If you're into collecting them Pokemons, then this just could be the biggest collectible you'll get to have. Nintendo is releasing a DS Limited Edition Pokemon Pack, and it's got more than just a Pokemon-themed DS handheld to offer.

Nintendo of America, The National Institute of Aerospace (NIA), and Nortel LearniT teamed up to bring cute creatures from the Nintendo DS titles Pokemon Diamond/Pearl to elementary and middle school students for them to learn science in a fun way. In the spirit of the Pokemon Learning League, Nintendo and its partners aim to teach students using familiar imagery.

Check out what Nintendo of America and its partners have in store for students at the full article.

Nintendo Australia teamed up with electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi to help Aussie Pokemon fans catch 'em all by offering rare monster Manaphy for free. Pokemon Diamond/Pearl owners can bring their Nintendo DS with the game cards to JB Hi-Fi stores where they can acquire the new Pokemon via wireless download.

The promo runs November 7 to November 13 to celebrate the release of Pokémon Movie 9: Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea where Manaphy makes an appearance. One Cherish Ball, the special Poke Ball available only from special events, is also included in the give-away.

Manaphy boasts of an exclusive move called Heart Swap, which should prove to be helpful as it swaps healing effects with other Pokemon in your roster. If you live in Australia, have already obtained your Pokedex, and are playing the English version of Pokemon Diamond or Pearl, then drop by the local JB Hi-Fi store. More details and instructions can be found on Nintendo Australia's website via Read link below.

Buy: [ Pokemon Pearl ]
Buy: [ Pokemon Diamond ]

Do you have an overwhelming need to "catch 'em all?" Well, if you're a fan of the cutesy cult classic known as Pokemon then you'll be pleased to know that the game is going global in more ways than one.
 
The Pokemon Global Trade Station website, which went online last September 14, features a world-wide trading system where players can deposit the Pokemon they've collected from Pokemon Diamond or Pokemon Pearl through the Nintendo Wi-Fi network. Anybody logged into the site can then search for and keep track of any Pokemon they want to add to their collection.

The GTS utilizes a handy search and tracking system which record the stats, moves and all the relevant data of any Pokemon stored on the site. Then, much like a typical DS to DS trading procedure, you can download the desired Pokemon and complete the transfer to your handheld.

This definitely moves up the whole concept originally conceived in the Pokemon series where trading and sharing your little digital critters improve the enjoyability and playability of the game. So, what are you waiting for? Hop on to the site and see what else you're missing from your list of nearly 500 Pokemon.

Nintendo of America Ltd. has come out with a press release stating that the strong sales of both the Wii and Nintendo DS have helped strengthen one of their major franchises, namely Pokemon. This isn't a one way thing though, as the popularity of the franchise also helped in the selling of consoles.

 

As a testament to the the franchise's popularity on both consoles, DS exclusives Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl have already sold three million copies in the U.S. while Pokemon Battle Revolution is currently the fifth best selling game on the Wii. Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications George Harrison commented on this symbiotic relationship:

These hard numbers show that the Pokemon franchise and Nintendo's systems are striking a chord with players of all ages and drawing in huge numbers of new players year after year. But anecdotally we're also seeing that these new Pokemon games are appealing to older players, the same ones who played the original Pokemon games when they debuted in the United States almost 10 years ago.

Historically speaking, Pokemon has always had a strong following ever since it debuted in Japan. The numbers have swelled since then as more countries have been invaded by the Pokemon craze. The number of fans are still climbing as of this article's writing so it's pretty safe to assume that we can expect to hear more good things from this franchise.

It's official: Worldwide sales of the extremely popular Nintendo DS games Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl have combined to hit the 10 million unit mark, further solidifying the franchise's claim as one of the all-time best sellers.

The two games are often considered as one installment in the series, but with different Pokemon to see and capture in adherence to the tradition initiated by the original Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue. As usual, you take on the role of a single Pokemon trainer who's out there to be the very best (like no one ever was). Team Rocket, like always, is up to no good and you're going to have to teach them another lesson in pain.

The game was released in September of last year in Japan and was offered to American and European markets earlier in 2007. New features such as a headset that supports voice features and online play added some new areas to explore for veterans of the series. Creator Satoshi Tajiri must be flashing his million dollar smile right now.

It seems that Pokemon fever still runs strong in the veins of every UK-borne Pokemaniac, as the special event held to herald the UK release of Pokemon Diamond and Pokemon Pearl was overran with fans - six hours before the actual launch started, even.

We get you all the details on the events that unfolded during that fateful day: By the time the launch itself was declared open to the public, the Game Store inside Hamleys was already packed with Pokemaniacs of all shapes, sizes and ages - all of them queuing up to nab one of the 200 copies made available by Nintendo itself.

With mascots of the three starter Pokemon - Piplup, Chimchar and Turtwig - making their appearance, as well as Pop Rock band McFly providing a soundtrack to the occasion, a good time was had by all, fortunately with no mob-related injuries.

Certainly good news that fellow Pokemon fans are still keeping the faith despite the game being released months after the rest of the world got their copies. Updates as we get them, and in the meantime, why not peruse our official review of the game?


Buy: [Pokemon Pearl]
Buy: [Pokemon Diamond]

We guess you are all familiar with software and hardware sales pointing out Nintendo's dominance in Japan as well as some countries in the West with its Wii and DS consoles. This next one still concerns charts actions but is set in a different market: Canada.

Yup, be proud because it looks like Nintendo is indeed taking the whole world by storm and the way things are going, it has no plans of slowing down. Based from the recent data provided to Canadian press members, June belonged to Nintendo as it secured the top three software spots, not to mention 10 titles being included in the top 12.

Mario Party 8 is the most preferred game by our Canadian friends, followed closely by Wii Play. The number three position was occupied by Pokemon Pearl while its twin Pokemon Diamond ended on the fifth spot. On the other hand, the number four position was taken by Xbox 360 racing game Forza Motorsport 2.

The highest entry to the June chart was Capcom's Resident Evil 4 at number seven, which is not actually a surprise given the game's success lately. If you want to go further into the charts, two more Nintendo games made it to the top 20 bringing the total to 12.

The remaining eight spots were shared by Xbox 360 with three titles, four PlayStation 2 games, and just one for the PlayStation 3.

If the gossip circuit is to be believed, Nintendo may be weeding out Pokemon Diamond / Pearl players that are using Action Replay DS codes to beef up their Pokemon. While it may be true that code sniffers may have difficulty in detecting some Action Replay codes, Nintendo managed to sniff out the following:

• National-Dex (After talking with Game Director)
• Catching All 493 Pokemon
• All Shiny

According to floyd of Wii60 forums, using the codes above would block you from getting online. We don't dare try it ourselves to verify the rumors, but you can do so yourselves AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Should the rumors be true, then it looks like Nintendo is taking some actions regarding online players getting undue advantage over those who put in real work in improving their Pokemon stats. Well, fair play is always good, don't you think?

  

Nintendo's Pokemon Pearl and Diamond are set to be out on July 27 across Europe. This is good news for Poke-fans out there who have been waiting for a chance to get their mitts on the game. Like the US release, gamers across Europe who pre-order the game will get a special limited edition styluses. (Dialga stylus for Diamond and a Palkia stylus for Pearl.)

This game is set in Sinnoh, a place known for legendary Pokemon. Like previous games, players take the role of a budding Pokemon trainer out to make a name for himself. Eventually, players meet the Pokemon-mad Professor Rowan, who requests that the player catalogs every Pokemon in the world via the Pokedex. Players can do this as they strive to become the Pokémon League champion. This wouldn't be Pokemon without Gym Leaders to defeat on your path to glory. Of course things have been complicated a bit by the introduction of Team Galactic (the token Team Rocket-like organization in the game).

That said, this game gathered an amazing combined sales of more than 1.75 million copies in just 14 days of since its release. If you're interested in this game, perhaps you would like to read our review on this game to see if its your cup of tea.