This morning has been an exciting one for Pokemon fans, as a special Nintendo Direct presentation dedicated to the upcoming Pokemon X and Pokemon Y games has revealed even more details about the highly anticipated 3DS titles. Gamers now know that Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur will all be making their triumphant return as additional starter Pokemon in the new games — and their final forms will all be receiving Mega Evolutions to boot — but Nintendo didn't stop the announcements there.
The Big N, alongside The Pokemon Company, announced that the previously announced Pokemon X and Y 3DS bundle for Japan will be coming to North America. The new Legendary Pokemon, Xerneas and Yveltal, can be found prominently on display on both red and blue variants of the handheld, but it'll run gamers roughly $199.99 to own the limited edition platform.
A heads up for those interested in picking up either version of the SKU: the Pokemon X and Y 3DS XLs do not come with a version of the actual game — unlike its Japanese counterpart. As a result, the systems will be hitting retailers in North America on September 27th; just over two weeks before X and Y hit store shelves.
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Last but not least, Game Freak detailed a new cloud storage system that'll appeal to Pokemon trainers with an abundance of monsters in captivity. Aptly titled 'Pokemon Bank', this feature allows gamers to deposit up to 3,000 of their creatures into Game Freak's servers, and these Pokemon can then be shared between multiple games. All of this sounds great, but there's one significant catch — the service will cost users an annual fee for use.
Nintendo isn't handing out payment details on the service yet, but they've made mention that info on a free-trial of the service will be made public in the near future. Furthermore, a subscription to Pokemon Bank will also give players access to a feature called Poke Transporter. This application, as many may have guessed by its name, will allow players to transfer all of their beloved creatures from Pokemon Black, White, Pokemon Black 2, or White 2 to Pokemon X and Y.
This is the only means of transferring pocket monsters to the 3DS games. That said, the free-trial will likely correspond with Pokemon X and Y's October 12th release date (if not shortly after), which means early adopters may not have to pay to move their Pokemon over — providing they're diligent in doing so.
Despite the convenience of cloud storage, fans have to wonder if it's something they'd be willing to pay for. Better yet, are players who are sans Internet connection then unable to transfer their Pokemon? With both games on the horizon, more details on the service should be dropping sooner rather than later.
Will you be picking up a Pokemon X and Y themed 3DS XL, Ranters? How much would you be willing to pay for a subscription to Pokemon Bank?
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Pokemon X and Pokemon Y will launch for Nintendo 3DS this October 12th.
Follow Riley on Twitter @TheRileyLittle to chat about Pokemon X and Y or anything else gaming related.