Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes on the way to Nintendo Switch

Fans of Generation IV Pokemon installments, Diamond and Pearl, and the Sinnoh region in which they took place have plenty of reason to be excited with the announcements made in Friday morning’s Pokemon Presents video; not only will Sinnoh (well, a version of the region from far in the past) play host to the first open world Pokemon game ever, Pokemon Legends Arceus — the region will also be the focal point of the latest round of updated games, specifically Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes: Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl (looks like the rumors were true, after all).

“The original games have been faithfully reproduced and colorfully revitalized for Nintendo Switch,” president and CEO of The Pokemon Company, Tsunekazu Ishihara, revealed in the Pokemon Presents video.

“The sense of scale of the towns and routes has been carefully preserved, and fans who played the original games will recognize many familiar places,” Ishihara added. “These games are updated with the easy-to-understand, player-friendly conveniences introduced in recent Pokémon core series video games, in addition to up-close-and-personal Pokémon battle scenes.”

Nintendo

The Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes will be developed by ILCA, Inc., the team behind Pokemon Home. ICLA’s Yuichi Ueda and Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda (who directed the original Diamond and Pearl games) will be directing the games.

“Trainers caught their first Pokémon in 1996 and began an adventure that has lasted 25 years. Through eight regions, many different platforms, and countless Pokémon encounters, they have strived to be the very best,” Ishihara added. “We hope that fans of all ages will enjoy creating new memories while exploring the Sinnoh region in these new games.”

Pokemon Diamond and Pearl were first released in Japan in 2006 and in worldwide in 2007 for the Nintendo DS handheld system. The games sold 18 million units worldwide and are among the best-selling Pokemon games of all time.

What do you think of the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl remakes announcement? Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl will launch in late 2021 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.