News: Gotta catch 'em all one more time.
Nintendo used the worldwide stage provided by the 2009 Pokemon World Championships to announce that the next pair of Pokemon games, Pokemon HeartGold and Pokemon SoulSilver, will be released on the DS in Spring 2010. HeartGold and SoulSilver are not technically "new" games in the bestselling series, as they will actually be remakes of Pokemon Gold and Pokemon Silver, which were originally released for the Game Boy Color in 2000.
With nearly a decade of Pokemon evolution since the games' original release, Nintendo plans to update the graphics and sound and add touch-screen features to Gold and Silver:
Pokщmon HeartGold Version and Pokщmon SoulSilver Version return players to the scenic Johto region first introduced in the beloved original Pokщmon Gold and Pokщmon Silver games nearly a decade ago. The richly detailed adventure of Pokщmon Gold and Pokщmon Silver is now enhanced for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi systems with updated graphics and sound, as well as new touch-screen features and a host of surprises. Pokщmon HeartGold Version and Pokщmon SoulSilver Version bring dozens of Pokщmon characters back into the limelight for a new Pokщmon generation - and longtime fans - to catch, train and battle.
"Announcing these much-anticipated game launches at The Pokщmon World Championships allows us to give the news directly to the legions of fans who represent the true heart and soul of Pokщmon," said J.C. Smith, The Pokщmon Company International's director of marketing, who made the announcement on stage to kick off the 2009 Pokщmon World Championships. "We want to thank these loyal fans by revealing the details to them first."
Nintendo also used this opportunity to announce that Pokemon Platinum has sold 5.66 million copies worldwide since its release. Say what you will about the Pokemon "fad", but the games are still big sellers.
We'll have more soon.