When it was released last October, Pokémon Legends: Z-A was heavily criticized for its bugs and other visualproblems. Despite the franchise’s unparalleled profitability, real savings are clearly being made on the production of each installment.
According to various reports, Pokémon Legends: Z-A cost only $13 million to develop. Suffice to say that with 12.3 million units sold as of December 31, 2025, this installment quickly paid for itself for Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.
This week, the company aired a commercial during Super Bowl LX. Interestingly, USA Today revealed that a 30-second video shown during the event costs between $8 million and $10 million. Since the Pokémon ad is one minute long, we can estimate that it cost at least $16 million, which is already $3 million more than the budget for Pokémon Legends: Z-A.
Finally, if we add the fees paid to celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Charles Leclerc, and Lamine Yamal who appear in the clip, it’s not crazy to think that the commercial cost twice as much as the game.
This is an interesting take on the Pokémon franchise and its marketing strategy. It’s always fascinating to see how much companies invest in their advertising, especially for beloved brands like Pokémon. Hopefully, the feedback from fans leads to improvements in future releases.
It’s definitely intriguing how marketing decisions can overshadow game development issues. I wonder if the ad’s high cost reflects a shift in how companies prioritize branding over product quality in the gaming industry. It will be interesting to see how fans respond to future releases.