Nintendo announced on Friday, Feb. 26 that "Pokémon Sun" and "Pokémon Moon" are the next new games in the Pokémon franchise. The games will release globally on Nintendo 3DS this coming holiday season.
According to the announcement on the official Pokémon website, "Pokémon Sun" and "Pokémon Moon" will be the first games in the series whereby gamers will choose from nine different languages to play in. Apart from French, English, German, Italian, Korean, Japanese, and Spanish, players will have a chance to play in both Traditional and Simplified Chinese.
The announcement came from the company's special Pokémon-Centric Nintendo Direct, held on Feb. 26 ahead of the Pokémon 20th anniversary slated for today, Feb. 27. However, fans came across "Pokémon Sun" and "Pokémon Moon" before the official announcement when the logos and trademark apps turned up on Thursday, Feb. 25 in a European trademark database, according to Polygon.
The two upcoming games are the first mainline Pokémon games since the launch of "Pokémon X and Y" on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. These games were followed by "Pokémon Omega Ruby" and "Pokémon Alpha Sapphire," which were Nintendo 3DS remakes of the 2003 games of similar names on Game Boy Advance.
While little is known about "Pokémon Sun" and "Pokémon Moon," which form Pokémon's next generation of role-playing games, a new legendary Pokémon was recently revealed. There are expectations that Magearna, set to debut in this summer's newest Pokémon movie, is the first generation seven's new collectible monsters.
The company as well unveiled that the upcoming 3DS Virtual Console re-releases of "Pokémon Red, Blue, and Yellow" will use the Pokémon Bank application. The app will add new connectivity to the original Game Boy games, allowing gamers to transfer their monsters between games virtually, including "Sun and Moon."
The games will be available on Nintendo 3DS eShop starting Saturday, Feb. 27 for $9.99 each. Meanwhile, watch the footage below for more information on "Pokémon Sun" and "Pokémon Moon."