Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire, the latest handheld series’ entries, have already begun to soar towards the top of the global sales charts.
This couplet, following the precedent set by previous duos, doesn’t look to be slowing down throughout the holiday season either.
According to a report from the Japanese site Famitsu, sales of this combined Pokemon effort have toppled 7.7 million units globally since release. For America, Japan, and Australia, that date was November 21st. United Kingdom trainers received their copies on November 28th.
Opening week units sold stood at just over 3 million, meaning that the opening in Europe, plus the Black Friday rush, added quite a bit to this sales boom.
The Pokemon franchise is one of the more consistent ones in the industry, selling above 10 million copies per duplex of releases with the exception of just one release: Pokemon Black / White Version 2. This fueled some doubts behind Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire as it’s a remake instead of an original title. However, many fans of the series also point out the original Black and White entries as the worst of the series, which may have dampened sales a bit as well. The only other main entries in this RPG brand to not break 10 million units sold were Platinum, Emerald, and Crystal. All three of these titles were “expansions” to the proper releases.
In a time where AAA titles are “forced” onto multiple consoles just to make rent money, Pokemon Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire will be one of the biggest sellers of the year seeing release on just one platform. To be fair, there are almost 50 million 3DS/2DS consoles on the market, giving Nintendo plenty of room to spread one of the company’s favorite franchises.
(Source: Game Informer)
