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Pokémon Bank Release Delayed

Demelza

Eevee Tamer
Staff member
Moderator
Bank_logo_EN_cmyk_jpg_jpgco.png
Storage system Pokémon Bank was officially released in Japan on the 25th of December and was due to be released in the US and Europe on the 27th. However, due to the high demand the Nintendo Network service is facing due to both new and existing 3DS, 2DS and Wii U owners the app has now had its release delayed in the US and Europe and has been taken off the Japanese eShop for the time being.

The length of the delay hasn't been stated, with the date for the app on the eShop changed to TBD and Nintendo haven't made a solid comment on a time-frame either. Chances are it hopefully won't be delayed all too long though!

The full information from Nintendo is as follows:
Nintendo said:
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 apologize for the delay and thank you for your continued patience.
 
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Magpie

Feathered Overseer
Staff member
Moderator
Thunderdog :'( </3

I'm very disappointed that this has happened, but I guess if they really do make it their priority that we hopefully won't be waiting for too long. I hope. Please :(
 
I got a Wii U this Christmas, and I am SO glad that I didn't solely rely on a bundled code. If I had, I would have had a console and no games to play. It's irritating that Pokémon Bank is delayed, but hopefully the eShop will actually be usable now and the delay won't be too significant.
 
Turtwig , Sceptile and Luxray I will not enter my hall of fame without you
and if i have to challenge the elite four all over again for til your in my team
 
I knew this was going to happen...little tip; don't release something this big, right after Christmas...I feel, it would been better off releasing Pokémon-Bank; back either late November or early December. Oh well its only a delay and not something like "We have decided to scrap the whole idea of Pokémon-Bank".
 

Demelza

Eevee Tamer
Staff member
Moderator
I knew this was going to happen...little tip; don't release something this big, right after Christmas...I feel, it would been better off releasing Pokémon-Bank; back either late November or early December. Oh well its only a delay and not something like "We have decided to scrap the whole idea of Pokémon-Bank".

The problem isn't and has never been fully down to Pokémon Bank, so I don't think they'll do that at all. ^^

To help the stress on the server Nintendo will be taking it offline from 9pm until 9am tomorrow.
 

Teapot

Virtual Duck Enthusiast
Staff member
Administrator
To help the stress on the server Nintendo will be taking it offline from 9pm until 9am tomorrow.
Now that's an interesting way of saying "unexpected server maintainance"... xp

But yeah, this isn't Bank's fault, this is an influx of insane numbers of new consoles, combined with the increased load they already had on 3DS from the Nintendo Network migration. Bank is just another reason for everyone who plays Pokémon to hammer the eShop - if someone had released another app of that popularity around Christmas, the same thing would be happening. xp

The problem here - in my own humble opinion - is, always has been, and always will be money, and how Nintendo has neglected to give enough to the poor sods provisioning and running the servers that power Nintendo Network enough of it, because it's a pretty safe bet that their personnel are actually pretty competent, or at least have been claiming for months that it's all going to fall on its arse and being ignored. The server infrastructure they have already will be hideously expensive - probably in the realms of a couple of million dollars or so at the very least, and they really need to drop another 400,000-500,000 as of yesterday.

And that's what they'll be doing: the server people are going to say "we need more servers and we need them now", and if we're lucky there'll be enough egg on Nintendo's faces that they'll comply. I would wager that the downtime tomorrow is for exactly that purpose: they need the network shut down simply so they can make the extensive modifications (and add the massive array of new servers they need in each region) to make Nintendo Network actually work.

I've mentioned this in the last Bank thread, but everything I've seen about server provision, even on this immense scale, suggests to me that competent server technicians and administrators will be able to get this all sorted in a matter of days - indeed, the overnight downtime will be enough to get it all installed and working. Then we'll see a couple of days at most where the server people watch the whole system like hawks after it's back online to see if there's anything they've missed that's causing chaos. After that, we'll get Bank released as quickly as possible.

Bear in mind that Bank is a lower priority than getting the whole damn system operational again, but even that considered I would be surprised if we were waiting more than a week. I'd guess 3-4 days if everything goes relatively well and Nintendo haven't been too cheap with the improvements.

(I'd like to point out I don't really have any personal experience running massive server farms, 'Charms is on one box :p This information is extrapolation and guesstimates based on my own observations and what I've seen of the experiences of others in similar situations.)
 
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I'm just hoping that Demelza's right & it'll at least take Nintendo & GF a few days to fix this. Though my guesstimate will be that the earliest it'll be up is after New Years and the latest will be January 2015 since apparently the same thing happened with a game called Flipnote 3D and they're still pushing the release
 
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Teapot

Virtual Duck Enthusiast
Staff member
Administrator
January 2015 is a horrifically scaremongering date to give. There is literally no chance it'll take that long. Bank is finished, working, ready to go. As I said several times, they're delaying it so they can fix Nintendo Network, that's all. This is a reasonably major release that is literally ready to go out the door, it won't be shelved.
 
January 2015 is a horrifically scaremongering date to give. There is literally no chance it'll take that long. Bank is finished, working, ready to go. As I said several times, they're delaying it so they can fix Nintendo Network, that's all. This is a reasonably major release that is literally ready to go out the door, it won't be shelved.
Sorry about that. I did read your posts, I was just saying that I thought that would be the absolute latest that it would be out. After reading your previous posts, I'm assuming that it'll be out in January or February since they might want to wait for the hype to die down so that the server won't crash again
 

Demelza

Eevee Tamer
Staff member
Moderator
Sorry about that. I did read your posts, I was just saying that I thought that would be the absolute latest that it would be out. After reading your previous posts, I'm assuming that it'll be out in January or February since they might want to wait for the hype to die down so that the server won't crash again

To be fair it's not even the hype or Bank itself which made the servers struggle, it was just bad timing with the demand of 3DS and Wii U consoles already hitting it and Bank on top was the final nail in coffin so to speak. I don't think it'll be pushed back as far as February at all, it's got to be kept in mind that this is a /completely/ working title, it's just relaying on Nintendo's servers. We'll definitely see it next month, but personally I see us getting it before new year once they fix the issues they're having. :)
 
Nintendo just tweeted this on their Twitter page:
Nintendo said:
We will share more information about the launch of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter as soon as possible.
Hopefully we'll get something soon, since a lot of people are really going crazy that we don't even have a new release date yet- especially on Nintendo's Facebook page. I even edited out a statement I made a while ago since it sounded too much like yelling & complaining after I calmed down
 
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I saw some people with Pokemon from different regions on the games but it's only in the a store I think cause I checked and it said in your local retailer once now it doesn't and also I really want to bring my lv. 100 Samurott in the game. But thanks for posting that also WE NEED POKEMON BANK NOW! Also to make things worse I caught a ton of legends in the White 2 also and I want to bring them in Pokemon X but when Pokemon bank comes out I'll be like this... >_< :) 8) Also found out it'll come put this month YAY bad news for kids we'll have to wait until the weekend or middle school kids.
 
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Please do not double post, and please do not use chatspeak/textspeak.
I didn't no about this until yesterday wen I tried 2 download pokemon bank and then I got bored and went 2 this website and read this articles and found out y I couldn't download it

I want dat Celebi dat comes with Pokemon bank
 
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Two new troll articles came out featuring the producer of Pokémon X & Y talking about Pokémon Bank. I call them troll articles since they hardly mention the delay and still don't give a new release date, but at least this is the first time they officially talked about the app since briefly bringing it up in their Facebook & Twitter updates, so I'm trying to believe that this is a sign saying we'll get more information soon (whenever the heck soon is):
http://www.examiner.com/article/pokemon-x-and-pokemon-y-producer-discusses-pokemon-bank-innovation
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/tsunekazu-ishihara-talks-about-poke-bank-1431123

Also, to everyone who's upset about this and losing their patience, temper & sanity because of it, take it from a guy who tried blurting out his frustrations before. Try to stay calm and don't do something you'll regret. I know this is wrong and annoying on several levels, bu dwelling on it doesn't help and you'll feel horrible about it afterwards. I'm not blaming or accusing anyone of doing this, & I honestly feel that this is the most calm and patient fan base I've seen in regards to this delay, but just in case there are people who feel like going crazy, please think before you post
 
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StellarWind Elsydeon

Armblades Ascendant
Staff member
Administrator
"Troll Articles"? My, look who's being an entitled little petulant child.

First of all, no one's trolling you or anyone else. Both these articles independently report about a CNN interview with Tsunekazu Ishihara that talks VERY generally about X/Y as a whole (and yes, minorly mentions Bank) and was posted three days ago. For all we know, they might be recycling bits of old interviews with Ishihara for a 'new' story - It's quite possible that some analyst over at CNN noticed that Pokemon Bank is a trending topic now and figured they'd release an article that might get picked up quickly because, oh hey, there's a brief mention of Bank. That's not 'trolling'. That's something that a lot of websites attempt to do to generate more traffic. It's what they live on. XP

(And the same goes for the websites that picked up the story and made a 'sensationalist' title about how 'TSUNEKAZU ISHIHARA TALKS ABOUT POKEMON BANK!'. Journalists do it all the time - 'misleading' titles drawing attention.)

Here's another point to consider. The issue with Bank was largely volume - Nintendo/TPCi had expectations re: the server capacity etc. that would be required for Bank. They were dead wrong - And that's just the Japanese fanbase - imagine what plugging the REST of the world to this might do if the system isn't ready!

Naturally, this requires quite a bit of adjustment in terms of making the network as a whole more robust and more capable of handling these volumes of data - and the calculation of how much more network power they need, actually purchasing the equipment and setting it up - and most likely adjusting the software itself to make it more efficient... all this takes time and money - so yes, the delays are inevitable.

As for Why Don't They Give Us An ESTIMATE Boo Hoo - First of all, they owe you absolutely nothing, and the fact they aren't giving you one isn't trolling you personally. It may be simply that at this time, they THEMSELVES don't know how long it will take them to get the system ready, and would rather not give guesstimates and risk losing more credibility when the idiots, inevitably, start whining. I say give them all the time they need, it'll only make the service better for whoever actually intends to use it.

Also, considering some of your past posts, Mr. Munchlax, your post reeks of hypocrisy. You're in no position to lecture anyone. You may want to take your own advice and think before you post. XP
 
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Feb 29 doesn't exist this year because it isn't a new year. The source I saw that on was a troll trying to bring hopes up to throw them back down. I'm waiting for either it to be back up on the eshop without a notice or for Nintendo's FB page to post an update, not trusting any other sources currently.
 
Alright, this may not mean much but it may be at least something. But while tracking the pokebank tag on tumblr found a post linking to this-
http://raim2005.blog18.fc2.com/blog-entry-1171.html
And from what I got out of the translation is that Pokebank was put back into the eshop for Japan without an announcement (perhaps to keep people from rushing on over) and slight mention of the 30-day free trial in question I believe (which from other sources I've heard that because of the delay for the bank, they are reworking the 30-day trial for a more suitable time limit and those who started and lost it were going to start new with it....) but this may mean (trying not to be too optimistic here...) that the time is coming soon...er? But still, there is so much of a lack of information coming from Nintendo or Gamefreak, it is a bit frustrating...not even sure if there is any communication. Because this-
"More information on the launch of @Pokemon Bank and Poké Transporter will be announced in the future. Thanks for your patience!" -@NintendoAmerica on Twitter.
I can't help but laugh at. Of course it'd be the future! But I do understand you're playing it safe because get too specific and fail to stand by it...oh my will it start a war. And then there is me and most other people who simply just want to transfer pokemon over....not too much to ask for?(I'm sorta waiting on the bank before hosting a giveaway just because trade on XY is so much easier to me XD; )

Anybody else have any information on the pokebank and transporter?
---
EDIT://
On twitter @IsPokemonBankOut also confirms that it is indeed out in Japan again.
 
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@kanarichan , here's the English translation of what you just posted based on Google Translate:
[ Breaking ] Pokemon bank delivery ResumeThe Pokesen Iku test for the first time in a long time period when you are done .■ Pokemon bank delivery Resumeph20140122.jpgOver delivery of " Pokemon bank " seems to have been resumed from around 6:30 this morning .No prior announcement . Why because there is a possibility to be crowded again Once you notice in a big way ?Are present from the start of delivery "30 day free voucher " is supposed to be available for download until January 31 .It is not known about the matter that has stopped nearly one month delivery , whether or not there is any announcement .If there postscript something.[ Postscript @ 8:24 ]Updated data are also delivered in the bank / mover both ( block 239 / 218 blocks) . People are already DL check .[ Postscript ] @ 11:15Notice of delivery Resume Nintendo 3DS download software " Pokemon bank " : the announcement came out from NintendoThat distribution of the "30 -day free voucher " is to be extended to February 21 .That have changed how to communicate with the server in the updated version (v1.1) now also clear .

No other website has posted anything that backs up this statement, but let's just see what happens
 
I'm not too much of a fan of google translate without any prior knowledge to a language ^^; But my computer auto translates stuff anyway...got about the same thing. I'm waiting to see if Serebii says anything about it tomorrow or something.
But I do know that the 30-day free trial will be extended before this and have known for awhile. However if that changes for some unknown reason (beside that being completely unfair- I got a giftcard for the eshop so I'm still fine)

http://www.product-reviews.net/2014/01/21/pokemon-x-and-y-pokebank-us-uk-countdown-after-japan/
another article about it being back out in japan.

Over delivery of "Pokemon bank" seems to have been resumed from around 6:30 this morning.
No prior announcement. Why because there is a possibility to be crowded again Once you notice in a big way? Are present from the start of delivery "30 day free voucher" is supposed to be available for download until January 31. It is not known about the matter that has stopped nearly one month delivery, whether or not there is any announcement. If there postscript something. [Postscript] @ 8:24 update data are also delivered by the bank / mover both (block 239/218 blocks). People are already DL check.[11:15] @ postscript : announcement came out from Nintendo Announcement of delivery Resume Nintendo 3DS download software "Pokemon bank" of the "30-day free voucher" distribution that is to be extended to February 21. That have changed how to communicate with the server in the updated version (v1.1) now also clear. Related Articles: - get a Celebi by accessing the [XY] Pokemon bank! ·[XY] Pokemon bank to suspend delivery

EDIT://
Yep, serebii updated and comfirmed as well. Now we continue to play the waiting game :T
http://www.serebii.net/index2.shtml
 
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