The numbers correspond to what is undoubtedly (and quite obviously) one of Pokémon Legends: ZA's biggest markets, and they look pretty cool. In Japan, the ZA startup succeeded in surpassing its predecessor. No, not Pokemon Scarlet and Violet – that would be crazy. Pokemon Legends: Arceus, of course. And while that's a relatively thin line, it stands starkly against the backdrop of relatively modest internet income, which again amply demonstrates that online chatting can have a full impact, but it's rarely massive.
It's looking less rosy in the few other markets we have launch information for, but I'd hardly call it disastrous. We'll cover that as well, but the focus here is on the great success Game Freak's foray into Lumios has had on its home turf.
Great platform split too
First published (in English, that is) on Nintendo Everything, the weekly Famitsu sales figures for the period between October 13th and October 19th are available, including the hotly anticipated launch of Pokemon Legends: ZA. Before I get into the nitty-gritty, I'll say that the platform split between the aging workhorse Nintendo Switch and the 2025 successor Nintendo Switch 2 is also promising.
It was expected that the console, with its far larger install base, would take the lead now, but the real question was how much of a lead. The numbers are relatively tight, further showing that many people are more than ready for the new era. Here's the top ten, including a couple ZA SKUs. As always, it is important to emphasize that these are retail sales only; digital does not count:
1. [NSW] Pokemon Legends: ZA – 872 552 / NEW
2. [NS2] Pokemon Legends: ZA – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition – 612,905 / NEW
3. [NS2] Mario Kart World – 55,996 / 1,931,393
4. [PS5] Ghost of Yotei – 18,930 / 165,902
5. [NSW] Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 – 11,129 / 79,477
6. [NS2] Donkey Kong Banana – 7,967 / 31,259
7. [NSW] Little Nightmares 3 – 5,315 / 23,121
9. [NSW] Minecraft – 4,984 / 4,028,096
10. [NSW] Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles 2 – 4,064 / 139,111
Combine the SKUs, and unless I clicked the calculator wrong, Pokemon Legends: ZA retails for 1,485,457. That's slightly more than Pokemon Legends: Arceus' 1.425 million, which of course was all on Switch 1. But that doesn't change the equation. If anything – again – already getting 613k on Switch 2 is good news for Nintendo's future fortunes.
Has digital also increased in the nearly four years since Arceus launched? Likely. I think sometimes people can assume that there's been more of a shift recently than it necessarily has been, but suffice it to say that digital in general continues to trend upwards.
The always awesome Serebii made a joke over at InstallBase that I just have to share: “That's like one sale for every flat balcony in the game.” Yeah.
The Switch 2's week-to-week hardware jump in Japan has been strong, as expected. Last week, 46,842 units were sold. In contrast, a whopping 201,684 were taken this time.
Not quite impressive
Some may think that by addressing the more negative news at the end of the article I'm burying the ice, but the truth is that the Japanese launch is simply more straightforward monumental and so ZA's initial success was to be largely measured by what domestic consumers thought of the game. However, markets like the UK and Spain are hardly small, and the second title in the Legends series seems to have fallen a bit short of the first.
In the UK, Legends: ZA reached a total of around 86,000 units. The silver lining: the console split is nearly identical, with 44,000 for Switch 1 versus 42,000 for Switch 2. That's 40 percent below Arceus' success at launch, though again it's probably slightly more in ZA's favor given digital trends. Still, I'm very skeptical (as are most analysts) that this will make up the difference.
In Spain, the number is only slightly higher than in the UK, at 89,000. The split is more significant, 53,000 for the older console and 36,000 for the newer. In contrast, Arceus debuted at 140,000. We're still waiting for data from other European markets; French and German should be essential. Whether the regional decline will continue is currently up in the air.
