Nintendo wowed the gaming world in February when it officially confirmed a holiday 2016 release of the latest entry in its long running series "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon." Included in that news was the announcement that the games that started it all in America, "Red," "Blue" and "Yellow," would see a re-release on the 3DS eShop, much to the delight of fans.
Though the reception of the 3DS re-release was generally positive, there were some who questioned how a game from 1998 would stack up against newer ones on a whole new system. Granted, "Red" and "Blue" had been re-released once before in 2004, but those re-releases, "Fire Red" and "Leaf Green," were genuine remakes of the first two games, featuring the setting from Gen 1 with Gen 3 mechanics.
Nintendo has put these fears to rest with recent statements that reveal not only have the three re-releases done well, they've downright shattered previous eShop records, setting a new first-week eShop sales record.
"With classic graphics and timeless gameplay, these versions of the original Pokémon adventure are proving to be a popular way for fans to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series," the company said.
Nintendo declined to reveal just how many sales were made, but it did note that this figure includes all three of the re-releases. The company mentions that its sales surpassed those made by "Super Smash Brothers" 3DS during its first week, so at least there is some information to go by. "SSB" 3DS sold 1 million copies during its first week (including eShop sales), so the figure has to be at least somewhat high.
Regardless of the fact that the figure includes all three games, the fact that it could rival sales made by "Smash Brothers" is still quite impressive and is a testament to Pokémon's enduring popularity.
In related news, the newest "Pokémon" game to come out will be "Pokkén Tournament," which drops next Friday for the Wii U. Looking further out, the aforementioned "Pokémon Sun" and "Moon" are slated to be released during the 2016 holiday season. As with every new generation of the series, there are already leaked scans that have begun to emerge depicting the playable characters and three starters - all of which are fake.
In the meantime, the classic titles are available now on the Nintendo eShop for $9.99 apiece. As an added bonus, Pokémon caught in these titles will be available for transfer to later-gen entries, including "Sun" and "Moon," making it easier to catch 'em all.
