The excitement and buzz around Pokémon X & Y ahead of their worldwide launch was extraordinary, and it seems that the perceived hype has converted into big sales for the titles. Nintendo has announced that the two releases, combined, sold over four million copies in just two days, on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th October; that's even taking into account the fact that many European retailers are closed on Sundays.

Satoru Iwata has said the following:

The early response to Pokémon X and Pokémon Y not only reaffirms the ongoing passion of Pokémon fans, but also indicates that an entirely new generation of gamers is eager to experience the franchise for itself.

Nintendo has stated that, although direct comparisons are tricky, data suggests that these are the fastest-selling 3DS games in the portable's history to date. It's also difficult to compare directly with previous generations in the franchise that weren't released simultaneously worldwide, though the company states that X & Y are tracking ahead of Pokémon Black & White 2 by 70%. It was also confirmed that five sets of titles in the series have passed 10 million sales since 2002, so it'll be interesting to see whether X & Y eventually pass that milestone; they're off to a good start. The Pokémon brand, meanwhile, is cited as having surpassed 245 million game sales worldwide.

Big numbers for the new releases, which will surely continue to grow substantially during the Holiday season.