Pokemon Let’s Go “Most Significant Launch of the Year”, Says NPD Analyst

Pokemon Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee! are now out on Nintendo Switch. In spite of a lot of early misgivings with the game, and the direction it goes in, the final product does not disappoint, and is a great game that seems to have enjoyed some well deserved success right away as a result, based on the UK charts.

In the US, too, it seems like the game is tracking well, based on early metrics. NPD analyst Mat Piscatella posted on Twitter, noting the “positivity” around Pokemon Let’s Go, pointing out that it seems like it will end up doing better than expected, and calling it the “most significant launch of the year”. In a year that saw major launches such as Red Dead Redemption 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, that’s no small statement.

But there’s a reason for that, of course. In terms of actually expanding the scope of the console gaming market, nothing will match Let’s Go, assuming it succeeds. If it succeeds, it will become the first game ever to successfully graduate mobile gamers to console gaming—which alone makes it a more significant game than any other from that perspective.

Whether or not it will achieve that remains to be seen, but for now, early signs are encouraging. Pokemon Let’s Go is out now, exclusively on the Nintendo Switch.

From a total gaming market outlook perspective, Pokemon: Let's Go is the most important launch of the year. Initial response being as positive as it is, well, it's a bit of a relief to be honest. We'll have to see how sales go through December and into the new year.

— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) November 18, 2018