Pokémon Legends: Arceus sales news is continuing to flow in. Yesterday, it was reported that Pokémon Legends: Arceus had the fourth-best launch of any game in the series. Now, the game has taken down another Nintendo hit, Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Animal Crossing was a monster hit for Nintendo in 2020 but its week one sales have been surpassed by Pokémon Legends: Arceus in the UK.
UK sales figures are typically released before other countries so this is the first look at how Pokémon Legends: Arceus is faring. The figures released so far only include physical sales so there could be further changes when digital numbers are factored in. Even so, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is the second best-selling Nintendo Switch game of all time. If Pokémon Legends: Arceus continues to outpace it in other countries it should become at least the best-selling Pokémon game on the Switch. Currently. Pokémon Sword and Shield combined hold the number five spot on the all-time best-selling Nintendo Switch games ranking. That also makes it the current best-selling Pokémon game on the Nintendo Switch. Pokémon Sword and Shield sold a combined 22.64 million copies while Animal Crossing: New Horizons has sold 34.85 million. It’s unlikely that Arceus will close a gap of 12 million units but the current statistics are incredibly exciting for Nintendo.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a completely new direction for the series. Nintendo and Game Freak have thrown out major staples of the Pokémon series with Arceus. In doing so, the companies have created a Pokémon game that takes a huge step forward for the franchise. If the early sales figures from the UK are replicated around the world, it will validate the risk that Game Freak has taken. Pokémon Legends: Arceus could be a whole new starting point for the franchise that has largely stayed the same for almost 30 years.
