Pokemon Sword And Shield Sales Exceed 6 Million Units

Published: November 22, 2019 10:00 AM /

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Some of the new Pokemon in Pokémon Sword and Shield

Looks like recent controversies haven't massively hurt sales of Pokemon Sword and Shield. The latest games in the long-running critter-collecting RPG franchise have managed to rack up 6 million sales between them during launch weekend.

According to a Nintendo press release, these figures mean Pokémon Sword and Shield are among the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time. That's not massively surprising; even the worst Pokémon games tend to sell pretty well, so this is perhaps to be expected. Still, after complaints regarding swathes of Pokemon being cut from the games, as well as reused 3DS models, the sales numbers will likely be very encouraging indeed for Nintendo and Game Freak.

In addition to the 6 million launch weekend figure, Pokemon Sword and Shield managed to shift 2 million units within the first two days of release in the US alone. This means Sword and Shield can proudly lay claim to the highest-grossing launch of any Pokemon game since the franchise began back in 1996 (1998 on Western shores). Nintendo of America senior marketing VP Nick Chavez called the launch "momentous". Interestingly, the use of highest-grossing brings attention to the fact that these titles retailed at $60 instead of $40 each, meaning at least one (Sun and Moon) sold more units then Sword and Shield Lifetime Pokémon core series sales are now sitting at more than 240 million units.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are the eighth mainline entries in the core Pokémon RPG series, not counting remakes or enhanced versions. The new games take place in Galar, a modern setting inspired by Great Britain and featuring many landmarks that resemble British staples like the Houses of Parliament. Unlike Sun and Moon, the last mainline entries, Sword and Shield features gym leaders for you to battle and defeat. There's also a fully explorable open world-style region called the Wild Area, in which Pokémon of many different strength levels will appear. You can check out TechRaptor's review of Pokemon Sword and Shield right here.

What do you think of Pokemon Sword and Shield's sales? What about the games themselves? Let us know in the comments below!

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More Info About This Game
Learn more about Pokémon Sword and Shield
Developer
Game Freak
Publisher
Nintendo
Platforms
Nintendo Switch
Release Date
November 15, 2019 (Calendar)
Genre
Open World, RPG
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