I think the impact of making a female Link would go as such...
Mature fans: So he's a chick now? Alright, then... *Plays game, tries very hard not to get a boner from all the lesbianism going around as Linka is just as popular with the Hylian ladies as her ancestors were*
Idiots: WTF? HE'S NOT A GURL! NINTENDO FUKKED IT UP!! LINK IS AN ESTABLISHED CHARACTER, ESTABLISHED AS A MAN, NINTENDO!! AAAGGGHHH!!
Anyway.
I'm betting Tidus from Final Fantasy X would have been more popular if he were a chick, especially if Tara Strong voiced her too. (In that situation, would Tidus/Rikku become masturbation?)
Also, I kinda wonder how Final Fantasy IV would have gone if everyone were gender-swapped. Would Rydia still be so popular? Would people like Rosa better, or hate her even more as a man? And would Yang still run around without a shirt, or would they give her chest-bindings or Lenna's Chun-Li cosplay from V?
In fact, Real Life, how would that go gender-swapped?