Japan Sales Week 46 Media Create/Famitsu/Dengeki - November 12-18, 2018

[zorg1000]

SuperNova said:

NoCtiS_NoX said:
This thread SMH.
OT:
Am I the only one disappointed with Pokemon Let's Go sales? The hardware is fantastic but Pokemon is underwhelming IMO. It's not bad but not great either.
It's still a Pokemon game. I won't try to sugar coat it even if I am huge Pokemon fan. Japan is where it should do monstrous numbers. Maybe trying to capture the Go players was not really a good idea but for what it's worth. It's just an okay sale. Hopefully it will have legs.

Maybe it's just me, but I've been under the impression that Go was a bigger craze in the West than in japan and also lifted western Pokemon sales siginficantly more, at the launch of Sun and Moon. I seem to recall specifically people saying that Pokemon already had petty much maximum market reach in japan and didn't have much growth potential, compared to the west. That's why Go, while still a hit, wasn't the phenomenon it was in the west and also didin't lift core-title sales much.

Japan already loves and buys core pokemon titles, they didin't need a more casual experience to be roped back by nostalgia.

Now the WW numbers seemingly confirm that theory. The Let's Go games seemingly managed to covert some Go players to the console, with them achieving solid sales despite part of the hardcore fans skipping over it. The sales also overwhelmingly came from the west, where the bigger Go audience seems to be.

Despite all that I think the game will have good legs. It has great word of mouth with even hardened fans of the series appreaciating it for what it is and does and bein pleasantly surprised.

On top of that, Pokemon has been steadily declining in Japan for the last decade or so.

Mainline

D/P (2006)-6.04m

B/W (2010)-5.66m

X/Y (2013)-4.40m

S/M (2016)-3.82m

 

Remakes

HG/SS (2009)-3.96m

OR/AS (2014)-3.15m

 

Direct sequel

B2/W2 (2012)-3.16m

US/UM (2017)-2.48m