Pokemon X and Y were released this weekend and fans showed up in full force to buy them. Nintendo announced today that the games sold a combined 4 million copies on October 12th and 13th.
X and Y hit stores across Japan, Europe and the Americas on Saturday. This was the first global launch in the franchise's history. By combining data from previous games' regional launches, though, Nintendo was able to determine that X and Y are selling 70% faster than the last pair of Pokemon RPG's, Black 2 and White 2.
"The early response to Pokemon X and Pokemon Y not only reaffirms the ongoing passion of Pokemon fans, but also indicates that an entirely new generation of gamers are eager to experience the franchise for themselves,” said Nintendo president Satoru Iwata.
In Pokemon X and Y, players take on the role of a young trainer from Vaniville Town. He or she will journey across the Kalos region in a quest to become the top Pokemon master. They'll start their quest with one of three new starter Pokemon and acquire a collection of others along the way, such as Honedge or Sylveon. Certain Pokemon are only obtainable in one game or another so you'll have to trade with other players to catch 'em all.
The two games provide new ways for players to beef up their Pokemons. Mega Evolutions allow Pokemon to temporarily transform into more powerful forms during a battle. New minigames called Super Training can be used to sharpen these creatures' skills outside of combat. Training bags, meanwhile, will raise a Pokemon's stats over time without any additional effort from the player.
X and Y add to the Pokemon series' long string of successes. The franchise has sold over 245 million copies to date. Five pairs of Pokemon titles have sold over 10 million, and three have sold over 15 million. X and Y will need to sell 17.63 million copies to surpass the current best-sellers, Diamond and Pearl.
Pokemon X and Y launched alongside the Nintendo 2DS. This new handheld is able to play 3DS and DS games but doesn't support stereoscopic 3D. It's cheaper than the 3DS so it seemed like the perfect option for gamers who avoided the 3D handheld to date but still wanted to play X and Y. I'm very curious how many 2DS units were sold this weekend but unfortunately Nintendo didn't share that data today.
Hardcore Pokemon fans also have the option of buying special X/Y-branded 3DS XL bundles. These XL's don't come with copies of the game but feature exclusive artwork modeled after Yveltal and Xerneas, the new Legendary Pokemon.
