The latest entry in the long-running Pokémon franchise, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, has drawn millions of fans worldwide in just a week after its release. The sales of the latest Pokémon title have continued surging ever since, placing it among the best-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time.
According to data presented by Fair Betting Sites, Pokémon Legends: Arceus sold nearly 14 million units worldwide in nine months since its release.
One of the Best Sales on Launch Weekend of Recent Pokémon Titles
The action role-playing game developed for the Nintendo Switch is a part of the eighth generation of the Pokémon video game series and serves as a prequel to Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. It was first announced as part of the Pokémon 25th Anniversary event in February last year but was released worldwide on 28 January 2022.
According to Statista and Nintendo data, Pokémon Legends: Arceus sold more than 1.4 million units in its launch weekend only. This number jumped to 6.5 million in the next few days.
Global sales continued surging in the following months, with the Pokémon title reaching 12.6 million sold units in May. Another 1.27 million units were sold in the next four months, with the game’s lifetime sales rising to 13.91 million in September. This places Pokémon Legends: Arceus in the eleventh place of top-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time, behind Pokémon: Let’s Go, Ring Fit Adventure, and Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.
Moreover, statistics show Pokémon Legends: Arceus outsold other recent titles in the Pokémon series on their launch weekends. This fact is even more impressive because Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a single-version game, and other Pokémon games usually feature two versions of the same game.
Pokémon Franchise Hit Nearly 450 million Units in Lifetime Sales
The first Pokémon video game was released in 1996 in Japan and has been a smash hit ever since. All core games are released in generations, each with different Pokémon, characters, and sometimes new regions.
According to Nintendo data, the gaming series has sold nearly 450 million units of game titles as of June this year. The best-selling Pokémon game of all time is still the original release, Pokémon Red / Blue / Green for Gameboy, with over 31 million units sold. The 2019 release of generation eight games, Pokémon Sword and Shield for Nintendo Switch, ranked second, with 24.2 million in lifetime sales.
However, the Pokémon gaming series sales will continue rising, especially with the arrival of new titles. Announced in February 2022 and released last month, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are the first games in the ninth generation of the Pokémon series.
