The Pokémon Company has seen a record financial year, according to industry analyst Dr. Serkan Toto.
A filing in the Japanese government’s official gazette shows sales were up over 70 percent from the previous year to 204bn yen (US$1.6bn), while operating profit was at 59 billion yen (US$460m) and net profit rose 123 percent to 41bn yen (US$320m).
Of course, that’s down to some huge game releases over the fiscal year, including Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon Unite and New Pokémon Snap.
That’s on top of Pokémon Go, the trading card game, and the usual assortment of merchandise.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus sales were particularly impressive, selling 6.5m copies in its first week. We described the game as “flimsy and compulsive – and exhilaratingly new” in our review.
Later this year, the company will release Pokémon Scarlet and Violet that will undoubtedly provide another huge boost in sales.
Fan speculation so far is that it will feature a Spanish setting. Its revealed starters are already proving popular.