Nintendo’s latest earning reports show that Pokémon Sword & Shield have sold over 20 million units, making it the best selling Pokémon game since Gold & Silver, and the first game since that generation to pass 20 million copies sold. As noted by Serbeii, Pokémon Sword & Shield has now sold 20.35 million units, with 1.3 million of those being sold in the past 3 months (Q3 2020). Those figures put it as the first Pokémon game to achieve more than 20 million copies since Gold & Silver, which sold 23.73 million copies following its launch in 1999. It’s also the third best selling Pokémon game of all time, behind Gold & Silver and Red/Green/Blue. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/11/13/pokemon-sword-and-pokemon-shield-review"] Since Gold & Silver, Pokémon’s sales have remained largely consistent - at least as far as the initial game launched in a generation - but all have sold within the 15-17 million region. The huge popularity of Sword & Shield marks a landmark game for the series, then. No doubt such figures are in part thanks to the mass popularity of the Nintendo Switch itself, which has now eclipsed sales of the Nintendo 3DS. As well as being the third best-selling Pokémon game, Sword & Shield is the 5th best selling game on Switch. It is surpassed only by Breath of the Wild (21.45m), Super Smash bros. Ultimate (22.85m), Animal Crossing: New Horizons (31.18m) and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (33.41m). We’ve got more news from Nintendo’s latest reports: Nintendo Switch Lite is about to overtake Wii U’s lifetime sales, and there are no plans for a new Switch model anytime soon. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

A team of fans is working on not one, but two versions of a Shenmue 1+2 remake mod, which will transfer the contents of Sega’s Shenmue 2018 rerelease into Unreal Engine 4 and add a variety of enhancements. Announced in a post on the Shenmue Dojo forums, the Shenmue Dragon and Phoenix Collection is an “engine replacement mod”, designed with the idea of bringing the gameplay of the 2018 Shenmue 1+2 release in line with the more modern Shenmue 3. It takes all the models, textures, animations, and gameplay from the 2018 rerelease and transfers them to Unreal Engine 4, the engine used for Shemue 3. This will allow for the addition of ray tracing and physically based rendering of materials for a more realistic look. The engine change has also allowed the team to stitch the whole game world together as a seamless map, rather than separate areas divided by loading screens. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/21/the-first-16-minutes-of-shenmue-remastered-gameplay"] Importantly, the team is producing two distinct versions of this Shenmue 1+2 mod; the Dragon Edition and the Phoenix Edition. The Dragon Edition is a “1:1 port” that is, as close as the team can make it, a straight engine replacement for the 2018 rerelease. Aside froim Unreal Engine 4 enhancements, this is planned to be the original games “warts and all''. The Phoenix Edition, on the other hand, is a “full UE4 reimagining of the games''. Like the Dragon Edition, it will be a full transfer of the game to Unreal Engine 4, but with new features designed to modernise the experience. The team has yet to finalise what those features are, but cite a new stamina system as one of the more major changes in mind, as well as smaller changes such as new cassettes in the Tomato Store. As with almost all modding projects, there is no release date set. But progress is currently further down the line than just plans; the team have the assets ported to Unreal Engine 4 and are able to take in-engine screenshots. Of course, being a mod, this is a non-profit project from fans with no intention of being sold. Presumably, when complete the mod will require players to own the Shenmue 1+2 rerelease for it to work. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/08/22/the-first-19-minutes-of-shenmue-2-remastered-gameplay"] In a way, this project is similar to the official Shenmue remake that was cancelled. That remake was based on the original assets and looked similar to the original versions, but would have featured improved rendering and details. The 2018 rerelease of Shenmue 1+2 was sadly buggy, but was still well received by fans. Less well received was the long awaited Shenmue 3, which we said was mediocre in our review from 2019. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Nintendo has reportedly said that it isn't planning to announce a new model of Switch 'anytime soon'. In an investor Q&A following the announcement of Nintendo's latest earnings report, Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki reports that Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa was asked whether the company would announce an upgraded model of the Switch. His response: "Not anytime soon". That response has immediately led to discussion of whether it is or isn't a clue as to a future announcement. Previously, Nintendo has offered more concrete denials of a new model, and Furukawa's apparent phrasing here leaves the door more open to an announcement at a later date. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/21/is-a-switch-pro-coming-in-2021-nvc-544"] It's worth pointing out that David Gibson, a games business analyst in the same Q&A session, reported a slightly different answer to the same question, saying that there was "no new model plan" beyond the release of Mario and Monster Hunter special edition Switch models. Nintendo usually releases a full transcription of the Q&A shortly after the event, which should help clear up that phrasing. Rumours have swirled about the release of a 'Switch Pro' or 'Super Switch' for some time. Early last year, reports suggested it could come during 2020 but, speaking to IGN, analysts are more conflicted about whether a Pro model could emerge in 2021. Whether it arrives or not, we can be sure that Switch will be doing very well for Nintendo. The company just announced that the console had passed the 3DS, after reaching almost 80 million units sold. The Switch Lite model alone is about to outsell Wii U, too. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=a-history-of-nintendo-hardware-1977-to-now&captions=true"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

As part of the company's latest earnings report, Nintendo has revealed that the Nintendo Switch Lite is about to outsell the Wii U. Since its launch in 2019, the smaller, dockless Nintendo Switch Lite has sold 13.53 million units. The figure can be seen in Nintendo's recently released Consolidated Financial Highlights document. Such volume of sales means the Switch Lite is very close to beating the Wii U's lifetime total unit sales, which are recorded as 13.56 million units on the Nintendo website. The Switch Lite will likely surpass that benchmark in the coming months, if it hasn't already. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/09/26/nintendo-switch-lite-review"] Surpassing Wii U sales is par for the course for the Switch now. Following its launch in 2017, the base Nintendo Switch took less than a year to outsell the preceding console, shifting 14 million units by January 2018. You can learn more about Nintendo's recent financial news by reading our study of the report, which notes that Animal Crossing: New Horizons has surpassed 31 million copies sold, as of December 31, 2020. Analysts are currently conflicted on the prospect of a new Nintendo Switch Pro in 2021, due to the tremendous popularity of the current model. In other Wii U news, check out our article about how everything you love about the Nintendo Switch was done by the Wii U first. We reviewed the console upon its launch back in 2012, scoring it a 7.6 and calling it a "mix of awesome new ideas and mediocre execution." [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Nintendo has announced that, as of December 31, 2020, the Nintendo Switch has officially passed the 3DS with 79.87 million console units sold. Furthermore, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has reached 31.18 million copies sold. As revealed in Nintendo's latest financial earnings release for the nine month period ending December 31, 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is getting ever closer to passing Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's 33.41 million units sold as the best-selling Nintendo Switch game. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is the third-best selling Switch game with 22.85 million units sold, followed by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild's 21.45 million units, Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield's 20.35 million units, and Super Mario Odyssey's 20.23 million units. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/24/the-best-nintendo-switch-games-fall-2020-update"] Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have also become the first Pokemon games to sell over 20 million units since Pokemon Gold and Silver. During the nine months ending December 31, 2020, titles released in the fiscal year beginning on April 1, 2020, saw a ton of success. Super Mario 3D All-Stars sold 8.32 million units, Paper Mario: The Origami King sold 3.05 million units, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity sold 2.84 million units, Pikmin 3 Deluxe sold 1.94 million units, and Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit sold 1.08 million units. Games released in previous fiscal years also continued to sell well in these nine months, led by Animal Crossing: New Horizons' 19.41 million units. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold 8.64 million units, Ring Fit Adventure sold 5.95 million units, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild sold 4.04 million units, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate sold 4.01 million units. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/27/super-mario-3d-world-bowsers-fury-the-final-preview"] 29 Nintendo Switch titles sold over one million copies, including 9 games from other software publishers. Nintendo Switch hardware sales reached 24.10 million units in this time period, which is a 35.8% increase year-on-year, and software sales reached 176.10 million units, which is a 43.0% increase year-on-year. It is also interesting to note that the Nintendo Switch Lite has sold 13.53 million units in its lifetime, meaning it is close to passing the Wii U’s 13.56 million units. Digital sales also accounted for 40.9% of all software sales, which is a 12.3% increase year-on-year. Digital sales also saw an increase of 104.9% when compared to 2019. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/31/the-biggest-game-releases-of-february-2021"] Mobile and IP related income saw an increase of 13.8% year-on-year. While we don't know Nintendo's full plan for 2021, we do have Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Monster Hunter Rise, New Pokemon Snap, and Bravely Default 2 to look forward to in the next couple months. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Despite the GameStop/Reddit stock situation not being over, the rights to a movie based on these events is already in the works. As reported by Deadline, MGM has acquired the book proposal The Antisocial Network from New York Times best-selling author Ben Mezrich. This book will look to tell the story of "a ragtag group of amateur investors, gamers, and internet trolls who brought Wall Street to its knees." Insiders have said that Mezrich and his reps too the book proposal to market last week, and by Friday night MGM had acquired the rights to a film adaptation. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/28/what-is-going-on-with-gamestop-stock-ign-now"] This project will reunite MGM's Michael DeLuca and Mezrich, who worked together to adapt Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires: The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal into what would be known as The Social Network. Mezrich also wrote the book Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas For Millions, which was later adapted into the film 21. GameStop's share price was hovering around $3 per share in 2020, but following a battle between short-sellers and the subreddit r/WallStreetBets, the stock value has increased over 1,700%. As of this writing, the stock price is at $325 USD. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/26/reddit-investor-group-drives-gamestop-stock-to-record-highs-ign-news"] AMC and Nokia's stock also saw a big increase, and these developments led to stock trading apps like Robinhood to controversially halt trading of these volatile stocks. While it is unclear as to how this story ends, Hollywood is already preparing to make their money off one of the biggest stories of the year. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

A new extensive report from Bloomberg has detailed some of the dysfunction and struggles at Amazon Game Studios, which included cancelled projects, a troublesome game engine, mismanagement, and a "bro culture" that allegedly does not give women the same opportunities as men. The report begins by discussing how Mike Frazzini was brought in to start Amazon Game Studios eight years ago without ever making a game. Since then, Frazzini and Amazon Game Studios have released only two games, and have seen multiple cancelled projects that were attempting to recreate the financial magic of games like Fortnite and League of Legends. The Grand Tour Game was the first Amazon Game Studios console release, and within a year it was removed from storefronts. Crucible was the next game released from the studio, and not only did it return to closed beta after its official launch, it was shut down in November 2020. Two other projects, which were known as Intensity and Nova, never saw the light of day after the teams tried and failed to create games inspired by Fortnite and League of Legends, respectively. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/03/03/new-world-hands-on-with-amazons-open-world-mmorpg"] All of these cancelled and unsuccessful projects at Amazon Game Studios have done so despite Amazon spending nearly $500 million a year operating the game division. It's also important to note that the amount doesn't include Twitch or Amazon Luna - the latter of which is under different management. Frazzini is an "Amazon lifer" who started his career in the books section of Amazon.com where he "endeared himself to Jeff Bezos as a manager there." He began his role as head of the games division by bringing in some of the best game development talent in the world, including Portal's Kim Swift, Far Cry 2's Clint Hawking, Madden's Richard Hilleman, and Everquest's John Smedley. Today, only Smedley remains. According to numerous current and former employees of Frazzini's game studios, he continuously ignored much of the advice given by these experienced developers, and despite frequently telling the staff that every Amazon game should be a "billion-dollar franchise," he would then understaff projects. Furthermore, instead of using industry-leading game engines like Unreal Engine or Unity, the studio opted to license technology from Crytek to create a homemade engine known as Lumberyard. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/27/crucible-review"] While Lumberyard was meant to integrate with Amazon Web Services and could have been a cheaper alternative than paying for the other engines, it ended up being known as a "boogeyman around the office." Many cited that it was "painfully slow," and developers would play Halo or watch Amazon Prime Video as they waited for Lumberyard to process art or compile code. One former employee even went so far as to say, "Lumberyard is killing this company." Another big issue with working at Amazon Game Studios is said to be linked to the "bro culture" that has been cultivated there, in which women were often not given the same opportunities as men. Beyond that, "four female game developers said that their worst experiences of sexism in the industry were at Amazon." There were stories of them being ignored and undermined by male executives, in some cases being driven out of the company. One source said that not only did a male on the senior leadership team impede her career growth after she disagreed with him, he would then go on to create new management positions above her and hired men to take those positions. Amazon's game problems also extend to how they incentivize their employees. While most studios pay bonuses based on the critical and commercial response of a game, Amazon's stock plan only rewards employees for how long they have been at the company. This has led to some employees choosing to "prioritize job preservation over anything else, say three former employees." [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=new-world-screenshots-november-2020&captions=true"] Amazon Game Studio's next project is the MMO New World. Originally planned for a 2020 release, it was pushed back to Spring 2021 to improve the quality of the game. Bloomberg's report explains that the project was originally going to be a survival game where players would take on the role of colonists in a fictional version of 1600s America. The problem, however, was that the enemies players originally were going to face "looked a lot like indigenous people." When developers pointed out to Frazzini's deputy, Patrick Gilmore, that the setting and villains could be considered racist, he "expressed disbelief." Amazon did eventually hire a tribal consultant who did find that the portrayal was offensive, and the Native American imagery has since been removed. Our latest preview of New World's high-level PvE zone show a game that may not be for everybody, but one that shows promise and a big improvement, in both PvE content and general polish, from the previous build. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/18/new-world-11-minutes-of-group-pve-combat"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

The cover has allegedly leaked for MLB The Show 21, but this time for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox One, seemingly confirming that the Sony-exclusive baseball game will make its way to other platforms in 2021. Known leaker ANerdyDad on Instagram shared the covers, which both feature San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., and the Xbox version even comes complete with the PlayStation Studios logo, as well. Another potential leak has made its way to Reddit, showing that there may also be a Jackie Robinson special edition version of MLB The Show 21, which is said to be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One. Unfortunately, there is no mention of PC or Nintendo Switch. The Jackie Robinson Edition leak also reveals that the game is planned to be released on April 20, 2021, with an Early Access Weekend beginning on April 16. Following these leaks, it has been announced that the official MLB The Show 2021 cover reveal will take place tomorrow, February 1, on Hot Ones. So, it appears we won't have to wait long to learn the truth.

Sponsored by @MLBTheShow

The cover athlete of the next MLB The Show gets unveiled & interviewed tomorrow on #HotOnes #MLBTheShow https://t.co/d8M5aTUovM pic.twitter.com/hTxpOflyFr — Complex (@Complex) January 31, 2021

In 2019, it was confirmed that MLB The Show would be making its way to other platforms as early as 2021, and it appears this just may be the year these great games will be playable by many more people. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/22/the-state-of-playstation-studios-2021-update"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

On this weekend's Saturday Night Live, hosted by Office-alum John Krasinski, the show took a fun swipe at Nicole Kidman's song for HBO's The Undoing by creating a parody commercial for a music completion called Now That's What I Call Theme Songs Sung By Stars of the Show -- and as part of it, Krasinski sang the "never before heard" lyrics to The Office theme Also on deck, SNL'er Kyle Mooney got done up to look like Baby Yoda for an attempt at rhyming over The Mandalorian's theme while other cast members dressed up like TV characters from The Queen's Gambit, The Crown, Frasier, Sex and the City, and more. Here's Krasinski's crooning of The Office...

This was the original @theofficetv theme song. Don't ask questions. pic.twitter.com/GENJfBjGks

— Saturday Night Live - SNL (@nbcsnl) January 31, 2021

You can watch the full sketch here. The Office, which was reportedly 2020's most-streamed TV series, recently made the leap from Netflix over to Peacock, where Peacock unveiled a never-before-seen cold open for the show. That's just one of the many unreleased scenes available to watch on Peacock. Currently, Seasons 1 and 2 of The Office are available for free on the streaming service, while Seasons 3 through 9 are locked behind Peacock’s premium tier. Looking for more Dunder Mifflin related items? Here are IGN's Top 10 episodes of The Office as well as the show’s original auditions featuring Seth Rogen and Bob Odenkirk. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=the-25-best-episodes-of-the-office-of-all-time&captions=true"]

One of the indisputable highlights of The Mandalorian's second season on Disney+ was the live-action debut of Ahsoka Tano, played by Rosario Dawson. As a way to celebrate Ahsoka Tano Day, which honors the first-ever appearance of the beloved Star Wars character, Dawson shared a time-lapse video on Friday that documented her lengthy transformation process, involving extensive makeup and heavy prosthetics, to become Ahsoka for The Mandalorian episode, "The Jedi." Check it out...

Happy #AhsokaTanoDay ! Thank you @Ashley_Eckstein for bringing Ashoka to life for us all. It’s one of the greatest honors & privileges of my life to share this remarkable character w/ the world alongside you. #DreamTeam @starwars @dave_filoni @Jon_Favreau #BrianSipe #SamanthaWard pic.twitter.com/9JThoyrm6q

— Rosario Dawson (@rosariodawson) January 30, 2021

In her message, Dawson thanked Mandalorian creator Jon Favreau, executive producer and "The Jedi" director Dave Filoni (who was also EP on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and creator of Star Wars Rebels), makeup artists Brian Sipe and Samantha Ward, and original Ahsoka voicer Ashley Eckstein. If you only know the character of Ahsoka Tano from her Mandalorian episode, dive into Ahsoka's backstory from her iconic animated appearances on Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. An Ahsoka Tano spin-off series was officially announced for Disney+ back in December, featuring Dawson in the the title role, along with another series called Rangers of the New Republic. Both series will take place within the post-Return of the Jedi era of The Mandalorian. In "The Jedi," Din Djarin -- aka "Mando" -- brought The Child to Ahsoka Tano in hopes of reuniting it with its fellow Jedi. Ahsoka discovered The Child's name was Grogu but ultimately refused to train the wee tyke because of the emotional bond between Grogu and Mando. It was in "The Jedi" too that we got our first tease of a live-action Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn was a supreme adversary created by author Timothy Zahn as part of the then-Extended Universe (now under the new "Star Wars Legends" banner). Thrawn made the jump from page to screen though when he appeared as a villain in the second half of Star Wars: Rebels. Now, like Ahsoka Tano and Bo-Katan, it looks like the character is ready to become a fully physical form of the Star Wars Disney+ universe. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=essential-ahsoka-tano-stories-to-watch-and-read&captions=true"]