Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild - Nintendo needs to sell 2 million copies to break even

At E3 2016, Nintendo's next entry in the beloved Legend of Zelda series, Breath of the Wild, caused quite a splash with its brand new in-depth trailer, showing off a gorgeous, massive open world and a slew of exciting changes to modernise the Zelda formula. The developer, however, is hoping the promising hype generated so far will translate into massive sales for the upcoming title that is scheduled to release in 2017 for both the Wii U and NX console.

During Nintendo's recent shareholder meeting, legendary developer Shigeru Miyamoto reportedly said the game will have to cross two million units in sales to be successful. According to translations by Twitter user Cheesemeister, the game would be a hit in Japan if it can sell 300,000 units on the NX and WiiU.

Miyamoto also noted that the new Zelda title has more than 100 staff members working on it and will feature more than 300 people in its credits who have worked on the game over the past five years.

"Breath of the Wild has over 100 staff, and over 300 people in the credits, spending over five years," Miyamoto said. "Our current efforts will be helpful in the next production. The costs will be recovered by selling in large volumes, passing two million sales. A game is a hit in the domestic market if it reaches 300k sales, but we're targeting worldwide sales. Reviews on the internet get around. Details get pointed out, so our staff is working more than is required."

First revealed in 2013, the new Zelda title was announced as a game that would "re-think the conventions of Zelda". However, as was the case with most previous Zelda titles, the game was delayed multiple times before Nintendo finally announced last month that the title will release next year simultaneously on the Wii U and its upcoming NX console "because the developers need more time to polish the game".

Although a sales target of two million units is certainly an ambitious for the Japanese gaming giant, the new Zelda could easily meet its target if the finished product delivers on the promise of the demo at E3 2016.

IBTimes UK awarded The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild our E3 2016 Game of Show earlier this month for its "astonishingly beautiful trailer", beautiful and vast open world, interesting new survival features and more.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is slated to release in 2017 launch for Wii U and NX.