The latest color-themed dual release in Nintendo's smash
Pokemon franchise has sold 2.63 million copies in its first two days on sale in Japan across its
Black and
White versions.
That's more than 2006's highly successful
Diamond and
Pearl versions, which between them sold 1.58 million in their opening weekend, according to a Japanese-language report
translated by consumer weblog Kotaku. IGN
also reported that this makes
Black and
White the fastest titles for the DS platform to reach one million consumer preorders.
Pokemon Black and
White saw nearly that figure just in Japanese preorders, which reached 1.5 million units leading up to its September 18 launch date in the region. The game reaches Western shores in Spring 2011.
Diamond and
Pearl have sold some 18 million life-to-date units, while the subsequent
Heartgold and
SoulSilver, which came equipped with a "Pokewalker" pedometer, have combined for over 10 million units.
In Japan,
Black and
White, which represent the fifth generation of
Pokemon games, launched alongside the animated
Phantom Ruler: Zoroark film, which introduced the title's 150 new Pokemon for the first time.
The games also drew press attention recently for being the
most visible example yet of a DSi region-locked title (Japanese releases will not play on DSi hardware from other regions), after numerous Western attendees visited Japan for the Tokyo Game Show and attempted to purchase copies of the game to bring home in advance of its Western launch.
