The Pokémon phenomenon is showing no signs of stopping. Nintendo reports that its latest series sequels, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, are now the fastest-selling video games in Nintendo of America’s history, breaking the company’s previous regional sales records by a significant margin.
Since launching earlier this month, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have sold a combined total of 3.7 million units in the Americas, surpassing Pokémon X and Pokémon Y‘s previous launch-window regional sales record by 85 percent.
Originally appearing on Nintendo’s monochrome Game Boy handheld console, the Pokémon series recently celebrated its 20th anniversary, leading to a resurgence in popularity. Nintendo commemorated the anniversary by launching 3DS Virtual Console versions of the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue games in February, welcoming onetime fans back into its monster-collecting digital realm.
Pokémon’s popularity later reached new heights with the release of Pokémon Go, an augmented reality smartphone app that fills real-world spaces with collectible Pokémon creatures. The app has seen numerous updates in the months since its launch, keeping players hooked with new gameplay features and new Pokémon to catch.
On November 18, Nintendo released its latest generation of core-series Pokémon games, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. Available exclusively for the Nintendo 3DS family of handheld consoles, Pokémon Sun and Moon feature a tropical setting and a small army of new Pokémon, who appear in-game alongside redesigned favorites.
“With these huge sales figures, Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon have proved themselves as two of the hottest video games to buy this holiday season,” said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of sales and marketing. “With great reviews and outstanding fan response, these next iterations in the Pokémon series are sure to please any player in the family.”
Pokémon Sun and Moon players can look forward to new events and features in the months ahead, including global challenges and support for the Pokémon Bank creature storage application.
