Thanks to Pokémon, Nintendo 3DS was the best-selling hardware of July

We all know how massive a phenomenon Pokémon Go has been. But does a free-to-play mobile game translate into strong performance for Nintendo’s native hardware platforms and the software that exists on them? If July’s games sales data from NPD is anything to go off, yes, it absolutely does.

In a press release just sent out by Nintendo, the publisher revealed that the Nintendo 3DS was the best-selling hardware in the industry in the U.S. last month. Nintendo attributes this to three factors: the release of Monster Hunter Generations, the price drop for the Nintendo 2DS and the massive buzz around Pokémon Go.

How does Nintendo know that Pokémon deserves a big part of the credit for this? It points out that Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire sold 80 percent more last month than in July 2015, despite those launching in November 2014. Likewise, Pokemon X and Y sold a whopping 200 percent higher than a year ago. Those two released way back in October 2013, and they managed to claim the No. 16 and No. 22 spots in terms of overall software sales in July 2016.

Monster Hunter Generations also deserves some major props for grabbing the No. 1 slot in software sales for July. This action-RPG series from Capcom is often considered super hardcore and fairly niche, but it’s grown considerably in popularity in the U.S. over the last few years. You can read our review of Generations right here.

Nintendo also notes that following the May price cut to the Nintendo 2DS, that iteration of the 3DS hardware has hit lifetime sales of over 2 million units in the U.S.