With Japanese retailers reporting that each version has sold out, it would appear that Pokémon X and Pokémon Y are performing just as favourably in the UK as well.
Nintendo UK’s marketing director Shelly Pearce recently shared that pre-orders “are tracking higher than we were with Black and White,” and that’s no mean feat.
Pokémon White alone became the second fastest-selling DS game across the country behind Professor Layton and Pandora’s Box, with Black and White’s combined sales amounting to not only Nintendo’s third biggest launch in the UK but also the largest opening weekend for the series in its history.
“3DS has been the biggest selling console over the summer,” Pearce explained to MCV. “We’ve seen some real momentum, which is great. It is going to be by far the biggest selling hardware this peak, really driven by those key franchises we have coming.”
She continues, “While we know there are massive [Pokémon] fans out there, there are a load of young boys, my son included, who do not know Pokémon, because they weren’t around when it was massive. So we’ve done an education piece explaining Pokémon to newbies.
“In terms of pre-orders we are tracking higher than we were with Black and White. But I imagine it will also be a constant build over time.”
Pokémon X & Y launch worldwide for Nintendo 3DS on October 12th.
Pokémon X & Y UK pre-orders surpass Black & White
