New Pokemon Games?
So the official Japanese sites have just released minor details about a new Pokemon RPG for DS. People are speculating that it will be the start of the “fifth generation” of games, and with good reason. There’s going to be new Pokemon in it, and they’re calling it the first new game since Diamond and Pearl. Thus, it would exclude an upgrade style game like Platinum, as well as more remakes like HeartGold and SoulSilver. However, Pokemon XD for Gamecube was also a completely original RPG that had brand new Pokemon (Munchlax and Bonsly) in it, so it could be something as simple as that.
It also seems strange that they’d start another new series for the DS when it’s so late in the DS’s lifespan, and there have yet to be any Pokemon games that support DSi options. In fact, the current games all have some features that require the GBA slot, and thus would encourage continued use of a normal DS/Lite. I only own a DS Lite myself, and could probably be tricked into buying a DSi if they gave me a PokeReason for it. But it’s always possible they could reveal DSi features in the future, so I’m really curious to see how this one plays out.
Meanwhile, HeartGold and SoulSilver still aren’t even out in the US yet. I’m going to pre-order mine this weekend, but I’m still nowhere near close to completing Platinum 100% (IE, properly raising/breeding things to complete the Pokedex). These once-a-year releases are going to kill me.