Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has quietly broken an age-old record for the Pokémon franchise that has stood against the winds of time for three decades—showing there’s plenty of life in the old dog yet.
Ever since the franchise was first introduced in Japan in 1996, Pokémon Red and Green has been unchallenged as the best-selling Pokémon game in the country. But Pokémon Scarlet and Violet has now snatched that record.
As reported by Serebii on Nov. 18, Scarlet and Violet has sold over 8.3 million units in Japan to surpass Red and Green and become the country’s best-selling Pokémon game. Western sales are likely to break the same record held by Red and Blue.
Scarlet and Violet’s success may come as a surprise to many, considering the stuttering problems that haunted the game at launch. Following the arrival of the two DLCs, problems can still persist at times, but the high sales numbers of the Nintendo Switch will have certainly helped.
DLC for Scarlet and Violet is not included in those numbers, which only incorporate base game sales. But their release will undoubtedly have led to a push, particularly given that every single starter and legendary is available to clash.
Those additions to The Indigo Disk essentially act as a swansong for the Nintendo Switch era ahead of the release of its successor next year. However, it’s understood that Legends: Z-A, the next release scheduled for the Pokémon franchise, will launch on both consoles.
Scarlet and Violet made some big changes to the standard Pokémon formula. The game features a fully open world and several story quests that can be completed in any order. This moves away from the franchise’s standard gym formula of the past 30 years.
Those changes followed from Legends: Arceus, a game that stands as a jewel in the cap for the franchise following its own open-world mechanics, but despite being regarded as the best Pokémon game by many, it too has been eclipsed by Scarlet and Violet.
