Can you hear that rumble? That's the sound of a 100,000 Japanese school children running to pre-order the new DS Pokémon adventure, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, which hits the Land of the Rising Sun this Christmas. Or on second thoughts, maybe it's just that curry we had last night.
As the first 'proper' Pokémon games to hit Nintendo's dual-screened handheld, Diamond and Pearl already have fans of the series rubbing their screens with excitement. Intriguingly, the games will both feature online play over Nintendo Wi-Fi, complete with voice-chat to mock your friends during battle. Online play, along with the combined popularity of Nintendo DS and Pokemon, will surely result in full-scale riots in Japanese shopping malls come Christmas.
If we manage to get our hands on import copies, we'll let you know how Diamond and Pearl shape up when they hit Japan.