Diamond and Pearl brought Pokémon into the Nintendo DS era: two screens, a touch screen and, above all, online play. Their release was a worldwide event, and their legacy can still be felt today. Here is their story, from creation to legacy.
After Ruby and Sapphire on Game Boy Advance, Game Freak took on the fourth generation on a console that changed everything: the Nintendo DS, released at the end of 2004. The studio wanted to use every one of its features: the touch screen for the Pokétch and battles, Wi-Fi to trade and battle around the world, and the Game Boy Advance slot to bring over Pokémon from previous games.
The game was directed by Junichi Masuda, who also composed the music with Go Ichinose and Hitomi Sato. Ken Sugimori led the design of the characters and Pokémon.
📅Key dates
| Game | Japan | North America | Europe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diamond and Pearl | September 28, 2006 | April 22, 2007 | July 27, 2007 |
| Platinum | September 13, 2008 | March 22, 2009 | May 22, 2009 |
Diamond and Pearl sold more than 17 million copies worldwide, and Platinum more than 7 million: the fourth generation is one of the most popular of the series.
🌐Major firsts
- Online play: the Global Terminal in Jubilife City and its worldwide trades, battles and the Union Room.
- 3D environments: cities and buildings in volume, under a top-down view faithful to the series.
- An enriched clock and calendar: morning, day, night and days of the week.
- The physical/special split, which shook up competitive play.
💎Platinum, the third version
Like Yellow, Crystal and Emerald before it, Platinum retells the adventure of Diamond and Pearl while enriching it. Giratina, absent from the cover of the first two versions, becomes the star, with a new location, the Distortion World, and a new form. Platinum also fixes the sluggishness of Diamond and Pearl and expands the regional Pokédex.
🎬On television and in cinemas
The animated series follows Ash in Sinnoh with Dawn and Brock, in the Diamond and Pearl season, from 2006 to 2010. Three films are tied to the generation: The Rise of Darkrai, Giratina and the Sky Warrior and Arceus and the Jewel of Life, which came with distributions of the star Pokémon. The site covers the whole series in its Pokémon Series mini-site.
⏳The legacy
- 2009-2010: HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Johto remakes, reuse the Platinum engine.
- 2021: Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, remakes on Switch. See The Switch remake.
- 2022: Pokémon Legends: Arceus tells the story of Sinnoh’s past, then called Hisui.
To discover what makes Sinnoh so magical, start with our review and our complete walkthrough.
