U.S. Catches 1 Million Copies of Pokemon Black & White

[Tom Goldman]

U.S. Catches 1 Million Copies of Pokemon Black & White

The latest entry in the Pokemon series has sold more copies than you can shake a Pikachu at in a single day.

In addition to selling Pearl [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/108277-Pokemon-Black-White-Surprises-Nobody-By-Selling-Amazingly-Well] in the United States. Nintendo has announced that Black & White combined sold more than 1 million copies in a single day.

For comparison's sake, Diamond & Pearl sold 780,000 copies on their release date in April 2007. SoulSilver [http://www.amazon.com/Pokemon-HeartGold-Version-Nintendo-DS/dp/B0038MVFYC/ref=sr_1_4?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1299621107&sr=1-4], DS remakes of the Game Boy Color's Pokemon Gold & Silver, sold close to 2 million copies in the second half of March 2010.

According to Nintendo, Pokemon Black & White are the fastest selling Pokemon games of all time with 1.08 million copies sold on March 6, 2011. The new versions enticed fans by introducing 3D environments, triple battles, 150 additional Pokemon, and online features [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107373-Nintendo-Encourages-Plugging-Pokemon-Into-the-Internet].

Black & White seem to have hit at the perfect time. The DS has multiple, affordable models available, from DS Lite to DSi XL, leading to what Nintendo says is an install base of 47 million in the U.S. Until the 3DS takes over, and starts to become more affordable [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/107068-Nintendo-Reveals-US-3DS-Pricing-and-Release-Date] (though $250 isn't that bad), it's looking like Black & White will be cash cows for Nintendo.


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[Celtic_Kerr]

You know, I was actually thinking of picking this up, but we'll just have to see...

The numbers are interesting though. I guess people are refreshed that it's back to a 150ish pokemon structure, rather than having nearly 1,000

 

[Luke5515]

Loving it so far, and I can see how it put up these numbers.
Still playing it on my original ds though...

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Infinite TM use automatically makes this the best Pokemon gen yet. Proud to have purchased both. Playing White for Reuniclus.

 

[Uber Waddles]

So far, Im not enjoying this generations Pokemon as much as previous ones. That being said, Im not far into the game yet. Still a great game!!!

Doesnt suprise me at all though. This game really polishes the changes of the last few generations. And while I might not like the art-style for some of the new ones, some of the designs are brilliant, same with type

 

[ShadowsofHope]

Infinite TM use automatically makes this the best Pokemon gen yet. Proud to have purchased both. Playing White for Reuniclus.

QTF on the above. Infinite TM's are a freaking godsend. No more anxious decision making on which pokemon the TM should go to and lose any other chances for that entire playthrough!

Also, this isn't surprising in the least. By far, the triple battle's alone and the 3D environment of Black and White are game selling enough for a Pokemon series.

 

[llamastorm.games]

When i played Diamond and Pearl i disliked them and i thought i was growing out of the series but every little thing Black and White has added has revitalised the series, the extra battle speed especially and the more believable protagonists who actually have a decent motive this time round, and even the seemingly ridiculous looking and named pokemon are refreshing because unlike the last games where you'd just look for some originals to add to your parties this time you are forced to try out new pokemon and tactics so this time round i feel more invested in the new pokemon themselves.

Infinite TM use automatically makes this the best Pokemon gen yet. Proud to have purchased both. Playing White for Reuniclus.

QTF on the above. Infinite TM's are a freaking godsend. No more anxious decision making on which pokemon the TM should go to and lose any other chances for that entire playthrough!

Also, this isn't surprising in the least. By far, the triple battle's alone and the 3D environment of Black and White are game selling enough for a Pokemon series.

Also this^^
I originally thought the triple battle system was ridiculous, pushing it a little, trying to build on double battles but getting out of control with 3 which i thought would be to much.
When i had actually experienced one however i had to admit i was impressed, they were very well designed. Even a relatively weak opponent if you'd battled him one pokemon at a time can deal serious damage to your Pokemon and they can become very tactical affairs. I would like to see a whole gym or something done in this style.

 

[aashell13]

'$250 isn't THAT bad'
I distinctly remember when I was a kid, i thought $100 was a princely sum and $250 might have been the GDP of a small country somewhere...
I never bought a GameBoy of any stripe mainly because they were too expensive and my parents steadfastly refused to buy one for me.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

i hope that the pokemon hype passes by, and few to none remembers it... like the Charleston...

 

[icyneesan]

Inb4 everyone bitches that they dont like the new pokemon.

Oh wait. Thats already happened EVERYWHERE. Screw you every video gaming forum on the internet.

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

I'm not surprised, it's actually a really good game. I was a little disappointed with Diamond and Pearl, I still liked them, but it wasn't as great as I wished it could've been. I'm not that far in, but I'm having a blast so far! I never thought I'd say this with a pokemon game, but the visuals are really good.

Also, does anyone else think that the grunts of Team Plasma kinda look like the knights from The Holy Grail?

 

[Brainst0rm]

That HeartGold and SoulSilver sales statistic seems out of place - the other two statistics you cite are first-day sales, while they HG/SS statistic covers a vague latter-half-of-March period. I'm presuming that the first day sales were not available and moving on with my life.

 

[Supp]

You know, I was actually thinking of picking this up, but we'll just have to see...

The numbers are interesting though. I guess people are refreshed that it's back to a 150ish pokemon structure, rather than having nearly 1,000

If you enjoyed any of the past pokemon games, I highly recommend this one. The plot is actually worth paying attention to, the level design is creative, the user interface has come light years since the first gem (shoutout to the touch pad), the music is actually amazing and the end game content is long enough that the game really gives you a reason to get pokemon higher than 50-60. Of course some of the pokemon designs are off, but for the most part they're decent to awesome.

And it only costs $40! That's so much more reasonable than console and pc games.

 

[DJDarque]

I'm not surprised by these numbers at all. Like everyone else, I'm happy for the unlimited TM use. I'm also surprised how much more challenging it is than the earlier generations. At least for me, I've always been able to gety party pokemon a few levels ahead of the other trainers and coasted that way through the rest if the game. They leveled the playing field in this generation a little more and it definitely makes for more of a challenge.

 

[Super Toast]

i hope that the pokemon hype passes by, and few to none remembers it... like the Charleston...

Why? People enjoy the series. Nothing wrong with that.

OT: Looks like I'll be adding $60 to the Nintendo money pile tomorrow. (Damn Aussie release dates)

 

[godfist88]

this was to be expected. i'm still not getting it though.

 

[Space Jawa]

This just in: The latest main Pokemon titles are a hit.

Also, Water has been discovered to be wet, air is breathable, and The Pope is Catholic.

 

[BabyRaptor]

Totally loving White. My only complaint thus far is the grinding required. But they made that easier this time around too, so...It's a small complaint.

And really? A gym with walls made of honey? That's just cool beyond words.

 

[mattaui]

I couldn't resist grabbing them off Amazon for preorder, since they were giving a $10 credit for each one. Since I was going to be ordering a red DSi XL, I just waited until the credits hit and ordered that, too. I've got no interest in anything 3D related, certainly not enough to pay a premium for it, but it's time to upgrade the old DS Lite.

I haven't even cracked the plastic on the games that got here yesterday, but given what people are saying about how many pokemon there are, does that mean there's no more trading from older versions?