Japanese Charts: Surprise, Surprise, Pokémon Legends: Z-A Leaves The Competition In The Dust

I’ve gone from liking to loving Z-A very quickly. Glad to see it succeeding. I think some of the negativity is overly harsh.

I'm happy to say my previous apprehension about the game was absolutely NOT justified. The game is a blast. I've spent the past few days shiny hunting Gallade and now that I've got it I'm excited to get back into the fantastic gameplay loop.

Glad many are getting to play this!

My predictions were right for once 🤣

The attach rate of 25% for Z-A on Switch 2 is crazy.

@UpsideDownRowlet Same, same. I was really critical about this based on promo material, but the moment I started playing it, I realized I'd been dead wrong in my assumptions. It's such a good game.

Xbox Series S......48 sales

Impressive that the Switch 2 version has sold as many copies as it has relative to the install base.

Frankly, I don't know why they even bother with these ambiguously marketed "Nintendo Switch 2 Editions". They should have better communicated that these Switch 2 releases are capable of running on both generations of hardware (with additional features/content/performance boosts on the newer hardware), and just sold the game as a single SKU.

I get the desire for a cheaper SKU, but I'd have been really annoyed if I had bought the Switch 1 versions of all of these games only to realise later that I could have just bought the Switch 2 copies and essentially had both versions in one (I already got burned with Super Mario Party Jamboree, whose Switch 2 Edition was announced within a week or two of buying iton Switch 1).

I still have concerns, reservations, and criticisms, some of which won’t change, and some are rightly deserved, but I’m glad to see the general public sentiment is that it’s a really fun game. I’ll look into picking this one up once I’ve finished with Sword.

Edit: I only started playing Sword recently, which was right after I finished Legends Arceus, which was right after I finished Scarlet, which I only even bothered with once the performance issues were mostly fixed on the Switch 2.

What, you mean people aren't listening to the angry men who appear all over my YouTube recommendations and they're just preaching to an online echo chamber who don't play Nintendo anyway?!

Wow, nice Pokémon sales and a nice boost for the Switch 2 sales. Really happy with Z-A.

Nice to see Nintendo is winning again this week. I had to say Nintendo got their holiday stuff all warm up and ready to go ahead of everyone else this year. It's looking like Switch and Switch 2 holiday is going to be a big win for the House of Mario again. Everything that needs to be ready for the Black Friday and Christmas holiday are already at store shelves right now: Switch 1 & 2 consoles, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, the Super Mario Galaxy Collection, Donkey Kong Bananza, Pikmin 4, soon to release Kirby's Air Rider and Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, Fire Emblem Engage, Mario Kart World and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Complete, Xenoblade Chronicles X, and all the Switch 1 ports of games.

obviously pokemon z-a was going to sell extremely well regardless of any complains in fact pokemon violet and scarlet sold over 4 million its first 3 days in japan and we know what kind of a bad state that game was in when released..

Donkey looking like a chump here next to Legends ZA on Switch 2 lol

All I'm gonna say is that I'm happy to see that the game is doing well. Hopefully well enough to keep doing these spin-offs. The game failing in sales wouldn't result in "better Pokemon games" as people think. It would simply send them the message that these side projects aren't popular.

@Suketoudara 10/10 art piece very realistic and deserves a frame

Well....
PS5 sales has dropped this week. 😟
Don't worry, maybe getting a little bit better next week.

Great game, so deserved. Also Switch 1 installed base is larger so that it's outselling the Switch 2 version isn't really shocking.

@ShadLink 79 on metacritic is not anyone idea of a great game..

@johnedwin I very often disagree with critic scores. I have played the game a lot this week, and am loving every minute of it.

@itsapossum I don't think Palworld give a crap about you either once they trick you into their world. The difference between Palworld and Pokémon is that Pokémon knows to redeem themselves if they ever done you wrong, Palworld may succeed right now but once they screw you too, then they screw you permanently. You won't ever get back what you lost once that happen.

@ShadLink usually metacritic scores on right on target when a game is great it will get a high score if it is bad it will get a low score if it is in the middle it will get a middle score..a great game has to be past 85 on metacritic..

But Switch 2 is supposed to fail...nooooooooo!!!!

Tbh, I've had a really good time with Legends ZA. The battle system is great and the story is solid.

@roy130390 it is unfortunate the takeaway when something doesn't sell is normally, "People don't want this!" And companies stop making them, but you're right. It won't be "Hey, let's improve on this!"

Pokémon’s a beast.

@Anti-Matter hopefully will sell better next week with that big upcoming outright game coming on the ps5 with 4K 120 fps buttery smooth Grafix 🤭

This comes as no Surprise for Dedicated Pokémon players. Also for those Hatin on Pokémon get a clue this is a KID Game. That should be your first hint all your Hatin has some anger management issues.

So Z-A (S2) immediately sells almost twice the total sales for DK.

@johnedwin Metacritic just aggregates critic scores, and critic scores are subjective. A great game is a game I think is great. I don't care if the majority of critics agree with me.

Nier on the PS3 has a 60-something on metacritic, but I think it's a great game.

It's so weird to say "no, you cannot say this game is great because critics in aggregate scored it 6 points lower than what can objectively be considered great!!"

@spiderman0616 My thoughts exactly. Glad to see the haters drowned out with the sales.

@Bobb nobody talks about those merits, and if you do, you have lower standards than the average gamer. At least that's the narrative everyone is pushing. Either that or they're obsessed with wasting their time on wall textures, Mega Starmie or *Emma's )).

Anyway, My holiday 2025 game will be Metroid Prime 4, but I'm considering making space for Legends Z-A. However I still need to play Legends: Arceus.

*Ummm, can I do that? If not, let me know and I'll gladly edit my comment.

I just wish I had more time to play it

I was on the fence about Z-A. Wasn't sure if I even wanted to get it. Then I caved, said 'heck it', and did.

The experience has been positive. There are some things that could have been improved upon or done a little better. However it really has shown to be a fun game.

The side missions alone are pretty fun just to be able to see how crazy and whacked out the humans in the Pokemon world can be, as well as the interactions between humans and Pokemon. The 'regular' Pokemon games would do wonders with incorporating side missions like that.

Mario Kart 8 is not in the top 10? #Nintendoomed!

But seriously, these are GREAT numbers. I have NEVER played a Pokemon game other than Go on my Mobile. But they hype around this one kind of makes me want to give it a try.

People that play, is this something I can pick up and play for 15 minutes at a time, or is it more of a sit-down and play an hour or two at time game?

@johnedwin I've loved games that gotten 40s and 50s on Metacritic, and hated games that got 80s and 90s.

It's just how the critics review those games, and they are often different from my opinions. My own score for the game is currently at 9,48/10, but not finalised until I finish the main story.

@roy130390 Big Brother got you real good lol.

I didn’t expect Switch 1 to be that much higher than Switch 2.

Many Switch2 owners also buy the Switch1 version of the game even if they do not play that.

At over 200k Switch 2 sales for the week, would this be the second biggest sales week for the Switch 2 in Japan since launch?

ZA is going to have legs and I am so happy for it!!

On a side note, Bananza should be selling so many more copies than that!!!

Officially fed up with internet discourse around new Pokemon games and how partisan people are getting about the brand. I haven’t bought it but I can’t even watch a balanced review on its flaws and merits without every comment calling the reviewer a hack for “defending” it at all. Or repeating the same superficial complaints about textures we can all see in the trailers - in other words, not impressions from playing the game.

I didn’t enjoy Scarlet/Violet and wasn’t pleased that it broke sales records, so I’m not going to cheer the success of this game I haven’t played. But at least the comments here aren’t just calling Pokemon players sheep ad nauseum.

Genuinely surprised Switch 2 version is selling as much as it has given not only is it more expensive but Pokémon has a more casual fan base so I thought not many would get new console just for it.

Interesting to see how Nintendo plays with Gen 10 if they do like XY, SwSh and still go ahead and release a budget version of Switch 2 before it releases assuming next fall

@kal_el_07241 Hopefully the flock of folks getting a Switch 2 for ZA might give other games a try in a couple months especially since DK has a demo too

@charliecarrot
I could not believe what you said about Nier's Metacritic score was true. The music alone makes it a masterpiece. Thank you for reminding me to listen to my own taste in games.

@Bats1234 “ Pokémon has a more casual fan base so I thought not many would get new console just for it.”

Pokémon does not even remotely have close to a casual fan base at all. I have coworkers in the my office that not just own 1, but 2 of every Switch Pokémon consoles bundles, owns 4 copies of every new generation game, bought both editions of ZA Switch 1 and 2, and hunts Pokémon cards…. My friend at work also only bought his Switch 2 for Pokémon. He has literally not touched anything else on the platform. Once that release, the Switch 2 will be back in box till gen 10… I also know 5 other people who also just bought a Switch 2 for ZA.

And while I may be more interested in play other games on Switch 2, ZA was literally 100% the reason o purchased the console.

DK really is struggling in Japan.

@AverageGamer Well that's what I meant by casual, someone who doesn't many games apart from Pokémon and maybe a few other things. That's why I am genuinely surprised people are happy to drop 400 on a console solely for Pokémon.

Unless I have completely misjudged how much of a system mover Pokémon is that high price is not as off putting

@johnedwin How is "Generally Favorable" not good? It's absolutely crazy that hate for the game has gotten to the point people are trying to argue a green metacritic score is now not considered good.

@Suketoudara Great work, missing an AI-generated Mario with demon teeth, though.

@Lord Last week you said you were not sure that Japan will go nuts for ZA as they didn’t for Arceus...

Pretty amazed the Switch 1 version is doing better myself but that's some big numbers across both formats.

@johnedwin you’re clutching at straws there, lighten up big son

@SillyG rightly or wrongly (wrongly) Nintendo is pricing the switch 2 edition higher. So, therefore, Nintendo see value in releasing 2 skus as they feel Switch 1 only players shouldn't be paying extra.

More than two Wembley Stadiums of Switch 2's selling in a week is nothing to scoff at.

@AmplifyMJ it's the same with him in every Japanese charts page...

Always disappointing to see mediocrity get heavily rewarded, but it is what it is.

These numbers seem a bit off BF6 only 9k sales for ps5. BF6 sold 7mill in it's first 3 days of release , and is estimated to be 1.6mill sales on ps5 alone. Anyways feeling sorry for the people who bought pokemon.

How many of those used the upgrade pack?

@NolandC These are Japanese chart numbers. From what I recall, FPS historically don’t do well in Japan.

@UmbreonsPapa Ahh yeah, that makes sense. I completely ignored the Japanese part lol. Thanks.

Figures for Pokemon this time around seem kinda low?

So safe to say this was another success for Pokemon.

@axelhander "celebrating mediocrity" - another bingo card classic. Thanks.