Pokemon Scarlet & Violet makes history as Nintendo’s biggest launch ever

Terry Oh
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet sold over ten million copies within the first three days of its release, earning the label of the biggest Nintendo launch in history across all of its iconic platforms.

The Pokemon Company is the highest-grossing media franchise of 2022, a title they intend on maintaining. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet’s massively successful release continues to prove its dominance in the industry.

In only three days, the co-launched titles have cumulatively sold ten million copies worldwide, earning the title for the biggest Nintendo launch of all time. As announced on November 24, this figure is greater than any launch window for any Nintendo release to date, clearing all exclusives on previous hardware.

Scarlet & Violet was marketed to improve upon the critically acclaimed open world introduced in Legends Arceus, which sold around 6.5 million copies in the first week.

Though it’s difficult to say whether the open-world formula has truly been improved in the newest installment, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet sales figures indicate a flourishing game and highly effective marketing.

Not only that, the Pokemon Company finally included cooperative play in this new iteration, boasting the most engaging multiplayer features in the Pokemon games to date. This is a feature fans had been begging for in recent years, and undeniably plays a large part in the game’s mainstream appeal.

In regards to initial sales, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet very much succeeded, but that doesn’t mean they’re perfect games. In fact, quite the opposite. The new release is fraught with bugs, so much so that it’s become an internet trend to criticize the game.

Though these criticisms are certainly gaining traction, these viral conversations may have unknowingly helped increase the game’s marketed reach.

Check out Dexerto’s review of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.

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