Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Nintendo’s latest Pokémon remakes, are doing quite well for themselves, according to sales data.
As reported by Japanese-language gaming website Gamebiz.jp, over 6 million copies of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl were sold across the globe during the games’ launch week, which ran from Nov. 19 to 26. Despite the games’ average reviews and divisive fan feedback, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl appear to be selling well in all parts of the world. The total number of copies sold is likely higher too since the industry is now firmly in the holiday sales season and this number only includes launch week sales.
Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s launch week sales rival those of Pokémon Sword and Shield, which also sold over 6 million copies during launch week, 2 million of which were in the U.S. Those numbers made Sword and Shield the “highest-grossing launch ever” for a Pokémon title, according to NintendoLife.
While Nintendo hasn’t made a statement about Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s exact numbers yet, many fans will be curious to see whether it outsold Sword and Shield. The Sinnoh remakes did outsell Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!, whose launch sales were around half of Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl’s.
With another Pokémon game, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, on the horizon, it remains to be seen whether the franchise can keep up these numbers. Arceus has the advantage of being a main-series game developed directly by Game Freak, but it’s also a large departure from the series’ usual style and structure.
