Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are the Switch's second-biggest launch in Japan

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The remakes are behind only Animal Crossing: New Horizons after three days

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl
(Image credit: The Pokemon Company)

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl sales after three days in Japan have it second only to Animal Crossing: New Horizons. 

As spotted by NintendoLifeaccording to new sales data from Japanese publication Famitsu Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl have sold roughly 1.395 million copies in the first three days on sale. This makes the two remakes the second fastest-selling Nintendo Switch games ever in Japan, behind Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which absolutely dominated with over 1.880 million sales across three days.

If you ever thought the selling power of Pokemon was on the decline, this proves quite the opposite, in Japan at least. It's interesting to note that Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl actually haven't surpassed the first three-day sales of the original Pokemon Diamond and Pearl, which shipped a combined 1.586 million copies back on the Nintendo DS.

The two remakes have beaten out Pokemon Sword and Shield, however. The two latest original games in the Pokemon franchise managed to sell a combined 1.364 million copies across Japan in the first three days on sale, putting it just about 30,000 copies lower than the Diamond and Pearl remakes. It'll be interesting to see how the international sales of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl play out in relation to Nintendo's other smash-hit titles.

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl might be remakes of the original Gen 4 game, but they do offer some brand new content for players. Ramanas Park is a new creation that comes about after you've defeated the Elite Four and the Champion, and acts as an endgame area where you can seek out and defeat Legendary Pokemon. If you want a little something extra to do after you've been crowned the new champ, this is it.

You can check out our full Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl impressions for what we made of Nintendo's two new remakes.

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.