or Big Bang Theory or whatever. Like I don't see many people wearing video game shirts, but if I went to Japan, I would probably see video game shirts coming out the wazoo. In contrast, I see a LOT of Spiderman shirts. On little kids...but still.

 

[Mr.Verto]

Well here in Central America, it is dead. I often get asked what is it that I play, and when I say Zelda they ask me what is that.

Culture here is very reserved so few people get out of their comfort gaming zone (CoD to be exact).

If I had to guess where the most dense Zelda fan population is I would guess Japan, since gaming every game is very important for people there.

 

[Beauts]

Yeah I'm from London and although most people are aware of it there aren't really any proper fans, or at least not many I actually know.

 

[Mudora]

I'm from Canada and for many years I believed I was the only one in my area who had a huge passion for the series. It wasn't until I started asking other friends, classmates, etc. about videogames in general that I realized there were many LoZ fans around me! I would think that this series would be the most popular in Japan and throughout the continent of North America.

 

[Dr3W21]

Here in New Albany, Indiana, we have a pretty good deal of Zelda fans. I don't mean the majority of people, but it's certainly more than in a lot of other places. Most gamers are really reserved (like Mr.Verto said) and only play CoD or whatever's new to the Xbox 360 (people who would probably label Zelda as 'gay' just because it's "cool" to make fun of the series, even though they've never played it), but I do know probably more than 5 people that I could consider hardcore fans of the series. as for casual and/or just overall fans, that easily goes over 10. As for people who've heard of the series, I think that'd be most people.

 

[link&zelda4ever]

thats right and pretty sad,not many people know zelda and when,they dont play or arent really big fans...in my village i'm seriously the only zelda fan and in the whole area i know only 1 zelda fan except me and she only knows the game but has played only st and isnt really a fan of it...zelda isnt in the top 10 game ranking,not even in japan 2011 althought it were the 25th anniversary...

 

[Dio]

I'm British also. I knew a couple of people who played Zelda but that is it.
People who play Zelda are not new fans, they are the people who played OOT. Zelda does not appeal to new audiences because it's too hardcore for the casual market and it's not on the right consoles for the hardcore market that would buy it. Therefore the only people that play it are the people who know it already from OOT and those people are mainly 20+ at least now (I started playing Zelda when I was 4. I'm 18 now and I started earlier than most. Most OOT players would have been over 10) and you are unlikely to speak to anyone about it because our generation did not play much zelda. COD and Halo are played by the mainstream gamers and those are the games which you will hear people talking about.

 

[Skywaker]

I live in a suburban area in Southern New Jersey and I would say that there are only a handful of hardcore Zelda fanatics (like me) in my town. I'm still in grade school so most of my friends have never heard of the game until I told them about it. I know only one person who has played AT LEAST two Zelda games and enjoys them. Most of the other people I know (such as my friend) purchased TP, put it into the Wii, first minutes of the game "This game is very stupid." and turns it off. Then there's my cousin, who plays Zelda and enjoys it but has only played SS and asks for help from me a lot...xD

I get very excited when someone asks me "You play/like Zelda too?" because it's a very uncommon question to ask around my area.

Overall, I think the main area of Zelda Popularity would be in Japan (where the game and Nintendo originates from) and the US, since I know that we're gamers. xD Also probably countries surrounding or near Japan...my relatives from the Philippines have heard of Zelda.