Back in the days of the NES/SNES games and especially Ocarina of Time, the Legend of Zelda series was absolutely massive in terms of popularity. Many millions of people bought the games, most of the gaming community seemingly had an interest in the series and fan sites and forums started nearly constantly.
But is the series still mainstream? Recent games seem to have been less popular than before, with Skyward Sword selling pretty poorly compared to games in many other well known series (both Nintendo and otherwise). And it seems like the backlash against the series seems to be growing on even the fan sites and forums...
So what do you think? Is the Zelda series still mainstream? And if not, when did it stop being mainstream?
(There's a problem with the poll, it says that I'm not allowed to vote because I already voted, which I didn't. At the same time, it told me that my vote was submitted.)
No, I wouldn't say it's mainstream any longer. It probably has something to do with the main series not getting new games for sever years after the release of the predecessor, coupled with the fact that a lot of gamers would rather shoot things than swing a sword these days.
I agree with what Link said that maybe the whole 7 year gap per game thing is whats messing It up I know a zelda game for a console take a long time to design but maybe if Nintendo cuts the design period down to 3-4 years zelda might become mainstream again.
I think that most of the market judges games based on how they look, and the Zelda series has had a real identity crisis in the visuals area. Older, core gamers are turned off by a cartoonish or cell-shaded style, and parents are less likely to buy their kids a more mature zelda game. I think that if Nintendo cuts down on production time and picks a neutral art style, like Ocarina of time, (or if they'd pick an art style and stick with it) the game might regain a little relevancy.
I think part of it has to do with how Nintendo has been marketing it. It is true that in recent years it's been targeted toward a younger demographic. Unfortunately this demographic is already saturated with franchises like Mario, Pokemon, and Skylander. Zelda was and probably still is my favorite game series, but I don't think it is getting anywhere near the same attention or hype it did back in the 90's and early 2000's.
