Pokemon has achieved record-breaking sales figures at retail in the UK throughout 2016, for its Trading Card Game (TCG) and toys from master toy partner TOMY, The Pokemon Company announced today.
NPD figures reveal that the the Pokémon property earned a 285 percent increase in sales throughout 2016 against market growth of 6 percent in the UK toy market as a whole. During the last three months of the year, Pokemon increased sales by 512 percent compared to the 7.7 percent market growth.
The Pokemon TCG managed to surpass the one million pounds sterling barrier during Christmas week. It saw retail sales of £1.29 million for a 733.7 percent increase year-over-year.
“Thanks to the activities celebrating Pokémon’s 20th year, plus the huge impact of our video game releases, interest in the brand has escalated, ensuring figures for TCG and toy sales have been incredible. We fully expect that demand for the product will remain high throughout 2017 as new expansions are introduced to tie in with our new Nintendo 3DS games Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.” – Mathieu Galante, Senior Market Development Manager for The Pokémon Company International,
“We are delighted to announce these sensational figures just ahead of Toy Fair and look forward to talking to our retail partners at the show about ways that we can keep the phenomenal demand going. We are very excited about our first Pokémon TCG: Sun & Moon expansion, which will be released in February.” – Steve Buckmaster Managing Director of Esdevium Games – UK distributor of the Pokémon TCG
“We’re excited to be part of Pokémon’s fantastic achievement. We’re expecting 2017 to be another huge year for Pokémon and we’re looking forward to unveiling two new product lines at Toy Fair London that will appeal to collectors of all ages.” – Camilla MacQueen, UK Brand Manager at TOMY Europe
Source: Pokemon PR
Update: Sold out on Amazon Canada.
Original: Amazon Canada is starting to take pre-orders for the Switch Pro Controller. You can order one for yourself right here.
It’s also worth mentioning that the controller’s price has been lowered on Amazon UK. It’s down from £100 to £65.
Nostatic Software is bringing Candy, Please! to the 3DS eShop on Thursday. To download the game, 259 blocks of free space is required. That amounts to just 32.375 MB.
Kefir Games Studio has been hard at work on Moon Child, an upcoming fantasy survival RPG. Today, the team made it known that Switch is a target platform.
Kefir Games Studio wrote on Twitter:
@Doctor_Cupcakes @phantomliger89 @ContraNetwork_ Thanks for your interest guys. We've planned a release for Switch but can't give a date yet
— Kefir Games Studio (@Kefir_Games) January 24, 2017
You can get a look at Moon Child in its pre-alpha state below. More information can be found on the official website here.
Thanks to ContraNetwork for the tip.
TT Games head of design Arthur Parsons randomly told one fan on his Twitter page yesterday that LEGO Worlds is planned for Switch. That’s despite the fact that Warner Bros. hadn’t actually made an announcement.
Due to a lack of confirmation, some fans were concerned that Parsons may have simply been mistaken. But fear not: LEGO Worlds is indeed set for Switch. A release date hasn’t been determined, but publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment says it’s happening.
Plantera is due out soon on both Wii U and 3DS as an eShop title. Ratalaika Games published a trailer today, which we have below.
First details about Cube Creator DX have leaked out of Famitsu. As translated by Gematsu, three modes are included:
– Survival Mode – Control your avatar and survive the cruel world. New weapons and materials have been added, and the variety of items you can craft have doubled. You can also recruit animals and monsters.
– Creator Mode – Freely create buildings and characters.
– Stage Builder Mode – Create your own stages, and then play those stages. You’ll be able to use a great number of “Gimmick Cubes,” such as dangerous traps and jumping trampolines.
Online support is also in Cube Creator DX. It will be possible to make buildings with other players and publish stages / worlds through the internet.
Cube Creator DX releases in Japan on April 27. It’ll be sold at retail for 2,800 yen, but a digital version will also be available for 1,852 yen.
Earlier today we received news of a new Pokémon game for smartphone devices launching in North America and Europe. Here’s the official launch trailer for Pokémon Duel:
Earlier today, Nintendo made several announcements about 3DS, including new amiibo cards for Mario Sports Superstars. One card will be included with the game itself. Additionally, blind packs of five will be sold beginning on March 24.
The North American amiibo site has now updated with a first look at the new cards as shown above. We also have an image of the packaging image below.
