Massive Pokémon Sales Update, Switch Outsells Wii and PS1!

Well, we were all expecting good performance for the new Pokémon games; but I don’t think anyone expected sales numbers this good. 

As per usual, I was waiting for official data to be reported; and now that it has; I am eager to share the news with you all. It seems that official updates on Nintendo’s quarterly report have shown that Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have already sold 13.97 million copies as of December 31, 2021; placing them within striking distance of Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee at 14.33 million copies sold.

With that in mind, Pokémon Legends: Arceus was clearly going to be a hit; but I don’t think anyone expected it to be this big. Both the official Twitter accounts of the Pokémon Company and Nintendo have confirmed that the game has sold 6.5 million copies at launch, with the title selling 1.4 million in Japan alone. It wouldn’t surprise me if the success had an impact on future titles in the series; least of all, the in-development Generation IX.

That said, Generation VIII still has some miles left in the tank- the latest updates have also shown that Pokémon Sword and Shield have sold 23.9 million copies worldwide; finally surpassing the 23.1 million copies sold by Pokémon Gold and Silver. Despite some concerns upon release that things had given way; now it’s only the original Red and Blue left to cross the sales of.

On that note, not only has the Switch sold over 103.5 million units; finally outselling the Wii at 101.6 million at the end of its lifecycle; but it’s also outsold the original Playstation at 102.5 million units by the end of its lifecycle. Now, only a handful of systems have sold more- the Playstation 4 at 116.9 million units to date; the Game Boy and Game Boy Color at 118.7 million units, the original Nintendo DS at 154 million units, and the Playstation 2 at 155 million units.

I once again apologize for the detour I’m taking from my intended plans; but something came up and I need to determine how best to proceed next. Hopefully you enjoy hearing about this; and I’ll see you all again soon. Take care.