Pokemon Black & White Sees Over 1M Units Day One In U.S.

The latest iterations of Nintendo and Game Freak's popular Pokemon franchise, Black and White, have "shattered" all previous Pokemon U.S. launch records, Nintendo of America says. Pokemon Black & White sold more than 1.08 million units after just one day on shelves in the country. The last original Pokemon launch, Diamond & Pearl (HeartGold & SoulSilver are remakes), sold 780,000 and set the record at their time. Pokemon Black & White adds over 150 new Pokemon to the game's world, and tasks players with completing the main story before they can expand outside the new material. "Longtime Pokemon fans are attracted to the new Pokemon, new battle systems and a new region to explore, while newcomers enjoy the ability to jump in and have fun right away," says Charlie Scibetta, senior director of corporate communications for Nintendo America. The game also evolves the familiar by adding the ability for seasons to change, as well as additional battle modes. "These sales numbers illustrate the continued strength of the Nintendo DS family of systems. Already established as the nation’s best-selling video game platform of all time, the installed base of more than 47 million makes it the ideal hand-held for developers to reach a huge gaming-focused target audience," he adds.