It’s been another stellar year for the Pokémon Company, with Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl outselling expectations, Legends Arceus having opened up new opportunities, and the reveal of Scarlet and Violet, the main series generation-nine title, eliciting excitement in series fans the world over. It should be no surprise then, that this year’s data from the monolith media company suggests a lucrative twelve months.
In fact, the Pokémon financial reports tell the tale of an unbelievable year, with a whopping profit of ¥41 billion (roughly $322 million) in the twelve months ending February 2022, and net sales up a staggering 70%. This means it’s the second time in a row that the creators of Pikachu and pals have seen record profits, further staking the claim for Pokémon as one of the world’s leading media franchises.
Despite the fact that as a privately held organisation the Pokémon Company aren’t obliged to share their numbers, you can see some of the details thanks to some deep diving from gamebiz.jp. The important takeaway is that even with some backlash towards the art style of BDSP, or the lack of online features in Legends: Arceus, fans are still out buying the software in their droves.
Due to the continued success of BDSP and Legends Arceus, as well as the mammoth sales that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet will undoubtedly bring the company, we can only expect to see more records smashed this time next year. Plus, with the Legends series now firmly in the mind of franchise fans, plenty of games left to remake, and the sixth anniversary of Pokémon Go to celebrate, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more new titles announced to further bolster the IP owner’s financial success, but there’s no guarantee.
If you already can’t wait to contribute to another stellar year of sales by picking up the ninth-generation of Pokémon on launch day, be sure to check out our guides to Pokémon Scarlet & Violet release date speculation, Pokémon Scarlet & Violet starters, and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet differences.