Ever since Pocket Monsters: Red and Pocket Monsters: Green launched in Japan in 1996 (Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue in the US in 1998), it seems like the craze has barely died down for the franchise all about catching them all. After 15 years and six main sequels (not to mention the direct sequels and spin-offs), Pokemon is just as much the powerhouse it has been since its release.
With the latest games in the series, Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, released over this past weekend, the franchise demonstrated just how popular it really is. Earlier today, Nintendo issued a press release lauding Pokemon X and Pokemon Y for selling more than four million units in its first two days across the US, Asia, and Europe. The staggering launch numbers are thanks to Pokemon‘s first-ever worldwide launch, as well as the franchise staple of releasing two different versions at a time.
Nintendo also released lifetime sales for previous Pokemon games. The most successful entries were Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl with 17.63m, followed by Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon Sapphire with 16.22m, Pokemon Black and Pokemon White with 15.42m, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver with 12.67m, and Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen with 12m.
[via Destructoid]