In the past couple of weeks we've seen all four current-gen main Pokémon titles on the 3DS return to the UK top 40, evidently riding the Pokémon GO wave and perhaps benefitting further from the Summer school holidays. This GO effect is now being acknowledged in Japan, too, even if the app is actually showing a little less form in the country than in some Western territories.
While Pokémon GO is still leading the download and grossing charts in territories like the US, in Japan it's already been nudged down to between 2nd and 4th in the last few days. There's been some surprise at this, especially as the app has been such an irresistible success in the West.
In any case, the Niantic-developed app is being credited with boosting sales of 3DS entries in the series in Japan. Famitsu's data shows that weekly shipments of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire have more than doubled since the app arrived - from 3,241 units in the first week of July to over 8000 units per week since (as an extra note, a demo of the game has also just been added to the eShop in Japan). Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. analyst Hirotoshi Murakami has stated that GO's momentum and worldwide impact should boost sales of Pokémon Sun and Moon. Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa is quoted as saying related sales have gone up globally and that "the mood has become positive ahead of the November launch."
There's little doubt that the success of GO has given the already powerful brand a shot in the arm - it'll be interesting to see how Sun and Moon perform when they hit stores in a few months.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 17
I want more NX rumours!
Not only ORAS. But eBay sales of ALL retro Pokemon game on N64 and gameboy, prices have gone through the roof.
@DESS-M-8 You serious? That's going to make retro collecting more difficult for me >_>
Yeah, it will effect Sun and Moon sales. Big time, I'm guessing. Having the running promotions while Pokemon GO is still hot and in the news is going to raise awareness and desire. It will be very hard to measure, though, so these currents bumps will be the best indicator of the "halo" effect of the mobile game. Or is it the rising tide lifting all boats thing.
@DESS-M-8 damnit.
@DESS-M-8 I paid like 60 bucks for a used copy of Platinum at a used game store, it's affecting every Pokémon game everywhere lol
Gen 1 baby! Yeah!
The power of Pokemon GO is real.
I went into my local gamestop to purchase a "New" 3ds xl this weekend and did not see any on the shelf.
I asked the employee if they had any "New" 3ds xl systems for sell. She said no and I was shocked. I thought for sure they would have some inventory in the back.
I asked her if it was because everybody was picking one up to play Sun and Moon this fall. She said that was some of it but it was mainly people coming in to buy the systems so they could play their old DS games again after the Pokemon Go craze.
Well this delay in purchase gave me time to think things over some and I have decided to just purchase a 2DS instead but it appears backwards compatibility and nostalgia can be a system seller.
But see, I think it'd have been much smarter and safer to have released Sun and Moon around the same time as Go. Because the initial hype would be guaranteed to transfer over like it has for Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.
Months later, when Sun and Moon come out, whose to say that some of the people who've jumped on the bandwagon late won't simply turn around and say; "Already got a pokemon game. Why should I care about the new one?" While I'll admit many might still be just as into pokemon as they are now thanks to Pokemon Go, the reality is that the hype will die down and Pokemon's current mainstream presence won't last. I.E. Pokemon Sun and Moon's sales won't be as good as they 'could' have been if they were released much earlier.
Unless of course Nintendo pushes these games like there's no tomorrow. But we all know what they're like in that regard.
Was at a game shop the other day and all of the Pokémon DS/3DS titles have shot up in price. Pokémon Diamond is now £35, and Omega Ruby is £45! ;-; That's a lot of money for 2nd games which aren't even rare...
I really think that ORAS droped the ball, I love ruby and saphire but the remakes are pathetically easy, At least the post game was...decent.
If anyone genuinely wants an old Pokemon game, just wait, because the price will go back down to what it was.
Nice, but why buy a game that will be 100% obsolete within a few months?
@AVahne
Don't see how it will be 100% obsolete. Global link is being shut down, but features like wonder trade and the pokemon bank will still work. XY/ORAS will be succeeded by Sun and Moon, but will still retain relevance.
Old PKMN games always hold their value on the second-hand market. Glad for the influx of sales for Ninty!
Nice for Nintendo! But they probably already are gamers in some capacity (I mean, out of Free to play games), because a Free to play user certainly won't buy a expensive handheld (they already have a phone and tablet) and pay 45 Euro for a game. That's not how the world works!
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