Pokémon Sword and Shield Set New Switch Sales Launch Record!

Hello everyone: I am enjoying “Pokémon Sword and Shield” so far, and I am currently training for my sixth badge at roughly over 32 hours logged combined. One week has passed since launch, and one thing I wondered about was how the games would do despite all the strong reactions some people had online. I was hoping that the titles would beat the odds with this in mind, and I’m glad to say my cautious optimism was justified.

Since their launch worldwide on November 15, the games have sold 6 million copies combined; factoring in standalone versions and the twin pack, as well as both digital and physical copies of the game. For specific regions, the games sold around 2 million copies in the US and 1.36 million copies in Japan. They also launced at #1 in the UK, surpassing other titles that week such as “Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order,” and causing a 30% spike in sales for the Nintendo Switch. They are second only to the launch of “Pokémon Sun and Moon” in 2016 in the region, and have surpassed the previous worldwide record by the launch of “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate” last year. There is also a “Spirit Board” event in that game where spirits from the Galar region can be unlocked until November 26 in Pacific Time Zones and November 27 in Eastern Time Zones.

In many ways, I can even submit that maybe some parties’ attempts to discourage enthusiasm from the games may have had the opposite effect and made people who otherwise wouldn’t have known about the titles seek them out. This is often known as the “Streisand effect,” so named for singer/actress Barbra Streisand asking a surveyor to stop taking pictures of her house for a map; which resulted in the pictures getting posted online where everyone can see them. Basically, if you tell someone not to look at something; they will want to look at it out of natural curiosity. Another recent example would be the DC Comics adaptation “Joker,” where concerns about the movie’s content ended up getting people who usually don’t read comic books or watch superhero movies to check it out; eventually leading to it becoming the first R-rated film to ever make over $1 billion worldwide.

I’ve mentioned this before outside this writing, but it bears repeating: sometimes what you hear online isn’t always indicative of the bigger picture, and the popular mindset might not always be the right one. Whatever the case may be, I’m going to keep training; and after I finish the main quest, my Switch FC is still the same for anyone who wants to join me online. I will also make sure to renew my online subscription before the year is out. That will be all for now. Later.