Pokémon Sword and Shield are off to a great start, selling more than 6 million copies in the week since their release. That’s according to a tweet from The Pokémon Company, which notes that the figures make the latest mainline Pokémon instalment the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time. (It’s worth caveating, of course, that Sword and Shield are technically separate releases, albeit ones that are almost identical in content.)
New Pokémon games are invariably strong performers. The last all-new releases, Sun and Moon for 3DS, have sold 16.17 million copies to date according to Nintendo, and they were the company’s fastest-selling games ever in the West upon release. It’s worth noting, though, that the 3DS had a larger install base at that point in time, and the games sold for a lower price point.
Last year’s Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! for Switch, meanwhile, have reached 11.28 million copies in total, which Sword and Shield are on pace to beat based on first-week sales. The Let’s Go games were based on the original Game Boy Pokémon games, however, and don’t represent a brand-new generational release.
Pokémon has historically been a portable-focused franchise, and Sword and Shield’s release has dovetailed with the launch of the new handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite, including its special edition Pokémon version. Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa noted during the company’s most recent earnings briefing that the Switch Lite was released alongside The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, another Game Boy remake that sold well to buyers of the new model.