Surprising no one, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl have shot to the top of the sales charts in the UK. Like the originals, Brilliant Diamond is ahead of Shining Pearl, but they still occupy the first and second spots.
Brilliant Diamond alone counts as the Nintendo Switch's biggest launch of the year. Combine its sales with the Shining Pearl version and the double pack and this Pokemon trifecta takes the second biggest boxed game launch of the year, just behind FIFA 22. This is huge for a game exclusive to just one console, as opposed to FIFA which is out on current and previous generation hardware as well as PC.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, despite the numbers - and generally favourable reviews - Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl's launch sales were 26 percent lower than Pokemon Sword & Shield's. Their Metacritic scores don't indicate that the sales difference should be this large - BDSP have critic scores of 77 and 76, while SwSh both have scores of 80. User reviews are more divergent - 6.3 and 7.2 for BDSP and 4.6 for SwSh.
One potential explanation is that Sword & Shield may have benefitted from being the first new mainline Pokemon games on the Nintendo Switch. BDSP sold 13 percent more than Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee, meaning players maybe just prefer new Pokemon games to remakes.
For anyone just picking up Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, we have a complete guide and walkthrough that should answer all of the questions you have about the Sinnoh region.
Switch exclusive Metroid Dread also topped a UK sales record, becoming the series' biggest launch in the UK so far. It's not all good news for Nintendo games, however, as Shin Megami Tensei 5 has already dropped out of the top 40 sales chart in just its second week.
In other Nintendo news, a life-size Lucario plush has taken the internet by storm - just look at how soft it looks, perfect to take to bed... not like that though. Smash Bros. Melee has also gotten its first-ever officially licensed esports circuit in North America.