Scarlet/Violet Outsell All But Original Pokémon Despite Reviews

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have emerged as some of the best-selling Pokémon games of all time. According to Joe Merrick, the webmaster of Serebii.net, and reported by Eurogamer, the combined sales of these two games have surpassed 25 million copies. This impressive figure places them just behind the iconic Pokémon Red/Green/Blue, which sold 31.4 million copies upon its release in 1996 for the Game Boy.

With a total of 26,790,000 units sold, Scarlet/Violet have narrowly outpaced Pokémon Sword/Shield, which achieved sales of 26,720,000 copies. The top five best-selling Pokémon games are rounded out by Gold/Silver and Diamond/Pearl, with sales figures of 23.7 million and 16.7 million, respectively.

Despite their commercial success, Scarlet/Violet received a mixed reception upon launch, earning primarily average to mixed reviews. This makes them some of the lowest-rated mainline entries in the Pokémon series, with fans citing issues such as technical glitches, performance problems, and various bugs. In IGN's Pokémon Scarlet and Violet review, the game was rated 6/10, described as "Okay," with the comment: "The open-world gameplay of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is a brilliant direction for the future of the franchise, but this promising shift is sabotaged by the numerous ways in which Scarlet and Violet feel deeply unfinished."

Looking ahead, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is slated for release later this year. Set in Lumiose City, the game will explore an urban redevelopment plan designed to create a harmonious environment for both humans and Pokémon. Last October, a leak surfaced online, revealing unknown information about multiple Pokémon games, including Legends Z-A. In response, Nintendo has recently subpoenaed Discord to identify the user behind the "TeraLeak."