"Pilotwings 64" was released in Japan on June 23, 1996 as one of three Nintendo 64 launch titles, the other two being "Super Mario 64" and "Saikyō Habu Shōgi". "Pilotwings 64" managed to sell about one unit with about every tenth Nintendo 64 console, with regional sales totaling 136,986 copies by the end of the year. The game was one of two original releases for the system during its September 26, 1996 debut in North America, which was a few days earlier than the date set by Nintendo. While "Super Mario 64" initially sold at a one-to-one ratio with each console in the United States, "Pilotwings 64" sold an average of one copy with every fourth console. Despite selling out, some store locations for Electronics Boutique and KB Toys reported little or no units of the flight simulator being shipped to retailers. About 90,000 copies of "Pilotwings 64" were sold in its first few days on sale in the country, putting the game at number four on the NPD Group sales charts for that September. "Pilotwings 64" saw a release in European nations on March 1, 1997, when it was one of three launch games along with "Super Mario 64" and "". In the United Kingdom, it was listed by "Esquire" magazine as the "cheapest game in Nintendo's frighteningly-priced opening range of titles". It was confirmed in early 1998 that the game had sold over one million units worldwide.