Pokémon Pokopia has reportedly been a huge boon for Switch 2 sales, with the console also outperforming the PlayStation 5 in the UK.
While there’s no denying the Nintendo Switch 2 had a fantastic launch last year, its sales over Christmas time were softer than Nintendo would’ve liked, with it even being reported that the drop in demand has prompted Nintendo to cut back on console production.
This was before Pokémon Pokopia launched in early March, though, which so far looks to have been a smash success, pushing 2.2 million copies in just four days.
Although Nintendo has yet to share updated sales figures, it’s claimed that Pokémon Pokopia has managed to drive up Switch 2 sales by a whopping 154% compared to February, at least here in the UK.
This is according to The Game Business editor Christopher Dring, who adds that the Switch 2 now makes for over 50% of all UK console sales this year, meaning it’s outperforming the PlayStation 5.
Despite the global popularity of Pokémon, Pokémon Pokopia seemed to catch a lot of people off-guard, including Nintendo since it vastly undersupplied physical copies to UK retailers, which is why they quickly sold out.
Expert, exclusive gaming analysis
Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.
Whether or not this same degree of success has been replicated in other markets, such as the US, remains to be seen, but Nintendo should make things clearer come May time when it shares its next financial report.
While a boost in console sales is good news for Nintendo, it can’t rest on its laurels. It too stands to be impacted by the global memory shortages and hasn’t ruled out the possibility of raising the price of the Switch 2, which Sony recently did (again) for the PlayStation 5.
Nintendo has also yet to announce any major releases for the remainder of the year though it’s rumoured that it plans to launch a remake of The Legend Of Zelda: Ocarina Of Time to mark the franchise’s 40th anniversary.
It’s unclear if it will be a Switch 2 exclusive and/or be Nintendo’s big Christmas game but, either way, such a remake would be an exciting incentive for newcomers to invest in the console.
Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source
As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.
Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.
In the interim, Pokémon Pokopia stands to see long-term support with regular updates to ensure players will keep coming back to it, such as adding new pokémon to encounter and items to unlock.
According to Serebii, a time-limited challenge will be available during April Fools’ Day tomorrow, where you can acquire an inflatable balloon that resembles Sudowoodo.
What’s not an April Fools’ gag is the collaboration with Ikea, which has made its own in-game island for you to explore via Pokémon Pokopia’s cloud island multiplayer feature.
It will be available to visit from April 1 until June 30 but, annoyingly, the code needed to access the island will only be shared with those who visit one of Ikea’s stores in Japan. Someone will likely share the code online for everyone to use, though.
Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.
To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.
For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.
