Press Release: Nintendo Pokémon game sets sales record
From Video Game Morgue File
Nintendo Pokémon game sets sales record
Fastest Selling Handheld Game in U.S. History
REDMOND, Wash. (Oct. 13, 1998) – With consumers snapping up more than 200,000 copies in its first two weeks of availability, the Pokemon video game for the Nintendo Game Boy video game system has become the fastest-selling portable game in American history. The Pokemon game craze, centered on the collection, nurturing, training and interaction among 150 different small monsters with unique skills, first hit store shelves Sept. 28th. Its arrival followed a 30-month period of fanatical popularity in Japan, where more than 10 million Pokemon games have already been sold. "Initially, we anticipated a steady build in popularity right up to the holidays, but that isn’t the case—it’s hugely popular right off the bat," says Peter Main, executive vice president, sales and marketing, Nintendo of America Inc. "Fueling the sales frenzy is the fact that the collaborative and care-giving aspects of the game are as popular among girl players as boys." The entire initial production run of 400,000 games has already been shipped to retailers, and with reorders, Nintendo expects sales of up to one million units by year-end. For comparative purposes, sales of 200,000 units in the first two weeks constitute a rate at least three times the levels achieved by previous Game Boy best sellers based on Mario or Donkey Kong characters. Aside from a top-rated cartoon show currently running daily in nearly every large U.S. television market, the popularity of Pokemon will be expanded by production of a full line of toys and merchandise by Hasbro; a massive fourth quarter promotional campaign with KFC; a trading card line from Wizards of the Coast, comic books, home video and more. Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 1 billion video games worldwide, and has created such industry icons as Mario, Yoshi, Zelda and Donkey Kong. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its best-selling home video game systems, including the 64-bit Nintendo 64, the hand-held Game Boy, and the 16-bit Super Nintendo Entertainment System. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in North America, where more than 40 percent of American households own a Nintendo game system.
