Pokemon Black & White Smash Sales Records in Japan

Pokemon Black and White have smashed all sorts of sales records over in Japan, selling so many copies of the pair in the first weekend that the games have become the best-selling opening weeking of all time. That's right - of all time. The two games sold a grand total of 2,637,285 copies over the first weekend.

Square Enix's Final Fantasy VIII is still technically the most successful opening release for a single SKU with 2,504,044 units shifted, but Pokemon Black and White's combined performance betters that and several other heavy-hitters including Dragon Quest VIII and IX and Final Fantasy VII and IX.

Nintendo will of course be delighted with these numbers, as Pokemon Black and White was a gamble, shuffling several key elements in the series including locking out the already-popular Pokemon from old games until the game has been completed in its entirety.

Pokemon Black and White have been confirmed for an early 2011 launch in the US and Europe, and we'll bring you a full review closer to then, as always.