[Japan] Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! sells over 650 000 units at launch, Switch over 180 000 units

Today, Famitsu shared an early sales report for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee!, which was released worldwide last week (on November 16th). They usually only do so for games that sell over 1 million units, or major releases like a new Pokémon game.

Famitsu reveal that Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! sold over 650 000 units during its first 3 days on the market, in Japan: 664 198 units to be precise. This number includes all versions of the game: Let’s Go, Pikachu!, Let’s Go, Eevee!, but also the download cards, the bundles with the Poké Ball Plus accessory, and the units from the two Nintendo Switch bundles (basically, only digital sales are not included, since Famitsu do not have access to that data).

Famitsu point out that’s it’s the second best debut for a Nintendo Switch game, right behind Splatoon 2 (which sold about 670 000 units at launch). This is definitely a promising performance ahead of the holiday season, especially as word of mouth seems particularly positive. In fact, Famitsu expect sales to expand as we head into the holiday season.

However, it’s clear that Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! has the worst opening for a mainline Pokémon game in a long while. There’s several reasons to explain this:

• the game is significantly more expensive than previous Pokémon games;
• the console it’s on is also significantly more expensive than any other Nintendo handheld, and its userbase is still limited;
• it’s yet another remake of the first Pokémon game (though this time, it’s based on Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition instead of Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Green version), a game long-time fans are already pretty used to (especially with the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console re-releases, in 2016);
• the stronger focus than usual on casual fans definitely led more “core” fans to skip this game.

However, as mentioned above, the game seems to have really strong word of mouth, so sales are expected to remain strong. And with the holiday period just around the corner, there’s no doubt the game will reach 1 million units way before the end of the year. The real test for it will be 2019, once the holiday season over. We can safely expect it to keep selling at a steady pace until the next mainline entry (releasing in late 2019) is revealed (most likely not before May at the earliest).

The release of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! / Let’s Go, Eevee! had a really positive impact on Nintendo Switch sales: they topped 180 000 units (180 585 units to be precise, which is more than 3 times better than during the previous week), though that’s not entirely due to Pokémon: the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate bundle was also released on the same day in Japan.

Click here for more Japanese sales data!

Source: Famitsu