With over 96 million copies sold, the Nintendo Switch surpasses the Game Boy to become the most successful Pokemon console ever

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That's a lot of Pokemon

Pokemon Let's Go Eevee key art
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

The Nintendo Switch is now the most successful platform in history in terms of Pokemon games sold, overtaking the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo recently updated its sales data for the Nintendo Switch's lifetime software sales. 96 million copies of Pokemon games have been sold on the Nintendo Switch since the console first launched in 2017, compared to the 75 million units of Pokemon games that were ever sold for both the Game Boy and the Game Boy Color back in the day.

It's interesting to note which games make up the 96 million Pokemon games sold on the Switch. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have sold a combined 24.92 million copies to date, while as of March 2023 last year, Pokemon Legends Arceus had sold through 14.83 million units. These both pale in comparison to Pokemon Sword and Shield, which as of September 2023 had sold over 26.02 million copies.

Of course, all of these individual games still haven't sold more copies than the original Pokemon Red and Blue, which at the last count in 2018 had sold more than 31 million copies around the world. Pokemon Gold and Silver, meanwhile, managed to sell 23 million copies worldwide by 2010, while Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire sold a combined 16.22 million copies as of 2023.

What's more, the Nintendo Switch still has one more new mainline Pokemon game to come: Pokemon Legends Z-A, which is slated to launch next year in 2025. Of course, Nintendo is also set to unveil the Nintendo Switch successor before March 2025, so it's a possibility that the new Pokemon game could arrive before Nintendo's new hardware.

Check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a look ahead at how the rest of the console's new releases will shake out.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.