Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Dominate Japan’s Sales Charts For Three Consecutive Weeks

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are the first renditions in the 9th-generation Pokemon games. The franchise opted for an open-world approach, encapsulating a slew of new Pokemons in its enthralling world. The game was widely praised for its story and the open world but incurred backlash for moderate visual and performance issues.

Nevertheless, the negativities have failed to stand in the way of critical acclaim. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have sold millions of copies, achieving numbers thought unlikely in a few days. As per the latest Famitsu report, the ninth-generation mainline installments have dominated Japan’s retail sales charts for the third week in a row.

Major Rundown

• Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have reached a new high, topping all the other contenders in weekly Japan’s physical sales charts for the third week consistently.
• Both the games have sold a staggering amount of 310,235 copies for the week ending December 4th.
• Splatoon 3 continues to top the second spot on the podium, struggling to climb its usual first spot.
• The 9th-generation Pokemon games will likely continue to top the retail charts in Japan for the next few months.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have outsold Splatoon 3 and other entries by a mile, selling a total of 310,235 physical copies in Japan for the week ending December 4th. The alluring RPGs have topped Japan’s retail charts continuously for the last three weeks, dethroning Splatoon 3 as the usual entry to overshadow all the other titles.

The numbers are only expected to reach the moon for the alluring Pokemon games since they are a well-sought commodity in Japan especially. The title has also sold like free lemonade all over the world, overshadowing other prevalent names like God of War Ragnarok and FIFA 23 without much trouble.

Meanwhile, the highly-popular Splatoon 3 sold 38922 new copies last week. Splatoon 3 had dominated Japan’s retail charts, managing to outsell Bayonetta 3 at one point during its peak. The game would climb the first spot in Japan’s physical sales every week until Pokemon Scarlet and Violet came along.

The retail sales of both mainline Pokemon titles stand at a prominent 3,424,806 copies sold for the Nintendo Switch since its inception. The number is barely below Splatoon 3’s total copies sold, which stands at a stellar 3,446,399 units sold for the portable thus far. 

The recently released Mario + Rabbids Galaxy Battle holds third place in Japan’s retail sales for the last week, which managed to sell 17647 copies during its first week. On the other hand, Minecraft‘s Nintendo Switch version has managed to climb the charts to occupy the fourth place, selling barely over 11 thousand copies.

On the hardware side, Nintendo Switch dominated over every other console like usual. The handheld has marketed over 152,000 units for the week ending December 4th. The PlayStation 5 family sold over a decent 25,000 units, and in contrast, the Xbox Series family has sold 1,854 pieces, respectively.

Both consoles continue to face stock issues in Japan, but they will likely get better as the giant conglomerates resolve the stock issues. Recently, Jim Ryan stated that the PlayStation 5 supply chain issues are resolved in Asia, specifically in Japan.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are riddled with performance and technical issues that should not have been there upon launch. The developers have created a delightful open world but failed to fully realize it, leaving most of its potential to be lost.

In other words, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet are franchise’s both the franchise’s best and worst Pokemon games. Nintendo is issuing updates to address the issues, but it remains to be seen whether future patches will help Pokemon Scarlet and Violet find their lost allure.

What are your thoughts about Pokemon Scarlet and Violet topping Japan’s physical sales charts for three weeks? Do you think the 9th-generation Pokemon games’ sales have been affected by performance issues? Do let us know your opinions in the comments below.

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