Post ContentNintendo has to convince the largest install base of existing Switch users (150m units sold and counting) to buy the Switch 2. (Image credit: Nintendo)
Nintendo said on Thursday it has sold more than 2.2 million copies of “Pokemon Pokopia” in the four days since launch as the game’s popularity helps offset fear about Switch 2 sales momentum.
Industry observers have fretted that the Switch 2 lacks high-profile games to drive sales, with spiking prices for memory chips also driving market concern about impact on profit margins.
The new life simulation game, a spin-off from the mainline Pokemon series, has been widely praised and has a metascore of 89 on review aggregator Metacritic.
The game, in which players control a Pokemon who transforms a wasteland by tilling fields and building houses, is a “stealth hit”, Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a client note.
“Pokopia serves as a critical software catalyst, accelerating adoption for the … (Switch 2) hardware install base by capturing the lucrative non-gamer demographic,” he wrote.
Nintendo previously attracted a wide range of consumers with island life simulator “Animal Crossing: New Horizons”, which become an escapist hit during the COVID-19 pandemic and helped drive sales of the original Switch console.
“Fans of that franchise have been waiting for a new entry for seven years now, so ‘Pokopia’ is scratching that itch for them in the meantime,” said Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games consultancy.
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Nintendo extended the lifecycle of the original Switch by releasing a series of high-profile games including two major entries in “The Legend of Zelda” series.
“To really ignite sales, Nintendo still needs a release on the levels of a new 3D Mario,” Toto said.
