Despite controversy, Pokémon Sword and Shield broke a Nintendo sales record

Nintendo sold 6 million copies of Pokémon Sword and Shield, the company announced Thursday morning. It’s a number that’s broken Nintendo sales records, meaning Sword and Shield are “among the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch games of all time.” In the U.S., more than 2 million copies were sold “in the first two days” after its launch.

It’s the “highest-grossing launch of any Pokémon game,” Nintendo said.

Sword and Shield were released for Nintendo Switch on Nov. 15 after a tumultuous lead-up — game information started to leak in early November, first with evolutions for starters Grookey, Sobble, and Scorbunny, and then the full Pokédex.

Ahead of Sword and Shield’s release, a hashtag started to trend in America: #GameFreakLied. Pokémon fans upset about what they saw in the leaks — which evolved into full-on gameplay videos — said they’d boycott the games. Furor over a culled Pokédex continued to overwhelm the pre-release narrative of Sword and Shield.

Despite controversy, Sword and Shield made an impression with Pokémon fans as clips continue to go viral across the internet. The sales numbers tell a similar story.