Pokémon Sword and Shield are fastest-selling Switch games yet

In six days, six million copies of Pokémon Sword and Shield were sold. That reports the Pokémon Company. This makes it the best release week for a Switch game to date. It is also probably the fastest-selling Pokémon game ever.

With six million copies sold in six days, Pokémon Sword and Shield is the fastest-selling Switch game to date. The game is also immediately in the top ten of best-selling Switch games. The previous record holder was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. That game was released on December 8, 2018 and sold five million copies in its first week. At the time, however, the Nintendo Switch’s installed base was 32.27 million. At the time of writing, approximately 41.67 million Nintendo Switch consoles have been shipped. That’s an increase of about 29 percent. Converted, about 15 percent of all Switch owners bought Smash Bros. Ultimate at launch, while 14.4 percent have purchased Pokémon Sword or Shield.

Strictly speaking, Pokémon Sword and Shield are two separate games, but most gamers buy one version. Pokémon Sword and Shield both contain unique Pokémon, prompting some fans to purchase both games. A double pack is sold for this. Game analyst Daniel Ahmad reports that sale of the double pack, which includes both Sword and Shield, counts as a single copy. He also reports also that 20 percent of Japanese Switch owners have purchased the game.

Previous Pokémon games also sold well. Pokémon X and Y, the games that came out for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013, sold 4 million copies in the first week. At the time, approximately 31 million 3DS handhelds had been sold. That is, 11.6 percent of 3DS owners purchased Pokémon X or Y upon release.

The previous all-new releases, Pokémon Sun and Moon, have currently sold a total of 16.17 million units, according to Nintendo. It is unknown how many copies of Sun and Moon were sold worldwide in the first week after release. In Japan, the game has been sold 2 million times in a week, while in Europe this number is 1.5 million. In the United States, the game sold 3.7 million copies in its first two weeks of release. This amounts to a total of 7.2 million, but the periods do not completely overlap. The installed base of the Nintendo 3DS at the release of Sun and Moon with 58.85 million units sold was significantly higher than that of the Nintendo Switch at the moment.

Not all players are positive about the new Pokémon games. There is controversy that the game does not include all previous Pokémon. It is the first time that this is the case. Also, according to some users, the graphics leave something to be desired and the fighting animations are outdated according to some players.