Forever young

Ten years isn't a long time. But in Pokémon years, 10 years means more than $25 billion in retail sales and more than 140 million video games sold worldwide. And in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Pokémon's leap from local Japanese favorite to worldwide phenomenon, Pokémon Trozei! for Nintendo DS is the first in a lineup of games planned for this year based on the property.

In the new game players can touch the screen to slide Pokémon puzzles in place. By arranging four pieces in a row, up or down, players make a Trozei, and clear the pieces from the screen until the screen is clear.

Additional Pokémon product offerings this year include a Pokémon EX Legend Maker Trading Card Game, Badge Master for making Poké-designed buttons, story books and a Munchin' Munchlax game. The eighth Pokémon movie, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, will be out later this year.

The Pokémon Journey Across America tour, which features interactive card and video game activities, including competitions to qualify for the Pokémon Video Game National Championships in August, will continue into the summer.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of Sonic the Hedgehog. To kick off the celebration, Sega, San Francisco, unveils Sonic Riders!, which introduces a new extreme sport to Sonic's bag of tricks: air boarding.

The story follows Sonic and friends as they try to retrieve the Chaos Emerald stolen from Metal City by a trio of air boarders. The multiplayer game lets players glide on air boards and perform tricks and stunts in high-speed racing action.

With a film in the works for 2007 release, classic Castlevania celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. New games are currently in development following the recently released Castlevania: Curse of Darkness for PS2 and Xbox and Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow for Nintendo DS, from Konami. The story follows the Belmont family as they try to destroy Dracula, and other vampires, in 19th century Europe.

Konami, Redwood City, Calif., also has plans for its famed traffic-crossing frog. In celebration of Frogger's 25th anniversary this year, Konami will develop a Frogger game that will enable players to compete for prizes.

To commemorate the 15th birthday of Street Fighter, Capcom will release Street Fighter Anniversary Collection. The set features two chapters of the video game, including Hyper Street Fighter II, a blend of all five Street Fighter II titles with multiple character variations and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike. Adjustable game play rules and a DVD of the 1994 film Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie are also included.