Boxing Day was an odd day in the world of Nintendo Downloads. Issues with the Nintendo Network continued, while Nintendo disabled Pokémon Bank and withdrew it from the eShop in Japan; it emerged that the launch of the app on 25th December in the company's homeland had contributed to the issues we've encountered.
Nintendo of America also failed to update its press page with the region's download update information, yet despite the ongoing eShop issues the information did appear as a press release on a PR-centric business website. You can see the Nintendo Download Americas information here, but unsurprisingly one detail has proven incorrect. As we suggested may have been the case due to its issues in Japan, Nintendo has now officially delayed the release of Pokémon Bank in the West — both Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe have posted the following message.
Release of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter postponed due to a large volume of traffic to the Nintendo Network service
Nintendo and The Pokémon Company International have postponed the launch of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter – two software applications that were originally scheduled to launch for Nintendo 3DS on Dec. 27 – due to a large volume of traffic to the Nintendo Network service. Due to the high traffic, players are having trouble setting up Nintendo Network IDs and downloading content in the Nintendo eShop on both Wii U and Nintendo 3DS. We truly regret the inconvenience, and wish to reassure everyone that providing a solution is our top priority. We apologise for the delay and thank you for your continued patience.
We've recently been able to access both the 3DS and Wii U eShop platforms on our UK systems for the first time since 25th December, and the updated eShop content is in place.
The Nintendo Network Status pages are still reporting ongoing issues with eShop access, so once the company gives the all-clear we'll update our original article.
Are you disappointed with this delay to the Pokémon X & Y online app?
Thanks to Jack Treese for the heads up.
Comments 96
No big deal. I rather wait then have bugs or issues with the pokemon bank.
I love how Pokémon bank is still mentioned in the release list on the eShop itself, as well as being listed in the store with a "not yet released"-notice, way to bring up hopes and then crush them in under a minute, Nintendo
Seriously though, who up there in Nintendo HQ thought that waiting two and a half months and releasing "Pokémon bank" right in the busiest system update/eShop buying-time (Lots of systems sold for Xmas) was going to be a good idea?
Boo Hoo Pikachu!
flipnote studio 3d all over again, next time the West should get first try to make things fair.
As someone who has no interest in pokeman's, thank Christ for that!
@MysticX Well, it would go pretty good with all those Xs and Ys sold And a little more traffic is ok, but nobody could guess that the whole network would collapse
Those who though this was the right time to upload it were GENIUS!
@Einherjar Well, they stacked two high-traffic events on top of each other (Christmas surge and Pokémon bank), i expected slowdowns and stuff, but almost three days of the network going entirely belly-up? That was surprisingly spectacular fail even to a pessimist like me...
As I said in another article:
"I just accessed the eShop. Downloaded Super Mario Bros. 3, but when I touched the Pokémon Bank icon, a 'The software has been updated' message popped up, causing the eShop to reload... with the Pokémon Bank nowhere in sight, and when I used the Search option, the release date changed to 'not available'.
This is Nelson Muntz-level trolling, right there."
Oh well, it means we'll have to count on Wonder Trade for a while. I already got a Turtwig from Japan.
Ugh... as long nintendo doesn't do that flipnote 3ds thing again.
However, here's a joke to lighten up the mood...
Isn't it ironic? Early Bank users will get Celebi... the time travel Pokémon! Paradoxes ahoy!
All this Nintendo Network chaos has really made our video game hobby more stressful than enjoyable. My little brother got a shiny new pokemon edition 3DS XL and got an error code in the middle of the system transfer. Now his old 3DS is wiped and the game save data won't load on the new system. The old SD card still shows his save data on the new XL, but the game still acts as if there is no save data.
Now when they release the Pokémon Bank, he might not have a game to transfer to. I really hope his save is not lost, hundreds of hours... IV breeding... shinies found... makes him want to cry thinking about it
@LastLife
Well, gaming is more stressful than enjoyable... that's the way it's been lately, anyway.
Did someone say Error 37?
Havent finished white 2 yet. I just hope i will be able to get the torchic they are giving away till Jan. 15th
I'm not surprised. it's not really bothering me though since I can't find my copy of black 2 anyways and am planning on buying a copy of white 2 with my Christmas money I get today. As long as the eShop is working and I can download some games for my shiny new Wii U, I'm happy.
I don't think Nintendo is the only one have Network traffics. And even so, I'm pretty positive that a few days later, Its all fixed in a snap.
Didn't Nintendo remember this 'is the season to be jolly' so they better get Pokemon Bank on the eShop as SOON AS POSSIBLE!
Pokeheads got by without a stupid cloud bank thingumajig in the past... Why is it such a big issue now
@Artwark I hope so
@MAB people were really P'd off when they didn't release Pokemon Bank on the release day of Pokemon X & Y so couldn't Nintendo see how P'd off people would be if they did this (not releasing it on the set date)
I haven't tried yet.
Honestly, who didn't see this coming? I hope that Poke bank comes online before
2014.
@MegaGarchomp527 I hope so too
What would people rather have? An application that doesn't work that requires many patches and downtime, or something that actually works on release?
like usual japan gets something but as soon as the rest of the world is about to get it nope bam you get a bag of nothing
but hey least it stops those ppl who already transfered hacked 6iv legends and what not for the mean time -_- i swear the should stop the greedy cloners
I want TWO free legendaries now...one for the release, and another for emotional consolidation...!
@MysticX Yep, it was simply too much in too little time. MiiVerse merging, NNID implementation as a global ID, account ballance merging, NNID implementation acting as a global mass sign up of countless "new" accounts, massive holliday sales, good contend updates on both eshops etc.
In some ways, its a good sign. Nintendos systems are SO alive, that they are breaking down again
I have no doubts that this will get resolved soon, but it will take some tinkering here and there. And judging by past experiences and how nintendo reacts to stuff like that (Ambassador program for overpriced 3DS systems etc) we might even benefit from such a breakdown, but i wuldnt count on that.
@Hyperstar96
Exactly. And if you think about just how often we've seen that one...
this is why they should have released it on the day x and y came out
Yes I'm extremely disappointed. I spent the last two week transferring my pokemon from emerald to platinum to black 2, in preparation for the pokebank. Now it was all a waste of time. Screw you, Nintendo
@Bryon15
Same here.
It pains me how unprepared nintendo are for these things, the simple fact that it's christmas should have seen them increase resources , plenty of new 3ds and wii u consoles connecting for the first time and downloading updates etc ppl downloadung games, christmas eshop sale, all those factors make it busy let alone launching a new poke app
@Hyperstar96
It depends. If the delay is long enough, I could well be too busy with, say, Retro City Rampage to even bother with the Bank anymore.
I hope Pokemon Bank isn't another Flipnote or SMB 3.
@MegaGarchomp527
SMB3 is out. I got it on my 3DS this morning.
@AlexSora89 Not in NA.
@MAB We got by without a pointless cloud-storage thing because back then the possibility to transfer pokémon across generations was IN THE BLOODY GAMES! And since (to me at least) the biggest appeal in pokémon is in training and using the pokémon i like best (And of which hardly any are in X or Y), this is a pretty big deal to me.
Nintendo decided to couple transferring to a paid cloudstorage thing (that nobody ever asked for) and tried to sweeten the deal with a "Is this thing legel?"-check, now they tried to release it at the single worst time of year for that sort of thing and the whole damn thing is biting them in the backside bigtime, stellar job nintendo!
Oh yeah, to add insult to injury: when i tried the eShop just now, it gave me error-messages again, that's legendary fail right there.
Apparently it's "available at your local retailer"... lol
I am still trying to download the Legend of Zelda a Link between worlds from the download ticket that came with my 3DSXL. It is nice they are reducing the strain on the servers, but I will only buy physical copies of Nintendo games in the future because of this.
Nintendo has failed to provide a service I paid for. If I can not get Zelda 3DS soon, I might just take an easier route (and buy the physical version).
@Midayle You're a pretty impatient person.
Nintendo isn't the one to blame. Blame the time of year.
@BlatantlyHeroic Nintendo aren't blameless they could of prepared a lot better, I myself am fine as I have SM3DW and a new PS Vita with Tearaway to keep me occupied.
@BlatantlyHeroic Nintendo are to blame for not seeing a traffic spike coming at christmas, or seeing a traffic spike coming when they release the companion-app to a millions-selling game, or indeed seeing a HUGE traffic-spike coming when both those things happen at the same time
Seriously, nintendo make great games and hardware, but they need to hire somebody new to help with planning...
This better not get delayed for 5+ months like Flipnote Studio 3D. We still don't have a release date for that either. I hope we get Pokemon Bank and Poke Transporter within the next week.
@MysticX Actually, they're to blame for not having larger servers.
Maybe they'll pull a Sony and give us a free game or credit after the downtime
@MegaGarchomp527
Ouch! Didn't remember that!
Well, it's not like the US is going to get the middle finger. Not with SMB3.
Heck, think about Super Mario RPG, Chrono Trigger, Earthbound and other stuff that took ages before they came to Europe!
@dings If this keeps up, they sure should... I was really looking forward to transfer my competitive team to play the battle mansion in Y.
Then, what's the use of the $5 that we'll pay to YOU Nintendo, if your servers keep... bugging? >.>
Lame. Really. Nintendo blew it this time. :/
Worst of all, the japanese already got it, so its kinda unfair.
@MAB unfortunately, this 'stupid' cloud service is the only way to transfer data between the past games
@MAB Maybe because in the past, we didn't need the stupid cloud/bank thing to transfer our pokemon!
Well, with both the Wii U and 3DS eShop working fine again since last night, I think they should be able to launch the Pokebank. But if they're uncomfortable with that, it's fine, I can wait for my Oshawott egg I have been since the game launched, so a few more days won't hurt.
Delayed!
My Hyper Voice!!!
I'm way too busy to start uploading my decade or so of Pokemon onto X. This stinks but I'm being patient about it.
What a bunch of impatient whiners. They should have anticipated a rise in traffic, and they probably did, just not enough. The eshop is back up now and Mario 3 is available. Pokemon Bank isn't ready for release. Rather than release buggy software, they decided to delay it until it works. Nintendo was faced with a "damned if I do, damned if I don't" situation. If they release buggy software, everyone would complain and bad reviews would circle.
@Trikeboy Pokebank its not buggy. Its the server itself, no pokebank/transporter
@Gridatttack fine, the server didn't work, should they have released something that doesn't work?
@Trikeboy
It could have been worse. What if Valve was in charge of the Pokébank? Hoo boy.
Now let's wait for anyone who didn't get I was joking...
@Gridatttack
What should us Europeans say about Brawl, then?
American release in February, European release in late June.
NEVER forget.
You guys suuuuuuuure do like to use that thumbnail of Pikachu crying whenever there's bad news regarding Pokemon, don't ya?
This is really bad professionally. They should have been on top of this. Not a huge deal, though.
@DarkKirby which pokemon is that in your picture, (that's if it is a pokemon)
@liampaulmassey
You have got to be kidding.
Watch the Super Smash Bros. 4 reveal trailer.
(it's right there in his username, sans the "dark" part)
I think he is referring to the Gardevoir.
@AlexSora89 I don't wanna sound silly asking but just tell us who is it
@liampaulmassey the avatar or the picture? The picture is a Gardevoir, and yes, it's a Pokemon.
@Trikeboy cheers, yes I did mean the Gardevoir, I just thought i'm sure I recognise that face, but one thing I wanna recognise/see again is pokemon bank on the main page of the eShop
Has anyone seen or heard anything about a New release date for Pokemon Bank?
I hope this motivates Nintendo to further enhance their online infrastructure so their servers can handle more people. I'm hoping that they indeed sold a lot more Wii Us and 3DS handhelds so we all do need to let them do their thing.
It sucks that I have to wait until tomorrow to access the eShop since I just bought a $20 points card to download more games.
Does every company think "Hmm we are going to be very busy if we release this during the holidays. Oh well, minimal server support check."
@One-Winged-Pit no they do not
Augh...(sniff)...that image of Pikachu gets me every time...
@ MAB if you don't care then why are you here on a topic about pokemon?
@MAB
"only kiddie Pokemans"
Witness the storyline in Pokémon Black, White, X and Y and then come back at us. And I think I'm speaking for everyone here.
Well, either that or just have a nice stay at Lavender Town, why not.
It also appears Nintendo doesn't either
:[ unfortunate.
I'm alright with this. It's created an interesting trading environment where people are still trying to get a hold of these previously unavailable Pokemon but with scarcer resources.
@Hyperstar96 NL should make a tag just for that picture at this rate. It pops up almost as often as articles.
@ alexsora89 black and white/ black and white 2 had an amazing storyline but my favorites are ruby/sapph and silver/gold. And thanks for the support
Just checked and eshop is now available in the Midwest. Sadly bank is not
@AlexSora89 He could be talking about Gardevoir you know...?
I havn't been able to access the eShop at all for a number of days now, I think it was before Xmas, and when I tried again today it told me my region has been blocked due to how busy it was. I can wait for the Bank, I'm honestly not surprised this happened, I'm just disappointed I can't get anything else since there are some things on sale and a game I wanted to get. Also Pokemon X is telling me I have an update, but I can't do anything about it.
@MysticX Hire someone who knows what theyre doing
...Ugh, I want my killer insect team in Y. T.T
@XboxSupport your name is funny considering this is a Nintendo Website, shame theres no Pokemon bank...
@Mizore I think my Infernape would run rampant through that team.
@Xtremetdifan Yeah I doubt it, they're able to take down plenty of Pokemon.
Doe's anybody out there still think pokemon bank will be out by 2014, I don't
I'm surprised they didn't anticipate the surge of network activity this, coupled with new system registration over the Christmas period would bring. Though this is Nintendo who are very conservative, they probably underestimated on purpose so as not to spend too much. Oh well, lesson learned for them I suppose.
Still not up Nintendo i want my Dragonite on X and Y!!!! Maybe i'll give it to someone in japan they trade it to x and y and then trade it back to me? Nah... So Nintendo whens it gonna be fixed?
More Bs, still not out
More Bs, still not out
Just wait patiently it will make it's way to you guy's eventually.
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