Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire were announced earlier this week, labeled a "fresh take" on the original third generation Pokemon games, Ruby and Sapphire, that graced Nintendo's Game Boy Advance in 2003. But "fresh take" is something of an ambiguous term, so during a company investor briefing, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata explained exactly what the games are.
Nintendo Announces Pokémon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire For 3DS
As players might have expected, both Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire are "full-remakes" of their respective predecessors, according to Iwata. That would make Omega and Alpha's relationship with Ruby and Sapphire akin to the relationships Fire Red and Leaf Green have with the first generation Pokémon games, or, similar to HeartGold and SoulSilver to really drive the point home.
So why the remakes? Well, work is still ongoing with Pokémon X and Y, with more pocket monsters still out in the wild, waiting to join the roster, and it's a bit early for a brand new Pokémon game. But the biggest reason? In the immortal words of 'Ol Dirty, "Dollar, dollar bill ya'll."
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During the investor briefing, Iwata revealed that the original Ruby and Sapphire sold 16.22 million copies, which, according to VGSales, makes them the third best-selling games in the series following the the first-generation Red, Blue, and Green with 20.68 million sales, and Generation IV's Diamond and Pearl with 14.77 million sales.
The remakes are set to drop on the 3DS this November. You can check out the games' announcement trailer below. We'll have more information as it becomes available.
