Here’s How Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Have Sold Compared To Other Entries

Nintendo has released its 2021-22 Fiscal Year financial results and these include updated numbers for its long-running Pokémon series. 

In the results, Nintendo calls Pokémon a first-party franchise, which some might not consider true since Game Freak, an independent party, develops most of the Pokémon games. However, Nintendo invests heavily in the franchise, and Pokémon games have always been released exclusively on Nintendo consoles. So, it’s hard not to call it a first-party franchise. On that note, Pokémon was Nintendo’s most successful property in the fiscal year that began in April 2021 and ended this past March. 

More specifically, the recent Generation 4 Sinnoh remakes, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, have already sold 14.65 million units, despite just releasing last November. These remakes weren’t the only new Pokémon games released during the 2021-22 Fiscal Year, though. Pokémon Legends: Arceus hit the Switch in January and it’s sold 12.64 million units. 

Even Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield, which began Generation 8 on the Switch back in 2019, had a great year, selling 3.18 million copies. And Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! sold a respectable 1.25 million units as well. 

Serebii.net’s Joe Merrick released an updated chart with the sales numbers of every mainline Pokémon game, which includes the new totals for the remakes, Legends: Arceus, Sword and Shield, and the Let’s Go games. 

As you can see, Sword and Shield continue to climb near the top, coming in second only to the original Kanto Pokémon games. The Sinnoh remakes find themselves positioned almost exactly in the middle of the pack in terms of sales and Legends: Arceus sits near the bottom. It’s important to remember that Legends: Arceus is only a few months old at the time of these financial results and a new start for the franchise, dropping the traditional Pokémon formula in favor of something focused on catching and learning about the Pokémon. 

Elsewhere in the financial results, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to sell gangbusters – 9.94 million to be exact, bringing its grand total up to 45.33 million, making it the best-selling Switch game of all time. The next closest Switch title is Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which has sold 38.64 million. 

For more information about other first-party titles, be sure to check out Nintendo’s financial results. In the meantime, read Game Informer’s Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl review, and then read Game Informer’s Pokémon Legends: Arceus review. Check out the first look at Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, including the reveal of the generation’s starters, after that. 

Are you excited for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet? Let us know in the comments below!