Pokemon is obviously a big deal, but if you told me that Pokemon X & Y was going to be the fastest selling Nintendo game Australia has ever seen, I would have laughed in your face. But it’s happened. It’s real. In its opening weekend combined sales of both games were over 100,000, completely shattering sales of the previous Pokemon release, Pokemon White & Black.
It’s strange. The stars have aligned for X & Y. White & Black was released on a console with a larger install base, but there’s a real sense that X & Y is the ‘real deal’, that it’s the biggest and best Pokemon release in a generation. On an anecdotal level, I’ve heard from so many lapsed gamers that have been inspired to go out and buy a 3DS or a 2DS just for this game.
And it seems like Nintendo has also underestimated the demand. X & Y was sold out at many retailers, and Nintendo Australia has committed to stepping up and getting more stock into the country starting from this week.
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15 responses to “Pokemon X And Y Is Nintendo’s Fastest Selling Game In Australia Ever”
It’s funny how pre-X & Y street passes were dominated by Animal Crossing, but now it’s all X & Y. It’s like every single person who has a DS is playing Pokemon.
I bought one to play it. And then I bought Fire Emblem and Castlevania.
Unfortunately the upcoming next-gen consoles have meant that I haven’t had spare cash for Pokemon.
My spotpass is the same – filled with happy Pokemon gamers.
I never thought of it that way. SpotPass must really suck when everyone has the game you want.
Especially when sometimes it goes: “5 out of 6 people you passed have played Pokemon X! Would you like to check it out on the eShop?” That’s gotta feel bad.
Who distributes first party games for them? The same company that was featured in the Saint’s Row 4 stock story?
Pokemon Y is currently the only game I have for my 3DS, which I bought two weeks ago. I was so worried about Pokemon being sold out that I actually bought the game itself two weeks before I got the 3DS. My paranoia paid off, because by the time I bought the 3DS at my local JB-Hifi, they had sold out of Pokemon.
I bought my 3DS XL just for this game.
I bought a 2DS for it. No store in Westfield Chatswood had a copy of the game left a week after launch – though all were more than willing to sell me a 2DS. After trying nearly 15 different stores (your targets, big w, myer, dj’s, JB, toys r us, etc) a tiny EB in Chatswood Chase had a few copies left – and I got one of them. I couldn’t believe it was so hard to get a hold of.
– Oh, and the queues in that tiny EB were apocalyptic – everyone was asking for the same thing. At least 8 people of the 15 or so in front of me asked for a 2ds aswell as X/Y – with the rest just asking for X or Y.
i’m pretty sure its their fastest selling game world wide, not just in australia.
It’s not really that surprising. This is the first entry in the series in a long time with a big significant change, namely the first fully 3D Pokemon adventure.
I, too, am one of those people who got a 3DS (the limited Pokemon X/Y red/blue one) in anticipation for this game. Some of the incentives were that I hadn’t played Pokemon since Gold/Silver/Crystal, and there are some promising games that I want to play on the 3DS system in the future.
I bought Kingdom Hearts and finished it in the two weeks leading up to X/Y release, just ordered the new Legend of Zelda game, and I suppose I’m looking forward to the new Monster Hunter 4 and Super Smash Bros. games coming out next year. And so, in that way, I kind of make buying a 3DS a fair investment, although I guess I would’ve also settled for buying it just for Pokemon…
It doesn’t hurt that it has the DS games behind it as well. It doesn’t seem like it would add much to it, but there’s a world of difference between playing a DS game on an original DS and a 3DS XL. If they start re-releasing GBA and DS titles as eShop downloads (with a modification here and there to allow use of the wireless functionality) it’d be about one of the best game libraries in existence.
I hate to think what I’d pay for PokeBank compatible versions of FireRed, LeafGreen, Ruby, Emerald and Sapphire. =P
Can anyone remember when a game has been sold out for a number of weeks?
There’s just something about Pokemon that gives me strange determination to do things I would never even think off if it was another franchise.
Such as shiny hunting, after 840 eggs hatched (many many hours through many days) I finally got my shiny Ralts. Was it worth it? Hell yeh! As well as many other things such as spending a long time catching multiple of the same Pokemon just to get the right nature and breeding for IV’s.
It just never gets old to me even after 15 years.
I feel the same in most aspects, but 840 eggs!?!? Impressive 🙂 Seriously, Pokemon has stuff in it that would turn me off some games, but it’s jsut such a masterfully done series 🙂 I actually had to pre-order my copy due to lack of stocks, this Thursday I will finally get my hands on it! Bit of an inconvenient time, as AC 4 arrives for PC that (pre-ordered) and I’m off camping that weekend, all with exams coming up (exercise in self control :P)
what I find surprising is that this means enough people owned a 3DS (or bought one with X/Y) than previous generations did the GB/GBC/GBA/DS
Mate got a 3DS XL just for Pokemon X. He called up so many places to find it. Thankfully EB let him price match.