Very good news. Curious to see how it will perform in Japan. They are significantly more conservative with the games they like. Arceus did less than 30% of the debut of Scarlet and Violet 

I'm expecting less than 600k units for Switch 2 version (Let's Go did 660k with a bigger install base). Most of its sales will come from Switch 1 version. I'll guess slightly above 1.1 million for Switch 1 and above 500k for Switch 2 for a combined total of 1.6 to 1.7 million 

Part of the differential will be that physical makes up a smaller portion of game sales now than it did when Arceus came out nearly 4 years ago.

Hopefully we get numbers from Nintendo before their Q3 report in February.

It makes sense for Legends Z-A to decline from Arceus. A console's software selling potential naturally declines with age, it usually peaks at the midpoint of the system's lifespan and then gradually declines, and that decline should be pretty high for the Switch 1 now that its nearing 9 years old.

And Switch 2 is a new system that has yet to grow its user base enough to offset the big decline of the Switch 1 active user base as of yet.

Due to Nintendo consoles following the traditional console model with a focus of traditional games and not GAAS, it means it will follow the same pattern as all historical consoles. The reason why PS4 and Xbox one are still relevant is because of stuff like CoD and EA Sports games and other live service releases. While Switch 1 will behave more like Wii, Gamecube, N64 and other systems that would decline fairly hard and fast in software sales after they got replaced.

You won't see many people still playing Switch 1 in 5 years time like you see many people still playing PS4 and Xbox one today for that same reason.

Also worth noting is that this decline is nearly identical to that of GoY. Some are saying this is a reflection more of a plight of consumers from physical to digital, but I still find this a little difficult to believe. My best guess as to what happened here is that bigger launches correspond with bigger consumer excitement: Whereas Arceus was hotly anticipated, Legends Z-A had a less-than-pleasant reveal-to-release cycle. Not nearly as bad as other Switch Pokémon games, but definitely not as clean as Arceus.

In any case, Arceus did not have a holiday season of sales & gen nine was revealed within weeks of launch; meanwhile, Z-A has a full holiday season + NS2 bundle to benefit from, in addition to gen ten not being revealed at least until February 2026 (so it’ll have a few extra months over Z-A.) In all, I continue to believe Z-A will outperform Arceus though may not by as muxh as originally thought.

I've got a running theory that people who really love physical copies are avoiding the Switch 2.  I can say, personally, that I really like having a physical copy of games, and I also have no interest in the Switch 2 at the moment.  Game Key Cards are major deal breaker for me.

I expect a large digital:physical ratio on the SW2 version.

Thank God! This is good news heheh

good to see Pokemon fans revolting

normally I would buy it, but not this time, even the bad designs crossed the line for me

meanwhile, Digimon looks like pure art

20 Million by summer 2027

Remember that UK and Europe in general aren't very "Nintendo friendly". We will must see how America and specially Japan will react.

I don't know if Z-A is a bad game, but at least visually it's not even a bit appealing. I saw a guy playing it on Switch 2 and it could easily pass for a PS3 game in my eyes.

Yeah, let's all remember that Scarlet and Violet became the best selling games in the series, and those were... Scarlet and Violet. Strong contenders for the worst, most lazy, most "they are not even trying anymore" games in the whole series. If Z-A underperforms, all that will tell Gamefreak is to never try anything new ever again.

The switch 2 is way more powerful than the switch 1 and Pokémon still looks like this.
I really love Nintendo but HATE Gamefreak.
I hope that the next Pokémon exclusively on switch 2 will be way better