There is no shortage of popular Nintendo DS games on the Japanese market, and today the system got two more. Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl launched today, and again Tokyo saw fans lining up in scenes reminiscent of the Final Fantasy III DS launch last month. (Final Fantasy III will hit the US in mid-November.)

　　According to Japanese news site ITmedia, around 1,000 people queued up for the event and a chance to buy the latest installments in the Pokémon franchise and the Pokémon Center Original Nintendo DS Lite Dialga/Palkia Edition. Some fans had been in line since five o'clock the previous day. Even with the entire resources of the store devoted to selling the games, the queue time ballooned to five hours as the store filled to capacity.

　　A star-studded stage event was also held to celebrate the launch in the Shinjuku Takashimaya department store. The show featured the comic stylings of the trio Roba-to and of Shoko "Shocotan" Nakagawa--one of Japan's top geek pinups. The event showcased the game's Wi-Fi features with a celebrity Pokémon battle.