Whenever a new mainline Pokemon game rolls around, you can expect not one but two versions of the same game to hit the shelves. That’s a sales decision that was made with a primary goal in mind–to give Nintendo’s iconic plumber Mario a run for his money.
During an investor Q&A this week, Nintendo veteran Shigeru Miyamoto spoke about a meeting he once had with Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri, who joked that the only way to beat Mario Kart in sales was to sell two copies of Pokemon to each consumer. Miyamoto says this was one of the reasons why the first Pokemon game was released as Pokemon Blue and Pokemon Red, which is a tradition that was continued since then with most mainline games.
“That is one reason why Pokémon started with both Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue,” Miyamoto said. “I believe that new ideas are born precisely because of people like him, who challenge themselves to surpass what came before.”
These Pokemon games typically offer exclusive Pokemon for players to collect, and as of Pokemon Silver and Gold, two distinct legendary Pokemon that can only be found in their respective games. Of course, trading Pokemon is a big part of the experience as well, and recent games have made the process of completing your Pokedex easier thanks to advances in online connectivity. There are still fans who are completionists at heart and will buy both versions of a Pokemon game, with Nintendo even selling two-packs to cater to player demand.
This year marked the 30th anniversary of Pokemon, and while a new Generation 10 game wasn’t released, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet did get a Switch 2 upgrade that greatly improved the game on the new Nintendo hardware. Pokemon Legends: Z-A was also released, and it saw players return to Lumiose City for the first time since Pokemon X and Y on the Nintendo 3DS.
In the business department, Nintendo has reported that it has sold 10.36 million Switch 2 units as of September 30, and Mario Kart World has sold 9.57 million units so far. The company also revealed that 84% of Switch 2 owners previously owned a Switch 1 console, and while it’ll still sell the older console, Nintendo will focus on the Switch 2 going forward.
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