Nintendo's New Pokémon Games on the Switch Console are Setting Sales Records!

Nintendo announced on Thursday that its latest Pokémon games have set a new sales record for the company. This is a welcome boost for Nintendo as it heads into the crucial holiday season.

The company said that sales of the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games for the Nintendo Switch surpassed 10 million units in the first three days after their global launch on November 18.

This is the highest level of sales for a game's debut in Nintendo's history.

Nintendo is having a great year, with Pokémon and Splatoon 3 both setting sales records in Japan. This shows that the company is really hitting the mark with players, and is poised for even more success in the coming months.

Nintendo's Pokémon franchise is one of the company's most recognizable and longest-running series. In recent years, Nintendo has breathed new life into the franchise with the release of Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield in 2016, followed by Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl in 2019.

Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet differ in that they are open-world games, allowing players to explore the game environment without completing missions in a linear way. This freedom of exploration gives players a more immersive experience in the world of Pokémon.

The video games industry saw a boom during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021 as people were stuck at home during lockdowns. However, as economies have reopened, the industry has started to normalize, which has weighed on video game giants including Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft.

"Nintendo has achieved a rare feat among all video game companies by scoring two blockbusters in a difficult 2022," Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based consultancy Kantan Games, told CNBC.

Pokémon is always a safe bet, but the new title has exceeded expectations, just like Splatoon 3 did earlier this year.

Investors are bullish on Nintendo thanks to its recent string of hits. The company's stock is up more than 11% this year, outperforming Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index. In September, Nintendo carried out a 10-for-1 stock split, which has also helped to boost sentiment.

Nintendo has a strong pipeline of upcoming games, with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom slated for release in May. This is expected to be the company's next major hit.

Nintendo is not the only gaming company with a strong presence this holiday season.

Sony announced Wednesday that its PlayStation console game God of War Ragnarok sold 5.1 million copies in its first week, making it the fastest-selling debut of any first-party game for the company.

Sony's shares rose by more than 2% in Japan on Thursday. This was a positive day for the company, as its stock price closed higher than it had been at the start of the day.