On the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of its flagship franchise Pokémon, Nintendo has officially updated the financial figures for its industry juggernaut. And these numbers are spectacular, cementing the license as a titan of entertainment.
One could have reasonably worried that with a breakneck release cadence and an ultra-aggressive media presence (between its long-running animated series, feature films, and hybrid spinoffs like Detective Pikachu), the general public might eventually suffer Pokémon fatigue. Yet Kyoto’s pocket monsters have proven remarkably resilient, showing they’re utterly inexhaustible and impervious to the wear and tear of time.
Everyone knows that the Pokémon brand is a colossal cash cow for Nintendo, powered by its trading card game, its over-the-top merchandising—from kangaroo-themed underwear to a solid gold statue (yes, really)—and even an entire theme park. Yet faced with Kyoto’s secretive approach to its finances, the public had been navigating somewhat in the dark. But to celebrate the license’s thirtieth birthday, Nintendo officially released jaw-dropping sales figures.
Pokémon stronger than… nearly everyone
The verdict tallies the ledger of a juggernaut, with nearly 60 games to its name, the total sales of Pokémon games now exceed 515 million units worldwide. A titan of a performance that vaults the franchise onto the third step of the historic all-time best-selling video game licenses, right behind the invincible Mario (893.5 million) and Tetris (520 million). The Pikachu crew leaves in the dust giants like Call of Duty (500 million) and Grand Theft Auto (470 million).
In three decades and nearly sixty iterations translated into around a dozen languages, the saga has saturated the charts across every generation of Nintendo consoles. Evidence: the historical ranking of the ten best-selling Pokémon games:
- 1 – Pokémon Red, Green and Blue (Game Boy, February 1996) : 31,050,000 units ;
- 2 – Pokémon Scarlet and Violet (Switch, November 2022) : 28,280,000 units ;
- 3- Pokémon Sword and Shield (Switch, November 2019) : 27,160,000 units ;
- 4 – Pokémon Gold and Silver (Game Boy Color, November 1999) : 23,730,000 units ;
- 5 – Pokémon Diamond and Pearl (Nintendo DS, September 2006) : 17,670,000 units ;
- 6 – Pokémon X and Y (Nintendo 3DS, October 2013) : 16,800,000 units ;
- 7 – Pokémon Sun and Moon (Nintendo 3DS, October 2016) : 16,340,000 units ;
- 8 – Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire (Game Boy Advance, November 2002) : 16,220,000 units ;
- 9 – Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (Game Boy Advance, January 2004) : 16,000,000 units ;
- 10 – Pokémon Black and White (Nintendo DS, September 2010) : 15,640,000 units.
Beyond the video game, the craze spreads with equally spectacular fervor to real-world gaming tables via the sought-after collectible card game Pokémon. The company claims the production of more than 85 billion cards printed, rendered in 16 languages and distributed in no fewer than 90 countries. An expansive ecosystem fueled by world championships, official stores, and a parallel speculative market for trading cardboard cards.
Far from slowing down, the brand’s future is already taking shape on the horizon with the grand leap toward the eagerly anticipated tenth generation. Named Pokémon Winds and Waves, this new duo is slated to officially arrive sometime in 2027 on Nintendo Switch 2. As a nostalgic teaser to tide fans over, the publisher used its latest Pokémon Presents to immediately make available (and monetize) the classic Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen on Switch.
