Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Nintendo Announces Paid Online Pokémon Storage Bank
In a brief Nintendo Direct this morning, Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, and Game Freak announced a new way to store Pokémon. Alongside Pokémon X and Y on October 12, a new Pokémon Bank will be released. The downloadable software will store 3,000 pocket monsters.
The Pokémon Bank will also be compatible with Black/White and Black/White 2 via a the Poké Transporter. Players can use the Bank to import their previous Pokémon into X and Y. The Bank will carry an as yet undisclosed annual fee.
Additionally, Nintendo confirmed that Pokémon-themed red and blue 3DS XL units will be available in North America on September 27. It does not seem to be a bundle with an early release of the game.
Pokémon X and Y will be available on October 12, 2013, with the original three starting Pokémon in tow (with mega evolutions, too). You can read our recent hands-on experiences from PAX 2013.
You can check out the full Pokémon X and Y Nintendo Direct below.
Our Take
Nintendo addressed the reasons for a Pokémon Bank fee head on: ongoing maintenance and compatibility with future titles. Unfortunately, leaving the pricing a mystery so close to launch seems like an error. In the Nintendo Direct chat, people were noticeably upset that there is an annual charge for this program. Nintendo is allowing people to assume the worst, and would do well to get in front of this quickly by announcing the price.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
