Pokemon Sword and Shield Debut with Record-Breaking Sales

The launch of any new Pokemon game is news in itself, but Pokemon Sword and Shield, the first entries in the storied series’ eighth generation, are making waves with record-breaking sales numbers.

According to Famitsu, Sword and Shield sold 1,364,544 copies in their first three days in Japan, spread out among physical sales, the double pack, and digital download cards, though digital downloads themselves aren’t included in the numbers.

It’s roughly double the number of copies the Pokemon Let’s GO games sold in the same timeframe in Japan (664,198). It also means Sword and Shield managed to beat out Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for a Switch game’s best-selling opening week.

Between November 11 and 17, Switch hardware sales were up as well, with 180,136 units sold, split between the regular Switch and Switch Lite. These sales push the Switch in Japan well past the 10 million units sold milestone from last month. That’s impressive, but not actually much of an increase from hardware sales when the Let’s GO games launched. And it’s still not quite as impressive as 3DS hardware sales when Sun and Moon released.

Game Freak, serving up another helping of Poke-profit

It’s not just in Japan that Sword and Shield sales numbers are getting attention, though. Sword debuted at the top of the U.K. sales charts, with Shield at Number 3, and the double pack at Number 7, according to GamesIndustry.biz’s Christopher Dring.

It’s the best launch of an exclusive title this year, the third-biggest boxed launch in the U.K. (behind FIFA 20 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare), and the second-biggest U.K. Pokemon launch, with Sun and Moon still sitting at the top with a 34% higher sales margin.

However, Dring notes Sun and Moon launched on a Wednesday and had two more days of sales compared to Sword and Shield, plus the U.K. numbers don’t account for digital downloads.

It’s not hard to see why the world is gripped by Pokemon fever again. Sword and Shield make a number of improvements on the traditional Pokemon formula and breathe life back into the series. We’ll discuss in more detail in our upcoming Pokemon Sword and Shield review, so stay tuned to GameSkinny.