Change in Sales

Pokémon

Description: For the first time since the series debuted on the original Gameboy eleven years ago the newest edition of a mainline Pokémon game outsold its immediate predecessor. Even more impressive is that Diamond/Pearl are still selling over 10,000 copies a week more than three years after their release, meaning the percentage increase from last generations games is continuing to climb. So what has allowed Pokémon Diamond/Pearl to break the trend and actually sell more than the games did last generation? Are the games better this generation than last generation, or is it because of the massive install base of the DS, or something else? Read on to find out what we decided.

When we are currently talking about a ~11% increase in software sold this generation compared to last it is undeniable that the ~42% larger platform size compared to last generation has something to do with it.  It is only logical that because the DS has been more successful than the Gameboy Advance that one of Nintendo’s most defining handheld franchises will have also seen an increase.

You can see that the Gameboy Advance Pokémon games have the lowest sales of the franchises’ main titles, and the Gameboy Advance is also the least successful of the platforms that a Pokémon title has been released on. The Gameboy Advance sold ~80 million units, compared to the ~118 million for the Gameboy/Gameboy Color and ~113 million for the DS so far.

One other factor that may have played a small role in the popularity of the franchise this generation is the added number of non-main series Pokémon releases this generation.

The number of Pokémon remakes and spinoffs has doubled this generation, it is possible that these additional games with their different gameplay mechanics introduced more people to the Pokémon franchise and now they are also buying Diamond/Pearl. Although it is just as likely that the number of spinoffs this generation is hurting the sales of the main series titles, as fans of the games have more choices for getting their fill of Pokémon. Either way the impact of the spinoffs is probably minimal compared to the increase in install base of the DS relative to the Gameboy Advance.

There are a couple of other factors that may have played a minor role in the increased sales of the games this generation. Diamond/Pearl were slightly better received by critics than Ruby/Sapphire (metacritic score of 85 compared to 82). Also with Pokémon Diamond/Pearl Nintendo introduced Wi-Fi multiplayer to the franchise for the first time. For a game that is all about collecting and trading this was a big added feature and may have had a slight impact on the increase in sales, especially for extending the sales life of the game.

Considering the relatively small increase of ~11% (even though that is nearly 2 million copies), I think this a rare instance when the increase in sales can be summed up pretty simply by looking at the increase in the install base of the platforms.  All three regions have seen increases in Nintendo’s handheld sales this generation, and all three regions have seen slight increases in Pokemon sales this generation, which makes sense because it is Nintendo’s most successful handheld franchise.

That is my take on it, here is what the VGChartz community thought.

MetalGearSolid_4ever - “Pokémon is, undoubtedly, Nintendo's ultimate handheld system seller. Considering the popularity of the DS compared to the Gameboy Advance, it’s no surprise that Diamond/Pearl increased in sales compared to Ruby/Sapphire.  When people think of Nintendo, they think Mario and Pokémon.”

SmokedHostage – “Pokémon just has a slightly larger fanbase now. I've seen some who enjoyed the Gameboy games come back for with these games. The addition of Wi-Fi Play and the DS's larger userbase doesn't hurt its appeal either.”

SuperiorX99 – “Bigger userbase. Some would say marketing and an expanding fanbase however, the userbase really did a big number to increase its sales numbers.”

That’s it for today’s Change in Sales article, thanks for reading and look out for another one next week. Until then head on over and vote in the most recent Sales Battle of the Day thread looking at Gears of War vs. Gears of War 2.