Let’s be real, the VC release of the Game Boy Pokémon games is one of the easiest ways that Nintendo could make itself a nice profit. Pokémon historically is a franchise that moves units and nostalgia is a powerful factor in driving sales of the original, which are rather dated by modern standards. Few are complaining about the new re-releases of Pokémon Gold and Silver, and now it seems that there might be another Pokémon game on the way to VC in the future.
A data miner has noted that a patch in the ROM files for the two new releases points accdientally contains language referring to Pokémon Crystal, and this is only further cemented by their title IDs on the eShop leaving a suspicious third “gap” right after them. Indeed, it already seemed odd and rather unbelievable that Game Freak would just leave out Crystal, and these findings only bolster expectations. Perhaps the Pokémon Company is just waiting for a particular moment to release Crystal, but at any rate, you can probably expect to see this one pop up on the eShop at some point in the near-ish future.
What do you think? Will you be getting Gold or Silver on your 3DS? Why do you think Game Freak is holding back on Crystal? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
[source gamerant.com]
Comments (65)
That's fascinating if true.
Still a dumb decision to not release all three at the same time...
That's the one I will buy once released, since that was the one I had on GBC. I can wait, I have the yellow on my 3DS anyway...
I will buy crystal. Probably because nobody would buy gold and silver if they released crystal simultaneously.
Don't need Gold, Silver, or Crystal on VC. I've got HeartGold to play on my 3DS.
I downloaded the Gen I games last year but grew bored very quickly and never got past the first couple of gyms. I had fun with them back in the 90s, but the modern Pokémon games make the old ones seem so lifeless by comparison...
I bought Silver, but Crystal is my favourite Pokemon so I hope they release it.
@thesilverbrick I'm the opposite. I have bought many of the modern games, but always get too bored to finish them. For me they seem to lack soul. I bought the gen 1 games for 3ds and had a blast a playing through. When I was a kid I grew out of it after gen 1, so I'm really excited to play Gold and Silver for the first time, in that classic engine.
From what I understand the Japanese version has the mobile adaptor support for Celebi, and they maybe were wanting to not rip it out like they did for the English release?
Interesting. I already bought Gold and looking forward to playing it, and I'd probably get Crystal too if it releases. Yes, I'm a sucker for Pokemon
I would assume many people ignored Red and Blue in favor of Yellow, which means those versions sold less than they should have.
So, Nintendo is going the "it prints money" route this time. They are putting out Gold and Silver first to get people to buy those versions, then they will put out Crystal a few months later to make more money from people who are willing to double dip.
That is the only reason why Crystal is being held back. To ensure Nintendo makes more money off the Gen II games on the eshop.
@jbopatrick I’m in the exact same boat here.. I only ever played GEN 1 red and yellow on GBC way back and then never played another until Alpha Sapphire and Sun. This will be my first time in Gold/Silver!
I know I'm in the minority but I'm kind of getting fed up with data miners. Great, they can bust into stuff, but it also ruins any and all surprises the better and more persistent they get with it. It's kind of like reading an all inclusive review of a major game or getting a guide ahead of time and just ruining any plot or challenge mechanics.
@abbyhitter This argument again, we all know the Souls were a huge improvement. Yet you have the arduous process of bringing those Mon's up to current Generation.
Most never played the originals, dont have a DS, and a $40+ game from 2009.
I hate data miners. How are we supposed to be surprised by anything these days when they spoil it for everyone?
Pokemon Yellow is one of the top eshop games every week since it's clearly a superior product compared to R/B, Nintendo's just going to try and squeeze every last drop out of GS before they drop Crystal version onto there, it makes sense from a profit standpoint.
The packaged versions of gold and silver are arriving today, I was thinking of leaving them sealed. If crystal is coming as well, I will get that to play because just like yellow I've never played crystal.
Oh I'm glad they found this because then I can wait and buy Crystal on my 2DS instead of Gold (since my brother got Gold and I don't want to have "his" game, I already got Silver for my main 3DS).
I really wanna know what's in the packaged version, does anyone already have it?
Gen 2 is my personal favorite and Crystal was my favorite of the Gen 2 games, but I would still probably buy SoulSilver if I wanted to revisit the generation... or maybe I'd download Crystal since it's my favorite. If it ever actually happens, I just might. Also, it does seem odd they would hold back on it. Now I'm definitely not getting Silver because I want to wait for Crystal.
I would genuinely consider picking up Crystal since my old cartridge finally kicked the bucket a couple years ago. Kris is still one of my favorite character designs.
Hope Crystal gets a release, since I've still never gotten to play it.
My only guess for why they're not releasing it at the same time as Gold and Silver is that they're hoping more people will "double dip" if they hold off for a few months. I mean hey, it's gonna work on me. If Crystal was launching on the eShop alongside Gold and Silver, I would probably only get Crystal. But since it's not, I'll be downloading one of the other two, and I'll still get Crystal if they release it later.
It kinda sucks that they're waiting to release Crystal ver. That's the one I grew up playing. Another point that I tend not to consider that much as a guy is that this is the first pokemon game that allowed you to play as a girl so I think it's kinda crappy to make people have to wait for that option in Gen 2
I'm playing through Soul Silver again so giving these a miss. Batteries died on my original G,S & Crystal so might pick one up in a sale.
Oh yessss!!!
Now, this is the pokemon game I remember. I remember getting a Gameboy Advance for Christmas, but only Gameboy Color games for some reason (Pokemon Crystal and Lufia). I don't think my parents realized that but I didn't care, they were both really good games and started me on my hopeless path to Japanese RPG obsession.
Also we could finally choose to play as a girl or boy. That was revolutionary (lol). Kris and Misty were my absolute favorite growing up.
If this is true I'm waiting for crystal.
@Decapre Would there be much reason to buy Gold/Silver if Crystal were available immediately? (other than for exclusive mon. Mareep line is the only omission from Crystal I care about but it doesn't matter much to me since they don't allow same-console trades).
@Jumpman Crystal isn't like most gens' definitive version though. It has some minor improvements like more colors on GBC and short (like one second) intro animations for Pokémon but in terms of content... well you get Suicine in the story instead of having to track it down? And you can be a girl if you want (but there's only one male sprite and one female sprite)? But that's more or less it, it has a tiny bit more plot but it's about as see as a Mario plot... and I'm talking about the definitive version of my fav gen, so I do think highly about it, but playing it shortly after gold or silver would feel redundant, there is very little changed, the least from any gen.
I'm rather annoyed they are doing this, I wasn't sure if they'd release Crystal and didn't want to wait indefinitely as it's my favorite gen... I'd have just waited for Crystal if I knew it was coming though, I'm not going to buy both and it just feels like they were being sneaky. The fact that it didn't come out at the same time like Yellow made me think they might not bother...
@ShadJV I just bought Yellow. I think that is why because most people did the same,
I'd get crystal. Most likely not silver/gold. Like many others, I got yellow instead of red/blue also.
@River3636 but Yellow changes more than Crystal, there is no reason to buy Crystal if someone bought Gold or Silver. Most people will either way for Crystal or skip it and just get Gold/Silver. The amount of double dipping will likely be negligible.
Also I'm the only one I know personally who got yellow, all my friends got red or blue because if we all got yellow we couldn't trade to complete our pokedexes and not everyone cares about starting with a Pikachu. Like I said, this just feels like they were trying to be sneaky. Honestly they could've just priced Crystal a dollar or two more. Only people who wanted the slight graphical differences would've gotten it and the user base would be more diverse if that's the problem. Once again, the number of players that will double dip here will be fairly low, the limited differences doesn't warrant buying the same game again, it's not like it adds much at all, even the post game isn't any longer (as it's already huge in G/S).
@ShadJV My backlog is huge now. I haven't got to Metroid yet because of MHS. I always got all three growing up. Crystal was better and I don't remember why. This gives me an excuse to wait. Those running shoes make the beginning stink anyway. So I'm dreading that part.
My favourite game of all-time. This is awesome news.
@Decapre Hmm, yeah and no I'd say. Crystal is more or less the superior version to Gold and Silver, with the additional Battle Tower, animated sprites, Suicune storyline, and more.
Wouldn't make much sense to get Gold and/or Silver if Crystal was in the mix? But then they wouldn't release Crystal on its own, so I guess that's why G&S were chosen instead. Plus G&S allow people to complete the Pokédex within Gen II between the two versions.
Crystal was the one I actually wanted to buy, it's my favorite. Settled for Gold however
And of course this had to pop up only after I bought Gold.
Cue reaction
I remember going to a Celebi event at a major shopping centre and asking the nice lady to download the extremely rare Celebi pokémon to my Crystal Version cartridge. Boy, was I in Heaven that day! 😊
I'll await for Crystal, I love gen 2 but in the expanded version is where it shines!
Still baffles me why Crystal isn't releasing the same time as Gold and Silver, like Red, Blue and Yellow last year.
Pokemon Crystal is the definitive version. If all three games are released at the same time, players will tend toward Crystal, and many would just ignore Gold and Silver. Releasing Gold and Silver first and later releasing Crystal is an obvious way to maximize profits.
Crystal is probably being left out because they would need to explain to gamers in Japan why the online service doesn't work. Or if it did... to explain the western gamers why the game has a huge "new" feature.
See in the Japanese version of the game, you could get an adapter, plug your Game Boy color into a cell phone, and battle online.
They most likely left it out to release later to grab our moneys again. A lot of folks did buy Yellow over Red and Blue when they were rereleased on VC, might as well make us buy GS then be like "Oh, now we're going to release Crystal! Ooo check out those sprite animations and Suicune storyline! And girls, GIRLS! XD
@Heavyarms55 That or of course, making it work. GS BALLS FOR EVERYONE! XD
@Angelic_Lapras_King "And girls, GIRLS! XD"
That's what I call a selling point. When's this game coming out?
@Angelic_Lapras_King I was just thinking how cool it would be to finally be able to do that event legit the other day.
@Heavyarms55 Yeah, not to mention it could be the ONLY way we can get Celebi in these games. Even if they don't bring back the Japan only online for it, it would be easy just to alt it so instead of connecting you online, the NPC receptionist just say "here ya go, GS Ball!". From what I recall, the event can be hackable in the English releases using action replay/gameshark.
If they can make a few alts like the Surfing Pikachu game playable without a Pikachu that knows Surf in Yellow or purple Jynx, this could be done in an afternoon.
@RaizenPrime When Gold and Silver have met their sales quota.
Buying both Gold and Crystal! Need to support the VC or they might not bring Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald to Switch VC.
@Decapre Why? You can't play all three at the same time!
If you don't like data miners finding out surprises before they're announced, there's an easy solution: don't read any articles or posts where the found information could be seen.
Also, on that note, this was found out a couple of weeks ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/PokemonPrism/comments/71o7bn/according_to_sciresm_the_patches_for_pokemon/
"According to SciresM, the patches for Pokemon Crystal VC release exist within the VC release of GS, could this mean a more accurate VC port of Prism?"
Really tempted by these, but the nostalgia is outweighed by how slow and laborious these games (eg TMs being one time only) these games are nowadays.
They should have given it away free if you bought Gold and Silver as a bundle. Probably testing the waters with their "Box-only, but stickers included!"-approach.
@H1B1Esquire Well if that is what they are trying to test well they got me XD
@Decapre Why release all three and only have people buy one of the three, while you can sell the first two first, have people buy one of these and then later release the third one and have people double dipping on the third.
It's all about money and profit! Not about what is best for the customer.
@jbopatrick The new games have no soul? That's a bit harsh. The GameFreak team pour themselves into each project. They're passionate about what they do.
I think the classic games have a simple and effective classic charm to them but the newer games are full of great ideas, gameplay, innovation and character too.
@thesilverbrick @jbopatrick Meh, both 1st and 2nd gen and 5th-7th gen both feel somewhat lifeless and barren. 3rd and 4th gen is where it's at, that was the era where it felt like Game Freak was actually trying to make the games the best they possibly could. They were still trying to find their footing in 1st and 2nd gen and 5th-7th gen (6th and 7th especially, but 5th was the beginning of this sort of mentality) they just keep handicapping their games so they can cash in on the mobile market.
Anyway, couldn't care less about VC of these games. I played them a long time ago and the series has developed so much since then that I know I won't enjoy them as much as I used to. Let me know when they're ready to do BW2 esque sequels for Kanto and Johto (and not both at the same time, because they clearly can't handle that) and then we'll talk.
@CosmoXY Sun and Moon were honestly dull and lifeless to me. Alola is pretty but has barely any depth to it, and I think the amount of "changes" put in US/UM shows how much "passion" they have left these days.
@PotatoTheG Oh I didn't know you have already played through all of USUM and knew about all the changes! Bummed to hear there aren't any. I honestly didn't expect a lot of changes though as these are basically a third version, like Crystal, Emerald, etc. I still have respect for GameFreak as developers, they do honest work.
I already downloaded silver version. These games were easily the best part of my childhood and is what created my love for Pokémon when I was a kid. The Pokémon company hasn’t produced anything of this caliber since. They may be holding back on crystal to release it as a remake for the 3ds (I can only hope).
Really need to complete the eShop release of the first games before soldiering into Gen II. By which time Crystal should have hopefully appeared. Gold was one of my favourite games of all time, so I'll be interested to see how it evolved into Crystal.
I downloaded Silver, and probably download Gold to my other 3DS to fill the Dex.
I'll still get Crystal if it comes since I never got it and I always wanted to play as the girl in original Gen II
I think they're waiting to release crystal for around £10.. With wi–fi trading & battling like the Japanese version. It will be ground breaking if they do.!
I bought BOTH Gold and Silver. I don't even know why.
@noswitchbutidc Maybe 'cause I just wanted 2 Celebi?
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