The annualization of Pikachu: Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire make 6 Pokémon games in 7 years

When gamers talk about publishers that “milk” their big franchises with yearly releases, most of the time they are talking about Activision and Call of Duty or Electronic Arts and Madden. But despite its history, Nintendo is no different.

Strong evidence for Nintendo’s love of (nearly) annual releases came today when it announced the upcoming release of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for the 3DS. The two games are updated remakes of the 2003 Game Boy Advance classics, and they will hit Nintendo’s 3D handheld in November. With Pokémon Black 2 and White 2 in 2012 and Pokémon X and Y last year, this marks three new entries in the main pocket monster series in three years. In fact, Nintendo will have six new Pokémon over the seven-year period from 2008 through 2014. It only missed 2011.