Metallica and Korn are doing huge sellout tours, Godzilla is stomping through cinemas, and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time is the hottest game going. It's 1998 all over again. The latter's really leaving a mark, moving the needle on Switch 2 sales to a considerable degree, thanks to that sweet limited edition console.
Some analysis comes from Mat Piscatella, who is the senior director and video game industry advisor and analytics firm Circana. On Bluesky, he posts about how Link's classic adventure to save Hyrule impacted the Switch 2's performance in the US.
"The Legend of Zelda: 40th Anniversary Edition console helped drive total US Switch 2 hardware dollar sales to its highest weekly total of 2026 to date," he says, noting this is for the week ending October 31.
The Legend of Zelda: 40th Anniversary Edition console helped drive total US Switch 2 hardware dollar sales to its highest weekly total of 2026 to date (w/e Oct 31, 2026). Total US video game hardware spending jumped 81% in the week compared to a year ago. Source: Circana Retail Tracking Service
— @matpiscatella.bsky.social (@matpiscatella.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2026-11-09T17:28:02.782Z
Absolutely no surprises there, right? Nintendo is appealing to all sorts of demographics, from the hardcore collectors to casual players to lapsed fans who want to get involved again because it's a childhood favorite re-imagined. The Ocarina of Time remake was always going to inspire a spike in Switch 2 sales, and doing an anniversary console to boot?
That's the kind of thing Nintendo lives for, and there are a lot of dedicated fans who happily engage in such things. Heck, I've never been attracted to limited versions of consoles, but even I felt the pull for that Zelda one. It's such a nice aesthetic.
Piscatella notes this is part of a general upward trend in recent times. "Total US video game hardware spending jumped 81% in the week compared to a year ago," he adds. Huh, wonder what could be driving people to buy PS5s and Xbox Series Xes. When's GTA 6 out again?
