Four Pokemon games have achieved unusual sale records in the year of 2025, with as much as over 20 years passing between some of the games releasing and their new achievements. While the games are still loved by Pokemon fans, these odd sales records may raise some eyebrows.
The Pokemon franchise is beginning the approach to the 30th anniversary of the release of Pokemon Red and Green in Japan. Though the games wouldn’t come to the west until 1998, February 27 will mark the franchise’s 30th anniversary, and Pokemon shows no sign of slowing down. While gamers can generally walk into any game store and find a copy of a recent Pokemon game, these particular sales records are more unexpected.
One Missing Pokemon Release Feels Stranger with Every Year That Passes
The continued absence of several Pokemon releases, which some players may have though were all but guaranteed years ago, feels bizarre.
Pokemon Games As Old as 20+ Years Old Get Sold
An American market research company has revealed that four Pokemon games have sold a single retail copy each in 2025, including Pokemon Ruby, Pokemon FireRed, Pokemon Conquest, and Pokemon Ultra Moon. The detail was revealed by Circana (via Polygon), which tracks retail sales of games, though not those that are sold on sites like eBay or through second-hand sellers. What’s baffling about these sales records are the age of the Pokemon games. Pokemon Ruby notably came out in 2002, while Pokemon FireRed originally released in 2004, making the two games 23 and 21 years old, respectively. Pokemon Conquest and Pokemon Ultra Moon are a bit fresher, coming in at 12 years and 8 years old respectively, but their age would still typically mean that they wouldn’t be available for sale at standard retail stores anymore, especially since support for the Nintendo DS and 3DS has long since ended. There’s no information on where these games were sold, or for how much, but a retail seller somewhere must have had copies still available in stock and sold them.
Although this Pokemon achievement is unusual, it’s not tremendously surprising that even old entries in the franchise found new homes after all these years. Pokemon fans often collect the games, even if it means spending a lot of money on old titles that are long out of print. However, they weren’t even the oddest titles to show up on the list of games that sold a single copy in the year of 2025. Circana’s data revealed that more than 175 games sold a single copy in 2025, with the titles spanning numerous popular consoles of yore, including the original Game Boy Color.
Games That Sold a Single Retail Copy in 2025
Nintendo 3DS
- 7th Dragon III Code: VFD
- Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
- Azure Striker Gunvolt: Striker Pack
- Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate
- Bust-a-Move Universe
- Disney Epic Mickey: The Power of Illusion
- Disney Magical World 2
- Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
- Dragon Quest 7: Fragments of the Forgotten Past
- Etrian Odyssey 2 Untold: The Fafnir Knight
- Etrian Odyssey 4: Legend of the Titan
- Etrian Odyssey 5: Beyond the Myth
- Ever Oasis
- Fantasy Life
- Fossil Fighters: Frontier
- Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance
- Kirby: Battle Royale
- Kirby’s Extra Epic Yarn
- Lego Jurassic World
- Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game
- Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- Lego The Hobbit
- Lego The Lord of the Rings
- Mario Sports Superstars
- Metroid: Samus Returns Special Edition
- Paper Mario: Sticker Star
- Persona Q2: New Cinema Labyrinth
- Pokemon: Ultra Moon Starter Pack
- Professor Layton Vs. Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney
- Resident Evil: Revelations
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers
- Super Street Fighter 4 3D Edition
- The Legend of Legacy
- The Sims 3
- Tmnt: Master Splinter’s Training Pack
- Ultimate NES Remix
- Young Justice: Legacy
Game Boy Advance
- Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning
- Pokémon Firered (with wireless adapter)
- Pokémon Ruby
- Game Boy Color
- TNN Fishing Champ
- Nintendo Gamecube
- Geist
- Harvest Moon: Another Life
- Kirby Air Ride
- Mario Power Tennis
- Mario Superstar Baseball
- Need for Speed: Most Wanted
- Resident Evil
- Simpsons: Hit & Run
- Sonic Riders
- Spider-Man: The Movie
- Tony Hawk Underground
- Yu-Gi-Oh! Falsebound Kingdom
Nintendo DS
- Animal Crossing: Wild World
- Baby Pals
- Big Hero 6: Battle in the Bay/Frozen: Olaf’s Quest 2 Pack
- Cake Mania
- Charm Girls Club: My Fashion Show
- Cooking Mama
- Diego’s Build and Rescue
- Disney Fairies: Tinker Bell
- Ener G: Dance Squad
- Exit
- I Heart Geeks
- Lego Batman 2: Dc Super Heroes
- Lego Battles
- Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7
- Lego Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey
- Littlest Pet Shop 3 Biggest Stars: Blue Team
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story
- Mario Hoops 3-on-3
- Megamind: The Blue Defender
- Monster High Ghoul Spirit
- Monster House
- Monster Jam: Path of Destruction
- My Amusement Park
- My Healthy Cooking Coach
- My Sims Kingdom
- Mysims Skyheroes
- Operation: Vietnam
- Pokemon Conquest
- Polarium
- Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure
- Scrabble
- Scribblenauts Collection
- Smart Girls: Magical Book Club
- Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from Krusty Krab
- Spongebob Squarepants: Plankton’s Robotic Revenge
- Sudoku Mania
- That’s So Raven: Psychic on the Scene
- The Croods: Prehistoric Party!
- The Smurfs 2
- Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue
- Touchmaster 2
- Tron: Evolution
- Ultimate Puzzle Games: Sudoku Ed
- World Championship Games: A Track & Field Event
PlayStation 2
- Bombastic
- Crash Nitro Kart
- Crash: Twinsanity
- Delta Force: Black Hawk Down
- Dragon Ball Z: Budokai2
- Dynasty Warriors 6
- Fifa Soccer 12
- Gladius
- Grandia 3
- Gretzky Nhl 2005
- Guitar Hero 5
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- High School Musical: Sing It
- Kingdom Hearts II
- Lord of Rings: The Two Towers
- Lord Rings: Third Age
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence
- Midnight Club 3: Dub Ed Remix
- Midway Arcade Treasures 2
- MVP Baseball 2005
- Namco Museum 50th Anniv
- NBA Live 07
- NBA Street
- Need for Speed: Carbon
- Need for Speed: Undercover
- Need Speed: Underground
- NFL Street 2
- NFL Street 3
- Odin Sphere
- Radiata Stories
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
- Sly 2:Band of Thieves
- Spider-Man:The Movie 2
- SSX Tricky
- Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith
- Stuntman: Ignition
- Tony Hawk Underground
- WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2006
- WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2007
- Yakuza 2
PlayStation Portable
- Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars
- Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip
- Midnight Club 3: Dub
- Monster Hunter: Freedom Dual Pack
- Rock Band Unplugged
- UFC 2010: Undisputed
PlayStation Vita
- Borderlands 2
- Code:Realize – Wintertide Miracles Limited Ed
- Dynasty Warriors Next
- God of War Collection
- Lego the Hobbit
- Little Deviants
- Metal Gear Solid HD Collection
- Punch Line
- Rayman Origins
- The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series Season Two
Xbox
- Aeon Flux
- Batman Begins
- Blinx: Time Sweeper
- Def Jam: Fight for New York
- Dukes of Hazzard: Return of the General Lee
- Fable
- Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition Remix
- Midnight Club 2
- MTV Music Generator 3
- MVP 06 NCAA Baseball
- MX Vs ATV Unleashed
- Need Speed: Underground 2
- NFL Street 2
- Panzer Dragoon Orta
- Prince Persia: Sands of Time
- Second Sight
- Shattered Union
- Spider-man: The Movie
- SSX Tricky
- The Godfather: The Game
- Tony Hawk’s Project 8
- Winning Eleven 8 International
- X-men Legends 2: Rise of Apocalypse
A number of the games on the list are still quite popular, like Resident Evil, Persona 4, Metal Gear Solid, and so on. However, when possible, most gamers would likely end up buying games like these for newer, currently-supported gaming platforms.
While there are a number of Pokemon games currently available on the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2, either natively or via emulation with Nintendo Switch Online, all the aforementioned Pokemon games are absent from the list. Fans of the series have been pining for classic Pokemon games to be added to the Nintendo Switch Online and/or Expansion Pack service for a long time now, but so far, only a limited selection has been added.
While having a physical copy of a game is favored by some players, as it ensures that it’s a permanent part of their library and can’t be taken away by expiring licenses or memberships, there is a potential drawback to the sold copies of Pokemon Ruby and Pokemon FireRed. Both games were released over 20 years ago, and the GBA utilizes batteries in its cartridges to create and maintain save files. Once those batteries die, the cartridge can still be played, but it can no longer maintain a save. It is possible to replace the batteries, though, so it’s not a total lost cause.
