Japanese DS Pokemon games break series' sales record

Nintendo says Diamond and Pearl combined to ship 5 million units in Japan, calls them the fastest-selling games in franchise history.

While the Pokemon franchise has been one of Nintendo's strongest sellers in the portable games market for years, the Nintendo DS has yet to see a traditional installment in the series released in the US. Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl won't change that for a couple more months, but Nintendo today trumpeted their success in Japan.

Calling the two games "the fastest-selling Pokemon games ever," Nintendo said Diamond and Pearl combined to ship 5 million units to Japanese retailers in their first three months. Diamond and Pearl released in Japan on September 28 last year. Both games are rated E for Everyone and will debut in US stores on April 22.

92 Comments

  • Harvestbuddy

    Posted Mar 10, 2007 10:23 pm PT

    awesome!!!!

  • stejmatty

    Posted Mar 4, 2007 3:13 am PT

    ohhh, the exitment, will i have a DS by then? probebly, if i stop spending money on other games... hehe

  • nintendofreak92

    Posted Mar 2, 2007 7:04 pm PT

    i keep waiting to pre-order it and i really should do it soon or ill never get it!!!

  • penguindude24

    Posted Mar 2, 2007 5:41 pm PT

    i didnt preorder but i want diamond bad

  • dRfTnDuNks

    Posted Feb 18, 2007 11:15 pm PT

    i pre-ordered my diamond at a local ebgames. cant wait for this to come out.

  • The_Dude1212

    Posted Feb 14, 2007 3:27 pm PT

    Someone once said that Diamond is more popular than Pearl just because the name is in front ie. Diamond AND Pearl, Gold AND Silver, it would still be popular if it was Diamond AND Crap, then again I'd probably buy it if it's name was crap Just thought I should share that...

    *Ninja Vanish*

  • grim_fandango

    Posted Feb 14, 2007 4:20 am PT

    And I wonder when it'll be out in Sydney.. xD

  • blueIcm

    Posted Feb 11, 2007 11:12 am PT

    DS sales will be going off the chart now that Drangonquest and Pokemon are coming out.

  • franklynx

    Posted Feb 10, 2007 6:41 pm PT

    I can not wait for this game.

  • Maquis_UK

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 11:20 am PT

    pretty unstoppable, years and years worth of super-selling games on most of its platforms. go nintendo! wouldn't m$ or $ony love to own a franchise with such power!

  • zachypooh

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 10:56 pm PT

    that's awsome. the lucky asians have already got it. I wonder when it's coming out in brisbane ????

  • ert47

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 4:32 pm PT

    People I know who have imported it have said "its nothing special"

    I'll buy it anyway come August/September... and thats pushing it...

  • pat064

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 2:08 pm PT

    Wow! That's 5,000,000 games sold in like five months! I'm so getting that the day it comes out!!

  • faridmon

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 8:29 am PT

    am waiting for a europe release now *drinks cofee while waiting for official press realease*

  • rodrigo07

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 8:02 pm PT

    I want buy it but I don't have a Nintendo DS, I will do the impossible to have one.

  • Nerissa

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 5:27 pm PT

    I am so addicted to Pokemon, I wasn't even going to get Pokemon Ranger but I heard Manaphy can be caught and transferred so I got swindled again. Why is Pokemon taking all my money?

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 5:17 pm PT

    not bad at all

  • devilangelx4

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 4:30 pm PT

    OMG,if it sold that much in Japan,imagine how much it'll sell here in the US.Hope it wont be sold out by the time I go to EB Games to get this game..
    Come on!come out already!!

  • Cat333Pokemon

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 4:13 pm PT

    I MUST get this game when it comes out! It's amazing Pokémon is still selling extremely well. 5 million is amazing...especially since that's ONLY that Japanese total!

  • Gigatron

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:52 am PT

    Oh they better watch out... because I WILL be catching them all.

  • Eloy

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:32 am PT

    Great!...hopefully they're re-invented all about pokemon, `cause we need a new way to play it!

  • stevo1000

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 11:27 am PT

    I guess thats part of living in Europe. Vista double the price of US RRP in Britain & games come out later. When is Pokemon Pearl/Diamond coming out for the DS in Britain!

  • asimplerapper

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 10:26 am PT

    The DS has sold more than 36 million now.

  • NandoSupes

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:47 am PT

    when you have more than 20 plus million DS's on the market is easy to sell this many copies,I can only imagine the sales of Dragon Quest 9 when it releases in Japan,that game is going to be a huge seller as the Dragon Quest Series in Japan is extremely popular,Nintendo is making so much cash right now, they should give me some of that money lol!!,keep up the good work Nintendo.

  • Tekirai

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:40 am PT

    'Tis why I'm importing from America when this game comes out. xP The EU'll have to wait Godot-knows how long for the game to have nothing added to it before release.

    I mean, April 22nd is my freaking birthday. Why should I have to wait for nothing, or anyone else for that matter?

    Good to know it's so successful already, anyway. =D

  • Sil3n7Knight

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:13 am PT

    Just wait until DQ 9 comes out! It will be outragous!

  • Legacyoftain

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:11 am PT

    Wow i must have been taking a nap..I was under the impression the Japanese stopped caring about this series...

  • TintedChimes

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 8:52 am PT

    I hate pokemon because it took up so much of my social life and I got joystick thumbs...its an addiction...

  • mk_2

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:10 pm PT

    My Japaneses friend once laughed at me after she saw me playing Pokemon Emerald. She said I'm so childish.

  • mr_squibble

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:01 pm PT

    Heck yeah. I have a lot of games to finishe before April 22, and Pokemon Emerald is one of them.

  • waleywu_basic

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:37 pm PT

    >Sometimes parts of stories/conversation have to be rewritten because "foreigners" will have no idea what is being refered to. But another huge problem was brought up


    Pokemon games have conversation??? , isn't it more like "let's battle" or "Hi, my name is Ash"? I mean, if Pokemon is doing great for DS, good for them, but to compare Pokemon's gameplay (RPG) to Final Fantasy is just insulting.

  • anarchicgoth

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:10 pm PT

    ever since red and blue Pokemon has gone down the drain in my opinion!

  • cobrax80

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:03 pm PT

    glad to see pokemon breaking it's own records

  • nevi

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 6:57 pm PT

    phew, 5 million? and dragon quest 9 isn´t out yet

  • pencilpusher69

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 6:30 pm PT

    EccoCid
    "And ppl just say that PSP is getting remakes and ports only..look at Ds library..all u see ports and remakes from older nintendo systems"

    Yeah, all those ports and remakes like Hotel Dusk, and the bazillion other original titles that have come out so far.

    Go play your PS2 portable.

  • AHDOAH

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:48 pm PT

    Even the show its crappy now... the games are really good^^ so gotta try to catch em all !

  • Wezker619

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:40 pm PT

    Ill let the pirates hand it to me.

  • TryMe01

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:27 pm PT

    when it comes to biggness, nothing beat pokemon, especially in japan

  • Sniper-Gamer

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:22 pm PT

    That's no surprise to me. I'm getting it A.S.A.P!

  • Re_ensurer

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:12 pm PT

    I wouldn't have guessed that.

  • TiRoSu13

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:09 pm PT

    I just won won a bet with a friend that Pokemon would still be popular in 10 years ( the bet was in 1997) and it seems that it is indeed still popular. So I just scored myself 20 bucks.

  • Junomaster2006

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 5:06 pm PT

    I will get this game when the game come out but I will hate most of the pokemon since all of the new pokemon look like garbage.

  • DarkKefka

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:43 pm PT

    Is it a surprise that Pokemon sells that good in Japan? - where the DS is still hard to come by.

  • twilight_link9

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:41 pm PT

    Can't wait for April!

  • peeweeshift

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:39 pm PT

    how do they manage to milk a tv show so much. the cards rival and maybe outshadow Magic, the tv show is still popular, and the games get away with the same formula over and over. Sure you can say all games do this, like mario has the same gameplay. But those games have some significant changes and much better graphics. This game looks like pokemon red when it canme out with graphics that are slightly improved. And there is no skill involved either.

  • SpareJesus

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:19 pm PT

    I loved Pokémon Red back when I was 11, I loved Pokémon Gold back when I was 13, I loved Ruby when I was 16, and now I can't wait for this.

    Hurry up and bring it out in Europe, Nintendo!

  • Rangent

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:12 pm PT

    Insane crazy sales. This game will be emulated for ever and ever. Cant wait to see state-side sales.

  • umbracascade

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:10 pm PT

    If you hate you haven't played it. Pokemon has made so much money for nintendo it isn't funny. Back in the day, i remember this handheld game beating out the best of the playstation's lineup. It's unheard of a handheld game going head to head with console games and winning on the charts too for like what was it, 4,5 months? This game established the gbc and gba like no other game. People bought nintendo's handhelds because of this game as much as people buy the wii now because of Zelda. This game carries entire systems. Red/blue carried pocket, gold/silver carried color, sapphire/ruby carried advanced and now the ds already red hot popular is i'm betting going to have its sales increase even more than it already is the day this game appears on shelves. I'm betting on it; the weeks after this game comes the ds is going over another million mark hurdle.

  • shadowslayer30

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:10 pm PT

    To whoever said that people complain that the PSP only gets remakes and sequels, while the DS is getting remakes and sequels need to remember one major difference - DS games are classics. PSP games are spin off's and sequels of newer games mostly. Nothing can compare to that reminder of what it was first like to play your first video games, be it Mario, Pokemon, or Metroid.

  • NWA_31

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 4:05 pm PT

    Pokemon is the only game im ashamed of playing...but I just cant help it. Im just addicted to Pokemon games

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