The controversies surrounding Pokémon Sword & Shield since launch have seemingly done little to affect the enthusiasm for the games in the United Kingdom, as the release of the latest Pokémon games caused a spike in the sales of Nintendo Switch consoles in the region.
Nintendo has positioned Pokémon Sword & Shield as the big holiday titles for the end of 2019, especially since Animal Crossing: New Horizons has been pushed back to 2020. It's no coincidence that Nintendo released a portable-only version of the Nintendo Switch within the same vicinity as the latest Pokémon titles, as it's cheaper than the regular models of the system and the games are associated with handheld consoles.
The Pokémon games have already done incredibly well in the United Kingdom, to the point that they have also caused a drastic increase in the sales of Nintendo Switch consoles. According to GamesIndustry.biz, the Nintendo Switch saw a 30% increase in sales during the release of Pokémon Sword & Shield, with the system selling over ninety-thousand units in November.
Surprisingly, it's not the Nintendo Switch Lite that is seeing an increase in sales in the United Kingdom, but rather the regular models of the system with improved battery life. It seems that Nintendo might have miscalculated the interest in a portable-only Switch as the perfect system for a new Pokémon game since one of the biggest draws of Pokémon Sword & Shield is the ability to play them on a TV.
Nintendo has a revival of its fortunes in the United Kingdom, as the Nintendo Switch and its games have been well-received in the region following the anemic response to the Nintendo Wii U. The future of gaming seems to be heading in the direction of streaming services and the mega-powerful systems that Microsoft and Sony are working on, but Nintendo and Game Freak are still making bank from Pokémon games on systems with comparatively weak hardware.
It seems that the general gaming public had no issue with the removal of the National Dex or the other issues with Pokémon Sword & Shield, if they even knew about them in the first place.
Pokémon Sword & Shield are available now for Nintendo Switch.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz