US Pokémon Physical Sales Just Reached Their Highest Annual Total Since The Year 2000

The Pokémon Company enjoyed another cracking year in 2021 with plenty of new releases and success stories to write home about, including this latest little fact regarding physical sales.

The NPD Group’s Mat Piscatella has revealed that in 2021, dollar sales of Pokémon franchise physical software in the US reached the highest annual total since the year 2000. The success was down to last year’s launches of Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and New Pokémon Snap, with continued sales of Pokémon Sword and Shield also doing the business.

Piscatella notes that Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl was actually Switch’s best-seller of 2021 in the US physical market, despite only launching in November.

For the sake of comparison, in the year 2000, Pokémon fans were treated to Pokémon Trading Card Game, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, and Pokémon Gold and Silver on Game Boy Color, Pokémon Stadium, Pokémon Puzzle League, and Hey You, Pikachu! on Nintendo 64, and had just witnessed the launch of Pokémon Yellow (October 1999). It’ll take something pretty special to top that year.

Still, not a bad 2021 for Pokémon, then. And don’t forget, Pokémon Legends: Arceus is now just days away, too!