"Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Surges to Prominence"

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's meteoric rise to the top of summer's most wishlisted games is a significant achievement. It's surpassed major titles including Doom: The Dark Ages, Assassin's Creed Shadows, and even fellow Nintendo powerhouse Metroid Prime 4.

The recent Nintendo Direct, while lacking a Switch 2 reveal, delivered highly anticipated announcements like Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and the surprising addition of a Zelda-centric title. This fulfills a long-standing fan desire for a main series game where players control Zelda, a wish seemingly ignored by Nintendo for years. The resulting excitement is palpable.

GamesIndustry.Biz reports Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom's dominance on IGN's Playlist, a game tracking service, from May 30th to June 23rd. The data considers only games revealed during showcases. Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom secured the #1 spot, followed by Doom: The Dark Ages and Astro Bot. Gears of War: E-Day and Perfect Dark round out the top five.

Top Wishlisted Games (May 30th – June 23rd, IGN Playlist):

1. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Nintendo)
2. Doom: The Dark Ages (Bethesda)
3. Astro Bot (Sony)
4. Gears of War: E-Day (Xbox)
5. Perfect Dark (Xbox)
6. Mario & Luigi: Brothership (Nintendo)
7. Assassin's Creed Shadows (Ubisoft)
8. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (Kepler Interactive)
9. Fable (Xbox)
10. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond (Nintendo)
11. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Activision Blizzard)
12. Dragon Age: The Veilguard (EA)
13. South of Midnight (Xbox)
14. Lego Horizon Adventures (Sony)
15. Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Square Enix)
16. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Bethesda)
17. Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater (Konami)
18. Star Wars Outlaws (Ubisoft)
19. Super Mario Party Jamboree (Nintendo)
20. Mixtape (Annapurna Interactive)
21. Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science)
22. Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake (Square Enix)
23. Dragon Quest 1&2 HD-2D Remake (Square Enix)
24. Donkey Kong Country Returns HD (Nintendo)
25. Avowed (Xbox)

While wishlist position doesn't guarantee sales success, the high ranking suggests strong player interest. Previous Zelda games largely limited Zelda's role, excluding her from playable protagonist status. While Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom offered increased involvement, they didn't fully satisfy fans wanting to play as Zelda saving Hyrule.

Whether Echoes of Wisdom lives up to expectations remains to be seen, but its early popularity is remarkable. It's outperformed remasters like Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake, and new entries in established franchises like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Dragon Age: The Veilguard. The coming months will be crucial in determining the ultimate success of these titles relative to this initial wishlist ranking.