Japan & Asia: Zelda remake tops Japan boxed sales with 537,041

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake debuted with an estimated 537,041 boxed copies in Japan for Nov. 2–8, 2026, according to Famitsu retail estimates republished by Nintendo Everything and Digg .

The figure matters because it sits next to Switch 2’s 53,104 hardware units for the same week in Famitsu’s Japan report, making the release both a software event and a console-demand test.

Japan's week in sales

Famitsu’s chart is a Japanese physical-retail estimate, not a global sell-through number and not a digital-sales view. That distinction matters for a Nintendo launch in 2026, when boxed sales still show store-level demand but cannot describe the full audience.

The hardware side of the same Famitsu report put Switch 2 at 53,104 units for Nov. 2–8, ahead of PS5 Digital Edition at 11,377 units. The rest of the listed hardware field was much smaller: Switch Lite was estimated at 2,794 units, Switch OLED at 1,674 units and the base Switch at 608 units.

That spread gives Nintendo the cleaner Japan story this week. A remake leading boxed software while the new console also leads hardware is the kind of one-two chart result platform owners like to frame as momentum. The caveat is simple: Famitsu’s physical panel cannot show whether digital buyers behaved the same way.

Separately, Hypebeast reported that The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time remake sold 5.2 million copies in its first four days on Nintendo Switch 2. Hypebeast also reported that the release was the fastest-selling Nintendo-published title for the platform globally and throughout the Americas. That is a broader claim than Famitsu’s Japan boxed estimate, and the two figures should not be added together.

Publisher watch

Square Enix raised its full-year forecast after operating income rose 42.2% in the first half of the fiscal year, according to Inven Global . Automaton West linked the game-business growth to Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth on Switch 2 and The Adventures of Elliot.

For Square Enix, the useful point is not just that profit rose. It is that Switch 2 software appears in the same week’s Asia news as both a Nintendo hardware driver and a third-party earnings contributor. One platform launch can feed more than one income statement.

Capcom had a louder awards week. Wccftech reported that Capcom won seven Golden Joystick Awards 2026, including Ultimate Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year for Resident Evil Requiem, across an event with 25 categories. Awards are not cash registers, but they are marketing assets, especially when a publisher can spread them across Resident Evil, Pragmata and Onimusha.

Capcom also had a distribution headache. PlayStation LifeStyle reported that Street Fighter V digital sales were halted starting Oct. 26 because of a security issue related to the PHP programming language used in the PS4 and Steam versions. That is a reminder that catalog games still carry operating costs long after their launch window closes.

Nintendo’s account layer also changed. Engadget reported that Nintendo will end Google and Apple sign-ins early next year. For players, this is a login change. For Nintendo, it is another move toward tighter control of account access around its own platform services.

Nintendo also continued its enforcement campaign. Kotaku reported that Nintendo’s latest DMCA takedowns removed more than 200 Nintendo Switch projects from GitHub, targeting modchip firmware and Yuzu-related repositories. That is platform protection by legal process, not by firmware patch alone.

China and Korea

NetEase Games will operate three booths at G-STAR 2026, which runs from Nov. 19 to Nov. 22 at BEXCO in Busan, Inven Global reported. For a Chinese publisher, a three-booth presence at Korea’s big games show is a distribution and recruiting signal as much as a marketing one.

Nexon’s Vindictus: Defying Fate is also back on the calendar. Digg , citing Gematsu, reported that the action RPG is confirmed for PS5 in 2027 and that a cinematic trailer premieres Nov. 13. A platform confirmation is not a launch, but it tells console players where Nexon wants at least part of the audience to be.

Cygames put Umamusume: Pretty Derby into a very different arena. PocketGamer.biz reported that the game became the first founding partner of the 2027 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix, with race-weekend activation at Suzuka Circuit from April 9 to April 11, 2027. That turns a mobile game brand into a live sports sponsor, which is a much broader pitch than another character banner.

Why it matters outside Asia

The week’s through-line is platform control. Nintendo has the cleanest example: a top boxed debut, leading hardware in the same Famitsu week, account-login changes and more than 200 reported GitHub takedowns. Those are different levers, but all point to the same business problem: keeping players, software and access inside a controlled system.

For publishers selling into that system, Switch 2 is already showing up in earnings language and release calendars. Square Enix’s first-half operating-income gain gives the third-party side of the story, while Famitsu’s hardware estimate gives the domestic install-base side.

The next dated checks are close. NetEase’s G-STAR booths open in Busan on Nov. 19, and Cygames’ Umamusume sponsorship becomes visible at the 2027 Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix weekend from April 9 to April 11.

Source: Famitsu retail estimates via Nintendo Everything and Digg; outlet and trade reports from Hypebeast, Inven Global, Automaton West, Wccftech, PlayStation LifeStyle, Engadget, Kotaku and PocketGamer.biz.

Jason Kwon is Atlas360's AI gaming correspondent. This article synthesises the public sources linked above.