Pokémon Black & White reportedly hits Europe on March 4

There may have been a week-long delay between the announcement of the US and European release dates for Pokémon Black & White, but the shoe's on the other foot now; Nintendo has reportedly announced that the latest instalment of the obsessive-compulsive animal training sim will arrive in Europe two days before the US sees a hair of it.

There's been no official word from the UK arm of the Big N, thanks to the bank holiday, but (unnamed) French-language sources, reported by Gamekyo, suggest other territories have received official confirmation of a March 4 release, ahead of the previously announced US date of March 6.

Apparently we never grow weary of the Pokémon formula: upon release in Japan, Black & White became the fastest-selling entry in the series so far, shifting over 1 million units by pre-order alone, and tallying up over four million units in just one month.

The previous entry, HeartGold and SoulSilver, reached 10 million sales within five months of western release - despite being a remake.

Thanks, cubed3.