New Pokémon games announced via Pokémon Direct

26/02/2016

London, February 26, 2016 – For 20 years, Pokémon has delighted millions of fans of all ages and has become one of the most successful entertainment brands in the world. During today’s Pokémon Direct presentation, Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company, announced Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, the newest additions to a legendary series that has sold more than 275 million video games since the debut of Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Green Version in 1996 for the Game Boy system in Japan. Developed by GAME FREAK inc., Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon will be launching late 2016 exclusively on Nintendo 3DS family systems and, for the first time, will offer Traditional and Simplified Chinese as language options.

"The Pokémon core series games are the centre of the Pokémon universe and provide some of the most memorable Pokémon moments for our fans,” said J.C. Smith, senior director of Consumer Marketing at The Pokémon Company International. “I can’t wait to see what fans think of the new adventures they’ll find in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon."

Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon will also have Pokémon Bank functionality. This online storage application will make it possible for fans to move Pokémon wirelessly from Pokémon Red Version, Pokémon Blue Version and Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition – which come to Virtual Console on Nintendo 3DS on February 27th – to Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon. Pokémon from Pokémon Omega Ruby, Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, Pokémon X and Pokémon Y can also be transferred to Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon through Pokémon Bank. More details about this exciting feature can be found here: Pokemon.co.uk/bank