Recent Pokémon sales prove nostalgia is still king

Zachary Roberts Published 12/05/2026

To celebrate the 30th anniversary, Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen were brought to the Nintendo Switch (and Switch 2) library. This came a little over a week before Pokémon Pokopia dropped. The former is a decades-old game, and the latter is a brand-new title unlike anything in the franchise. Additionally, it’s a real Game of the Year contender.

Yet, early sales reports indicate that the two are selling very similarly. FireRed and LeafGreen do have a few days of extra sales, but the comparison is still notable. Nostalgia is king, and the fact that Pokopia isn’t blowing those ports out of the water is proof.

Why did Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen match Pokopia?

Even though gaming is arguably at its peak, nostalgia is a powerful force. Everyone’s excited whenever a remake of an old but popular game is announced. That was the case with Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, despite some unhappiness that they were still costing $20 individually.

The Pokémon Company didn’t add anything to the games. They are simply ports, making them the exact same game you played on the Game Boy Advance, but on the Nintendo Switch now. Yet, they’ve sold about as well as Pokopia.

Image credit: Stealth40k on X

Pokopia is this year’s biggest surprise hit. It’s sitting at an 89 on Metacritic, which is the highest for the series, edging out Pokémon Y. Pokopia’s user score is a strong 8.7, too. It’s a hit by all metrics, but it is struggling to truly outpace games from 2004.

FireRed and LeafGreen have been out for one week more, but it is still impressive (or disappointing) that they have the same sales mark of over four million as Pokopia. That game is as new and unique as it gets, but people clearly crave old, familiar titles.

There is a perception that people just don’t have the Switch 2, which Pokopia is exclusive to. However, as of April 1, the console had sold almost 20 million units in less than one year. It’s not exactly a niche platform, so people do have it and have access to Pokopia. They just also really want to play the FireRed and LeafGreen ports.

Feature image credit: The Pokémon Company

Zachary Roberts

About Zachary Roberts

Zachary Roberts is an avid gamer and writer that loves to merge those things. He’s been featured on VideoGamer, ComicBook, New Leaf, Esports.net, and Sportskeeda as well as the On SI network of Sports Illustrated and Sporting News.

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