Pokémon Sun and Moon set big new sales record for Nintendo

Pokémon Sun and Moon have become Nintendo’s fast-selling titles ever in the Americas, less than two weeks after release. The games have sold 3.7 million copies across those regions since they launched earlier this month, the company announced in a press release.

The company noted that the sales figure is 85 percent larger than that of its previous record-holders. Before Sun and Moon, Pokémon X and Y were Nintendo’s fastest sellers of all-time, moving more than 4 million units worldwide in their first weekend alone.

Nintendo has gone on to sell more than 15 million copies of X and Y since 2013, when the games hit Nintendo 3DS. Pokémon series sales have always dominated handheld consoles, with Nintendo DS’ Pokémon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum as the high-water mark; combined, they’ve sold more than 25 million copies.

Sun and Moon generated a lot of excitement leading up to launch. The games became Nintendo’s biggest pre-orders in history, and a pre-release demo was the Nintendo 3DS eShop’s most downloaded ever.

The games have been met by critical acclaim, with our review praising it as a successful reinvention of the 20-year-old franchise.