Pokemon Sword & Shield Had A Massive Launch And Spiked Switch Sales In The UK

Pokemon Sword & Shield have enjoyed enormous sales in the UK since they released on November 15, which has also led to increased sales of the Nintendo Switch. The games are enjoying one of the best-ever Nintendo launches in the country and it’s also the second-best launch result the Pokemon series has ever seen, and that’s just counting physical copies.

Gamesindustry.biz is reporting that Pokemon claimed three separate spots on the physical sales chart for the week ending November 16: Pokemon Sword was No. 1, Pokemon Shield was No. 3, and a double-pack containing both games landed at No. 7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order had the second-best launch of the week. Combined, Sword & Shield had a tremendous launch, outselling Pokemon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee by 53%. It was the best launch ever for a Switch game in the UK, and the third-best ever for Nintendo, despite the charts only tracking physical sales. Wii Fit had Nintendo’s second-best ever launch, and the top spot belongs to Pokemon Sun & Moon for the 3DS (which released to a wider install base.)

Furthermore, the release of these new Pokemon games led to an increase in Switch console sales. Sales went up 30% during release week, following a 75% spike the week prior, with almost 90,000 consoles having been sold in the UK so far in November. The Nintendo Switch is the best-selling system in the UK so far in 2019; this could be the first year since the PlayStation 4 released that Sony does not have the top annual console sales in the country.

Pokemon Sword & Shield scored a 9/10 in our review, with critic Kallie Plagge writing that “in collecting, battling, and exploring, Sword and Shield cut out the bloat and focus on what makes these pillars of the Pokemon games so captivating in the first place.” If you’re one of the many folks playing it, check out the Gigantamax Raid schedule and our stone evolution guide to get ahead.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pokemon-sword-and-shield-had-a-massive-launch-and-/1100-6471588/