Pokemon Game Sales up 220 Percent in 2000

Nintendo is preparing for another record-breaking holiday season this year, as its latest figures indicate that sales of Pokemon-related merchandise is up 220 percent over last year. Nintendo projects sales of over US$3 billion for the year 2000 alone. To fuel the fire of the franchise's popularity, Nintendo is releasing four new Pokemon videogames, a feature film, and hundreds of new Pokemon-licensed products for companies ranging from Kellogg's to Kraft Foods. To date, over 65 million Pokemon videogames have been sold worldwide.

"The popularity of Pokemon continues to amaze the industry, which is evident by the incredible anticipation for the movie sequel, skyrocketing video game sales, and strong consumer demand for Pokemon merchandise here and around the world," said Gail Tilden, Nintendo's vice president of product acquisition and development. "As Pokemon expands its appeal to even greater audiences through a wide range of activities and product launches, all signs point to it being the number-one entertainment franchise again this year."