However, the UCL Gaming Society says that “it’s not a huge surprise that the game is breaking records”.

Pokemon Sword & Shield have shot straight to number one on the UK sales charts, despite controversy and calls for a boycott. What’s also impressive is that while Sword landed at No.1, Shield came in at No.3 and the dual-pack of both games at No.7. The release is the eighth generation of the Pokémon video game series, having released worldwide on November 15, 2019.

Sword and Shield has become the fastest-selling Nintendo Switch game(s) in the world with over six million copies sold worldwide. The game has also become the third biggest launch for Nintendo in the UK, behind Wii Fit and Pokémon Sun and Moon, making it the biggest Pokémon release since 2016. 

 

The game is also only the second in the series to have been released on the Nintendo Switch after Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee!. Sword and Shield is further credited for having increased the sales of the Switch console. Gameindustry.biz reported that sales for the Switch hardware in the UK rose more than 30% during the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield, with 90,000 Switch consoles having been bought in the UK this month alone. 

When asked about the latest Pokémon game, Daniel Alberg of University College London’s gaming society said, “it’s not breaking many records apart from sales on the Switch console”. When asked further to comment on the success of the latest Pokémon outing, Alberg said that it was “not a huge surprise” that the game is breaking records in terms of Switch sales as Nintendo has “recently merged their two rivalling platforms”. This is due to the multipurpose nature of the Nintendo Switch console, which can be operated as a home console on television or used portably as a mobile game console. 

The game has been marred with controversy even before it was released. The decision to not include all pre-existing Pokémon led to criticisms from the community, with the word ‘Dexit’ becoming trending online; a combination of Pokédex (the in-game encyclopedia of Pokémon) and Brexit. Additionally, fans have voiced their displeasure over issues surrounding a general lack of development regarding the graphics and game modes. In defiance of criticism from fans, the game’s sales have not seen any form of slump that would indicate a boycott has been successful. 

 

Pokémon Sword and Shield is set in a fictional region that was greatly inspired by the UK, perhaps a reason as to why it has sold so well in the United Kingdom.