Fire Emblem Fates shifts 300,000 copies in U.S.

At one point, Fire Emblem Awakening was going to be the last-ever game in the franchise.

That seems incredibly unlikely now, as Nintendo has announced that Fire Emblem Fates, the newest entry in the series, has sold 300,000 in just three days in North America.

Fates, which is split into two versions -- Conquest and Birthright, two different titles with different characters, stories, and maps -- has proved a huge hit. It outsold Awakening's three-day launch period by a factor of five.

A third scenario, Revelation, is available as downloadable content -- as are a host of maps. 

If you're wondering what makes Fire Emblem so good, well, we asked developers what lessons are to be learned from the franchise. There's also this blog, which delves into one aspect of its gameplay: the support system. We also have this analysis of player reaction to Awakening.