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The Pokémon Company International announced that it has achieved exceptional sales figures at retail in Germany throughout 2016 for the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Last week they also announced that there was record breaking sales in the UK.

THE POKÉMON COMPANY INTERNATIONAL ANNOUNCES EXCEPTIONAL GROWTH FOR POKÉMON TRADING CARD GAME SALES IN GERMANY

London, UK—1 February 2017—The Pokémon Company International announced today that it has achieved exceptional sales figures at retail in Germany throughout 2016 as reported by the NPD Group.

According to figures recorded by the NPD Group Toys retail tracking service, the Pokémon property recorded a phenomenal 88% increase in sales throughout 2016 against market growth of 5% in the whole German market and a 109% growth in total sales compared to 2015.

Also, in the Christmas week, Pokémon Trading Card Game sales were 190.6% up on the previous year and accounted for 70% of the total market.

Simon Benton, vice president of TCG Sales—Europe for The Pokémon Company International, said: “These fantastic sales figures in Germany follow the recent announcement of record-breaking sales in the UK and are testament to Pokémon’s huge appeal across Europe and the rest of the world. As new expansions are introduced to tie in with our new Nintendo 3DS games Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, we are confident that this success will continue.”

The global phenomenon of Pokémon was first launched in Japan in 1996 as a role-playing game for Nintendo’s Game Boy system and reached the United States and Europe in 1998–99. The first generation of Pokémon games introduced the original 151 Pokémon. Today the Pokémon universe includes more than 800 Pokémon that players can catch, trade and battle against their opponents in the quest to become the best Pokémon Trainer.

Pokémon has since grown into one of the most popular entertainment properties in the world. It is one of the most successful video game franchises of all time, with more than 279 million video games sold worldwide. In addition, 21.5 billion TCG cards have been shipped to 74 countries in 11 languages, and over 450,000 players take part in Play! Pokémon events every year. There are also more than 900 episodes of the animated TV series, now starting its 20th season.