Summary

  • Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have surpassed Sword and Shield to become the second best-selling game in the franchise.
  • Already the single bestseller in Japan, the Gen 9 entry sits behind Red, Blue and Green for the top spot.
  • That Scarlet and Violet are in the top spot, despite numerous technical and visual issues, plus poor reviews is rather interesting.

In a rather unique and interesting twist, Nintendo has revealed that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have surpassed Pokémon Sword and Shield to become the second best-selling entry in the franchise … ever.

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Previously, it was revealed that Scarlet and Violet were the best-selling games in Japan, with the entry's 8.3 million units sold being enough to surpass Red & Green, a streak that lasted 26 years. Now, the Gen 9 title sits just behind Pokémon Red, Blue and Green for the franchise's top spot.

Scarlet And Violet Weren't Particularly Well-Received At Launch

As part of the company's latest financial report, where it was also revealed that Nintendo expects to sell 15 million Switch 2 units by the end of the current financial year, updated sales information for the Pokémon franchise was shared.

With 26.79 million units sold, Scarlet and Violet have overtaken Sword and Shield for the second best-selling game spot. For reference, Sword and Shield has sold 26.72 million units to date. In order to become the single best-selling entry in the franchise, it would have to top the 31.38 million copies that Red, Blue and Green managed to sell.

What makes this achievement particularly noteworthy is the fact that Scarlet and Violet stand as the worst-reviewed mainline entries in Pokémon history. With a 72 and 71, respectively, on Metacritic, the 2022 release was panned for its numerous technical issues and ugly visuals.

At the time, TheGamer's Santi Leguiza gave the game a 2/5 for largely the same reasons. Things were bad enough that fans began asking for refunds from Nintendo. It led the company to fast-track a patch and also apologize for the "inconvenience."

When the Switch 2 does launch, Scarlet and Violet will be among the games to get a free update that will seemingly improve performance, though how much improvement there will be remains to be seen. Either way, arguably the "worst" mainline game is somehow its modern-day bestseller.

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

RPG Systems 2.0/5 10.0/10 OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 71/100 Critics Rec: 47% Released November 18, 2022 ESRB E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence Developer(s) Game Freak Publisher(s) Nintendo, The Pokemon Company Engine Proprietary Engine
Where to play Close

WHERE TO PLAY

DIGITAL
PHYSICAL

Taking trainers to the region of Paldea, Pokemon  Scarlet and Violet add 107 new Pokemon for you to register to your Pokedex, as well as the brand-new Terastalization system. 

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