When the St. Louis Ocarina Store opened back in 2005, they quickly became aware of the large overlap found between fans of the quirky musical instrument and fans of Nintendo's Zelda series. Realizing that they owe a great deal of their sales to Nintendo's classic N64 title, they've issued a press release celebrating the 10th anniversary of the game's release.
“We have had an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from Zelda fans and video game enthusiasts,” said Dr. Dennis Yeh, the school’s director. “Our Zelda items quickly became bestsellers – and we are happy to be celebrating the game’s tenth anniversary in our store this month.”
You can check out the company's website at www.stlocarina.com, where they have an entire page dedicated to Zelda ocarinas, with instruments ranging anywhere from $19.99 to $300, as well as a couple of songbooks to get you started. Happy anniversary, Ocarina of Time! These folks owe you everything.St. Louis Ocarina Store Celebrates 10th Anniversary of Classic Video Game The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time ST. LOUIS—(BUSINESS WIRE)—When a new Legend of Zelda video game, The Ocarina of Time, was released in November of 1998, very few people in North America knew what the instrument was, or if it even actually existed outside of the game’s fictional realm of Hyrule. In the classic Nintendo game, the protagonist Link is on a quest to recover an ancient relic from an evil king. Along the way, Link (who is controlled by the player) must learn a dozen songs on a small whimsical wind instrument to progress through the levels. The game, which was the best-selling video game of 1998 and has since sold 7.6 million copies, created a resurgence of interest in the ocarina. The small and versatile instrument, which is still popular throughout Asia and Italy, has a storied 12,000-year-old history but had fallen into obscurity in the recent years in the United States. At the forefront of the ocarina’s increasing popularity is the St. Louis Ocarina Store, which is run by the St. Louis School of Music. The store sells, ceramic, clay, and plastic ocarinas – making instruments available for those of all skill levels and ages, from professionals to collectors to novices. After opening its doors in 2005, the store quickly became aware of the wide overlap between Zelda players and ocarina players. “We have had an overwhelmingly enthusiastic response from Zelda fans and video game enthusiasts,” said Dr. Dennis Yeh, the school’s director. “Our Zelda items quickly became bestsellers – and we are happy to be celebrating the game’s tenth anniversary in our store this month.” The store offers a number of Zelda-inspired products, including over a dozen ocarinas and two songbooks that help students recreate songs from Ocarina of Time and a later game, Twilight Princess. Zelda fans can also choose from instruments in a range of colors and in tenor, alto, or soprano. The ocarinas range from a ceramic three-octave instrument for $300 to a plastic 12-hole for just $19.99. The store, which is staffed by professional music teachers, also offers ocarina lessons. “One of my favorite aspects of the ocarina is that, unlike other instruments like the piano or violin, it is available for everyone to own and play,” Yeh said. “You can learn a song or two quickly, you can carry it easily wherever you go, and you can afford one no matter who you are or what you do.” To learn more about ocarinas or to browse the store’s selections, please visit www.stlocarina.com.