Scarlet/Violet Sales Soar, Second Only to Original Pokémon Games

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have achieved remarkable success, becoming some of the best-selling Pokémon games to date. According to Joe Merrick, the webmaster of Serebii.net, and reported by Eurogamer, these two games have collectively sold over 25 million copies. This impressive figure places them just behind Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, which sold 31.4 million copies upon its release in 1996 for the Game Boy.

Scarlet and Violet have edged out Sword and Shield, securing the second spot with 26,790,000 sales, compared to Sword and Shield's 26,720,000. The top five best-selling Pokémon games are rounded out by Gold/Silver and Diamond/Pearl, with sales of 23.7 million and 16.7 million copies, respectively.

Despite their commercial success, Scarlet and Violet received mixed reviews upon launch, with scores that rank them among the lowest-rated mainline games in the series. Fans and critics alike pointed out technical issues, performance problems, and bugs. IGN's review of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet gave the game a 6/10, describing it as "Okay" and noting, "The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished."

Looking ahead, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is slated for release later this year. Set in Lumiose City, the game will explore an urban redevelopment plan aimed at creating a harmonious space for both people and Pokémon. Last October, a leak surfaced online containing undisclosed information about several Pokémon games, including Legends Z-A. In response, Nintendo has recently issued a subpoena to Discord to identify the user responsible for the "TeraLeak."