Pokémon Sword & Shield Sell More Than 6 Million Copies
Yesterday we reported that Pokémon Sword & Shield were the fastest selling Switch games of all time in Japan. We also lamented the fact that we might have to wait until the next quarterly financial results to hear more details. Although we did state that sometimes Nintendo will release a press release – and that’s exactly what they’ve done!
It turns out that the new Pokémon games have sold more than 6 million copies in just three days (Friday – Sunday of last weekend) worldwide. Drilling down further into the numbers we know that 2 million copies were sold in the first two days alone in the U.S. and according to Famitsu about 1,365,544 were sold in Japan over the weekend. Of course that latter number doesn’t include eShop digital sales, so more were sold through that method as well. We don’t know exact numbers for Europe, but if you tally up physical and digital sales across all territories the number was north of 6 million. Pokémon Sword & Shield are the highest-grossing launch of any Pokémon game ever in the U.S., which is very impressive! It should be noted that the 6 million figure is sold-thru to customers, not just extra stock sitting on store shelves. Read on for the full PR:
OFFICIAL PR:
Nintendo of America announced that after selling more than 6 million units worldwide during launch weekend*, the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield games are among the fastest-selling Nintendo Switchgames of all time. Additionally, the games sold just over 2 million copies in the first two days in the U.S., making it the highest-grossing launch of any Pokémon game.
“This past weekend, millions of people began their Pokémon journeys through the new Galar region,” said Nick Chavez, Nintendo of America’s Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. “With such a momentous launch, Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield have proven to be two of the must-have games this holiday season.”
Games in the core Pokémon RPG series have sold more than 240 million units** worldwide since launching with the Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Blue Version games in 1996.
In Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, players embark on a journey through the Galar region, where they’ll catch, battle and trade a variety of Pokémon, meet a memorable cast of characters and unravel the mystery behind the Legendary Pokémon Zacian and Zamazenta. In the Wild Area, which stretches between the Galar region’s different towns and cities, players will explore a vast expanse of untamed wilderness that’s full of Pokémon to battle and catch. By teaming up with three other players locally or online*** in the new multiplayer co-op Max Raid Battles, players will face off against gigantic and super-strong Pokémon known as Dynamax Pokémon.
For more information about Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, visit https://swordshield.pokemon.com/en-us/.
Remember that Nintendo Switch features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about other features, visit https://www.nintendo.com/switch/.
*Reported sell through according to internal Nintendo sales data; applies to both physical and digital sales.
**Total for titles in the core Pokémon RPG series as of September 2019, according to internal Nintendo sales data.
***Nintendo Switch Online membership (sold separately) and Nintendo Account required for online features. This game includes an in-game option to purchase a Nintendo Switch Online membership for users who do not have one. Not available in all countries. Internet access required for online features. Terms apply. nintendo.com/switch-online
Craig has been covering the video game industry since 1995. His work has been published across a wide spectrum of media sites. He’s currently the Editor-In-Chief of Nintendo Times and contributes to Gaming Age.
