Nintendo announced this morning that Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon are the next new games in the franchise. The games will launch worldwide on Nintendo 3DS this holiday season. You can watch the quick reveal at the tail end of the series-spanning anniversary video above.
The games will come with nine language options, according to the announcement, including Chinese for the first time.
The news came from the company’s special Pokémon-centric Nintendo Direct, held today in advance of the series’ 20th anniversary tomorrow, Feb. 27. Fans discovered Pokémon Sun and Moon ahead of the official reveal, however, when the logos and trademark applications turned up yesterday in a European trademark database.
Pokémon Sun and Moon are the first mainline Pokémon games since Pokémon X and Y, which launched on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. These were followed by Pokémon Omega Rubyand Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, which were 3DS remakes of 2003’s Pokémon Ruby andPokémon Sapphire on Game Boy Advance.
Although little else is known yet about the two games comprising Pokémon’s next generation of role-playing games, a new legendary Pokémon was recently unveiled. It’s expected that Magearna, who will premiere in this summer’s newest Pokémon movie, is the first of generation seven’s new collectible monsters.
Nintendo also announced that the upcoming 3DS Virtual Console re-releases of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow will utilize the Pokémon Bank app. This will add new connectivity to the original Game Boy games, allowing players to transfer their monsters between games virtually — including Sun and Moon. Those games will be available on the 3DS eShop starting Feb. 27 for $9.99 each.
Nintendo reveals ‘Pokémon Sun’ and ‘Pokémon Moon’ for the Nintendo 3DS
I’m really, sort of, really feeling lately like I should play a Pokémon game. They seem addictive, RPGish, and generally fun. That said, I know fucking nothing about them. Like, why do they reveal two of the games at the same time, seemingly all the time? Do you need to buy both? Do they each offer different things? Someone teach me.