Pokemon fans threatened to boycott Pokemon Sword and Shield at launch in the wake of ‘Dexit,’ the removal of the National Pokedex containing all of the series’ catchable pocket monsters. However, Nintendo has now released official sales figures for the two games, revealing that they have already surpassed the lifetime sales of previous Pokemon games and many of the Switch’s library of titles.
Pokemon Sword and Shield sold 16.06 million units between its November 15, 2019 release date and December 31, 2019. This means it shifted more than Pokemon Black and White‘s lifetime sales of 15.64 million units and just under the 16.17 million units achieved by Pokemon Sun and Moon.
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Pokemon Sword and Shield sales nearly over Breath of the Wild
It’s also nearly halfway to the lifetime sales of the best-selling Pokemon games ever, Pokemon Red, Blue, and Green, which achieved 31.38 million sales. It now seems highly likely that it’ll eventually surpass the second best-selling Pokemon games ever, Gold and Silver, which reached 23.1 million sales.
It also stands up well against other Switch games. It’s already the fifth best-selling Switch game ever, surpassing Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, Splatoon 2, and Super Mario Party. It’s nearly overtaken The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which has sold 16.34 million units, and could well overtake the top-selling Switch game Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has sold 22.96 million units.
So the proposed boycott of Game Freak’s latest had little to no impact on its figures, with it likely surpassing all of Nintendo’s expectations in the process. While the game received a middling critical reception compared to previous Pokemon games, it overtaking many best-selling Switch games is indicative of its pre-release controversy not affecting its overall sales.
