Pokemon Yellow and Platinum
Image: Nintendo

Nintendo DS title Pokémon Platinum turns 15 today.

Released in Japan on September 13th 2008, the game was a commercial smash hit, selling 1.3 million copies in Japan in just nine days. The North American release came in March 2009. It would eventually rack up global sales of 7.06 million copies worldwide (as of March 31st, 2010).

Just as had been the case with Pokémon Yellow and Pokémon Emerald, Pokémon Platinum is the third version of an existing pair of titles – in this case, Diamond and Pearl, which had been released a year earlier.

New additions to the game include the Wi-Fi Plaza and the Vs. Recorder, the latter of which allows players to record battles.

While we're on the topic of birthdays, it's worth noting that Pokémon Yellow turned 25 yesterday (we almost missed it). It sucks to be old, right? It launched in Japan on September 12th, 1998, and would hit North America on October 18th, 1999.

Yellow was an expanded version of Pokémon Red and Blue, with a focus on Pikachu, one of the main characters from the massively popular Pokémon cartoon series.

Are either of these games your favourite Pokémon title? Let us know by posting a comment below.