Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl are the Nintendo Switch remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. This sheet brings together their characteristics, dates, updates, reception and sales.
| French title | Pokémon Diamant Étincelant et Pokémon Perle Scintillante |
|---|---|
| English title | Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl |
| Japanese title | Pocket Monsters Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl |
| Platforms | Nintendo Switch; playable on Nintendo Switch 2 |
| Generation | Eighth (remakes of the fourth) |
| Announcement | 26 February 2021, during a Pokémon Presents |
| Worldwide release | 19 November 2021 (Japan, Americas, Europe, Australia, Korea) |
| Developer | ILCA, Inc. |
| Direction | Junichi Masuda (GAME FREAK) and Yuichi Ueda (ILCA) |
| Publishers | The Pokémon Company and Nintendo |
| Genre | Role-playing game |
| Players | 1 to 4; up to 8 in the Grand Underground |
| Languages | French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Simplified and Traditional Chinese |
| Compatibility | Pokémon HOME |
| Sales | Over 6 million in the first week; 13.97 million as of 31 December 2021 (Nintendo) |
Announcement and release
The remakes were announced on 26 February 2021, during the Pokémon Presents held on the eve of Pokémon Day and the franchise’s twenty-fifth anniversary, alongside Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Takato Utsunomiya, Chief Operating Officer of The Pokémon Company, presented them as “faithful remakes” of Diamond and Pearl. On 25 May 2021, a press release set the release for 19 November 2021 and revealed the box art. It is the first time a main-series game was not developed by GAME FREAK: the studio ILCA was in charge.
Updates
| Version | Date | Main content |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1.0 | 11 November 2021 | Before release: online and local modes for the Grand Underground, the Super Contests Showcase and the Union Room, Mystery Gift, Ramanas Park, cutscenes |
| 1.1.1 | 18 November 2021 | Optimization of version 1.1.0 |
| 1.1.2 | 2 December 2021 | Fixes for game-breaking bugs |
| 1.1.3 | 22 December 2021 | Fixes, including duplication bugs |
| 1.2.0 | 22 February 2022 | Expanded Union Room, online Colosseum in Pokémon Centers, filtering of modified Pokémon |
| 1.3.0 | 16 March 2022 | Arceus event tied to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, online trades at the Global Terminal |
Our news from the time: update 1.1.3, update 1.2.0 and the Mythical Pokémon of 1.3.0.
Critical reception
| Outlet | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic (average) | 73/100 |
| Jeuxvideo.com | 15/20 |
| IGN | 8/10 |
| Famitsu | 34/40 |
| Pokémon France | 13/20 |
Sales
The launch was massive: The Pokémon Company announced more than six million copies sold worldwide in the first week. In Japan, Famitsu counted nearly 1.4 million in the week of release. As of 31 December 2021, Nintendo reported 13.97 million copies, which at the time placed the remakes among the ten best-selling Switch games.
The title in other languages
| Language | Title |
|---|---|
| English | Pokémon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl |
| German | Pokémon Strahlender Diamant / Leuchtende Perle |
| Spanish | Pokémon Diamante Brillante / Perla Reluciente |
| Italian | Pokémon Diamante Lucente / Perla Splendente |
| Japanese | Pocket Monsters Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl |
