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Pokemon Sun and Moon are the fastest-selling games in Nintendo history, in the Americas

Pokemon X and Y, released in 2013, held the previous record.

David Craddock

November 30, 2016 12:15 PM

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Nintendo of America announced Pokemon Sun and Moon, the newest Poke-tandem released on November 18, are the fastest-selling games in Nintendo's history in the Americas.

Sun and Moon sold a total of 3.7 million units—an 85 percent increase over sales of Pokemon X and Y, released in 2013 and the previous record holders for Nintendo's fastest-selling games.

"With these huge sales figures, Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon have proved themselves as two of the hottest video games to buy this holiday season," said Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of sales and marketing in a press release. "With great reviews and outstanding fan response, these next iterations in the Pokemon series are sure to please any player in the family."

All summed up, Nintendo has sold more than 280 million Pokemon games worldwide (as of May 2016) since the 1996 launch of Pokemon Red and Blue for the original Game Boy.

Modojo editor-in-chief Brittany Vincent declared Sun and Moon a collective fresh start for the franchise in her review. "They take the same idea of being a young Pokemon trainer on their first journey and put a unique spin on it that stays true enough to the successful Pokemon formula that it doesn’t feel gimmicky. For those that love Pokemon, Sun and Moon is the best Pokemon adventure to date."

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.