It's been 15 years since the release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl on the Nintendo DS, and now rumors are circulating that a remake is in the works for Nintendo Switch.
This rumor comes way of Centro Pokémon, a Spanish-language Pokémon rumors website. According to a source close to The Pokémon Company, a Diamond and Pearl Remake is in the works to coincide with the 25 year anniversary of the original release of Red and Blue on the Game Boy.
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According to Centro Pokémon, as translated by Nintendo Life, remakes of the 2006 titles are currently in development.
"Pokémon Center can confirm that, according to sources close to the company, remakes of Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl , originally released in 2006 for the Nintendo DS, are in development for the Nintendo Switch ."
Both versions will likely be more similar to the more traditional Pokémon Sword and Shield mainline games and unlike the Pokémon: Let's Go series.
It's expected to be announced during a special Nintendo Pokémon Direct celebrating #Pokémon25. This comes courtesy of Pokémon insider Kelios. February 27 also happens to be Pokémon Day in Japan, which celebrates the launch of the Red and Blue.
Per our analysis, there seems to be a decent likelihood of a Diamond and Pearl remake happening. Nintendo has remade many of its past Pokémon titles, with games from Diamond and Pearl afterwards being the exception. Both Sword and Shield were built in a new engine on Nintendo Switch. While those games were criticized by longtime fans as being too easy and simplistic, especially when compared to the deeper more robust RPGs on the market, that did little to dissuade buyers. At the moment, Sword and Shield sit as the third-best selling Pokémon games of all time. And considering the titles are just over a year old, it's likely the games will move higher up the list.
For all intents and purposes, Nintendo needs a new Pokémon title every year or every other year, regardless of if the gameplay is starting to get stale.
