Pokemon Black and White Sells 2.63 Million Copies in Two Days

Nintendo has announced that Pokemon Black and White, the fifth generation of video games based on the very popular franchise, have managed to sell more than 2.6 million units in their first two days on sales in Japan and other Asian markets, with the game managing to reach 1.5 million pre orders before the September 18 launch date.

It's not clear which of the two versions of the game sold the most units.

Pokemon titles are usually launched in pairs which have only slight differences but encourage the player base to connect and exchange content.

Pokemon Black and White is now the fastest game for the Nintendo DS family to reach one million pre orders and the two titles have managed to sell better than the previous generation Diamond and Pearl games, which managed just 1.58 million copies during their opening weekend on sale.

Overall Diamond and Pearl have managed to sell more than 18 million copies while Heart Gold and Soul Silver are over 10 million at the moment.

The Japanese sales of Pokemon Black and White were also enhanced by the launch of a new movie linked to the franchise, called Phantom Ruler: Zoroark, the first chance to see the 150 new Pokemon that the game introduces.

Criticism was leveled at the new Pokemon games recently because of the region lock which does not allow Western gamers to get copies of the new adventure from Japan in order to play on the DS handhelds they have picked up in their home countries.

Europe and North America will get Black and White at some point during the spring of 2011, presumably with some new content to justify the delayed launch.

One feature that might limit the popularity of Pokemon Black and White could be the fact that the game only allows gamers to play new characters before they complete the title at least once.