Precisely two months after its North American debut, European gamers will be getting their Pokem on as the latest in the critter-catching RPG series hits DS.

Pokemon Platinum is a companion piece to Diamond and Pearl - only this offers much more than your average Poke-sequel. For starters, there are new online modes at the Wi-Fi plaza, while the Vs. Recorder allows you to record your most exciting battles and replay them to your heart’s content.

And then there’s the small matter of the Distortion World - I’ve experienced this in the Japanese version, and it really is one of the most exciting and unique Pokemon dungeons ever.

Oh, and there’s a new form of Shaymin - a Sky form, should you be a fan of that rare and unique beast.

Given that a lot of Pokemon games feel like little more than cheap cash-ins, it’s refreshing to have a game where its creators appear to have listened to criticism, with the new game featuring much more post-endgame content - like the Battle Frontier, which is a building full of additional challenges and tournaments, available once you’ve beaten the Elite Four. Not bad.

22nd May is the date for Poke-fans to scribble in their diaries, assuming they can hold off importing the US version out on 22nd March, that is.

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Satoru Iwata could be permitted for letting his jaw drop open a couple of times in the last 24 hours. First, it was revealed that the labouring Xbox 360 actually managed to outsell the Wii in Japan last week - shifting 28,681 units compared to 27,057. A healthy price drop and a Square-Enix exclusive does funny things to a console.

Yet he would have been more pleasantly surprised by the quite staggering success of Pokemon Platinum, which managed to sell an astonishing 967,675 copies.

In TWO DAYS.

Which means it has surpassed the sales of New Super Mario Bros. to become the fastest-selling single title for the DS in launch week. Diamond and Pearl combined sold more, but Platinum holds the record for a standalone title.

Who’s calling it a fad now?

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With the new Pokemon movie trousering plenty more millions for its creators, how about lining the pockets of more Japanese entrepreneurs by purchasing these new Pokemon phone strap gashapon?

They’re taken from the 11th Pokemon film which was released in July, and which has made over $30 million to date.

Pikachu, I don’t choose you. Piplup’s clearly the choice of champion Poke-fans.

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Essential info, then: Pokemon Platinum is coming out in Japan on 13th September, for 4800 yen (around £22.69). Which suggests pre-Christmas for US audiences, while the European release may just slip into next year, going off past form. Time will tell.

Anyway, it seems that there’s more to Platinum than you might expect of your average Pokemon update. To whit:

• There’s a new team member
• Interpol is somehow involved (don’t they have bigger fish to fry?)
• Dialgia and Palkia appear at the same time (at Spear Pillar)
• Brand new facilities in Sinnoh
• A Battle Frontier
• Wi-Fi now supports up to TWENTY players (blimey)
• There’s a new poffin-making game
• Best of all, the new Battle Recorder allows you to record footage of your best matches and show it off online

Impressive, no? Not just your standard vanilla update, then. Which can surely only be a good thing.

(Thanks to the terrific - and worryingly comprehensive - Pokemon Platinum News.)

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