Pokémon Scarlet and Violet overcomes Sword and Shield’s sales record in just eight weeks compared to its predecessor taking three years.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have bested Sword and Shield‘s sales record.

As reported by GameRant, the Generation IX games have sold over 6 million copies in Japan since its November 2022 release date. In just eight weeks, Scarlet/Violet overcame the sales record of its predecessor, Sword and Shield. It previously took the Generation VIII titles three years to achieve the same milestone. In only three days, Scarlet/Violet sold more copies than the lifetime sales of Pokémon Legends: Arceus. To put the games’ popularity into perspective, Scarlet/Violet conquered Animal Crossing: New Horizons in eight weeks on the number of units sold in the same time frame.

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In addition to its groundbreaking sales, Scarlet/Violet became the most pre-ordered Pokémon game in the franchise’s history. However, some fans criticized the unimpressive North American pre-order bonuses for the Generation IX games. Takahito Utsunomiya, the chief operating officer of The Pokémon Company, announced 440 million Pokémon-related games have shipped since the release of Pocket Monsters: Red and Green in 1996.

Released on Nov. 18, Scarlet/Violet is set in the Spain-inspired Paldean region. With their release, the Pokémon franchise reached a significant milestone of over 1000 pocket monsters since the inception of the video games. Despite everything Scarlet/Violet has achieved, the games are not without their array of glitches that can either benefit players or creep them out. For example, a previous duplication bug allows players to copy items and even the legendary duo, Miraidon and Koraidon.

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On Jan. 12, The Pokémon Company announced that a software update, Update Ver 1.2.0, would arrive for Scarlet/Violet in late February. This version will “include bug fixes and add functionality.” However, The Pokémon Company does not cite any future performance improvements but informs players to “look forward to more details.” As of writing, it’s unclear if the mentioned functionality additions refer to Scarlet/Violet‘s potential integration with storage service Pokémon HOME. Usually, it takes Pokémon games around three months to connect with Pokémon HOME.

Along with a future patch, Nintendo issued an official apology for Scarlet/Violet‘s technical problems on Dec. 1. “We are aware that players may encounter issues that affect the games’ performance,” the statement on Nintendo’s website read. “Our goal is always to give players a positive experience with our games, and we apologize for the inconvenience.” Nintendo also unveiled the 1.1.0 update, but the patch mainly fixed glitchy music during battles with the Elite Four and Top Champion in the Victory Road path. It also introduced Season 1 of Ranked Battles in addition to resolving “other select bugs.”

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are available now exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

Source: GameRant