Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the second biggest Pokémon launch of all time | UK Boxed Charts

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is the latest video game to post huge launch sales in the UK.

It is the biggest boxed game launch of the year, with opening week sales up 4% compared with FIFA 23 (the previous biggest).

In fact, in terms of units, it is the second biggest Pokémon launch of all time, behind Pokémon Sun and Moon on the 3DS. Sun and Moon arrived during a period of huge interest in the series following the release of the smartphone game Pokémon Go (way back in 2016)

According to GfK, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet actually generated more money during its launch week compared with Sun and Moon. The average selling price was £35 for Sun and Moon compared with £48 for Scarlet and Violet.

Note: This data is purely boxed retail data. Download figures are not available for Nintendo games.

The Violet version accounted for 52% of sales, while Scarlet accounted for 42%, and the double pack featuring both games made up the remaining 6%.

Scarlet and Violet's first week sales are 25% bigger than the previous 'new generation' Pokémon release, Sword and Shield, which launched on Switch in November 2019. It's also 70% bigger than last year's Diamond and Pearl remakes and 56% bigger than January's Pokémon Legends: Arceus

The launch of Pokémon has also boosted sales of Switch consoles, GfK says. Switch hardware sales rose 62% week-on-week, led by the OLED model. It is the biggest week of the year so far for Nintendo Switch console sales.

Pokémon takes the headlines just a week after the huge launch of God of War: Ragnarok on PS4 and PS5. Sony's game drops to No.4 this time after a sales fall of 73% week-on-week.

Last week's other new release, Sonic Frontiers, drops from No.4 to No.10 due to a 64% fall in sales.

There was one other new release in the charts: The Dark Pictures Anthology: The Devil In Me, which debuts at No.16. The Bandai Namco horror title actually sold a little better than last year's House of Ashes.

Elsewhere, a number of PlayStation games jumped in sales due to pricing activity at major retailers. The Last of Us Part 2 re-enters the charts at No.18 due to a deal that saw the game drop below £10. Spider-Man: Miles Morales re-enters at No.26 (sales up 292%), Gran Turismo 7 is back at No.30 (sales up 228%), and The Last of Us Part 1 returns at No.38 (sales up 454%).

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