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12 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon players meet a global mission goal for the first time ever
The third global mission for Pokémon Sun and Moon is not yet over, but players have already reached its goal. That’s a huge deal for the games’ community, which utterly failed to complete either of the previous online competitions.
In just four days — and with another 10 to go — Sun and Moon players managed to trade a million Pokémon using the GTS, or Global Trade System. Although that sounded like just as tough of a task as the first two global missions’, fans banded together to get the job done in record time.
Completing the mission before time’s up grants all participants 2,000 Festival Coins, to be used in the online Festival Plaza feature. Now that that’s been locked down, players can focus on hitting the bonus milestones, which will net them even more rewards. If players can make...
News
34 CommentsNintendo pledges to keep making games for Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo’s new console-handheld hybrid, Nintendo Switch, won’t be a replacement for its current handheld platform, the Nintendo 3DS, company president Tatsumi Kimishima said in a recent investor briefing (PDF). Nintendo will continue to develop games for the 3DS family of systems, he said in response to continued speculation that the Switch will wholly replace the handhelds.
That’s something Kimishima also said shortly after the Switch was unveiled in October.
“Thanks to our software, the 3DS hardware is still growing. So that business still has momentum,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg. “And certainly rather than being cannibalized by the Switch, we think the 3DS can continue in its own form.”
Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime reiterated that philosophy in a recent...
Cover Story
Issue
25
January 9, 2017
Final Fantasy 7: An oral history
30,000 words! 35 interviews! 4 videos! A trivia minigame! We take an in-depth look back at Square’s breakthrough role-playing game.
Read moreNews
9 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon’s third global mission sounds just as tough as the the last two
Pokémon Sun and Moon’s third global mission is live, encouraging all trainers to head to the Global Trade Station by Feb. 14. The goal this time around is for players to trade a total of one million Pokémon between them, yet another lofty aim in the challenging global mission series.
In order to win the grand prize of 2,000 Festival Coins, players need to access the online Game Sync feature and trade as many Pokémon as they can by Feb. 14. Anyone who participates will receive 200 Festival Coins, but if everyone hits the reach goal of two million trades by the event’s end, they’ll also win a Friend Ball.
The pressure is on for this go-around. The previous two global missions were pretty much disasters, with a small percentage of players hitting their marks before the events’ end dates....
Opinion
13 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon’s incredible success means the 3DS’ future is bright
Pokémon Sun and Moon are selling at a mind-boggling rate, and they’re on track to be the most popular games in the entire Nintendo 3DS library. With their staggering success — and a corresponding increase in 3DS hardware sales — it seems that reports of the handheld’s death have been greatly exaggerated.
Nintendo launched Pokémon Sun and Moon worldwide on Nov. 18, the Friday before Thanksgiving. By the end of the month, sales in the Americas had topped 3.7 million units, making them Nintendo’s fastest-selling games ever in that region.
The momentum only increased from that point forward: Nintendo announced today that it sold a whopping 14.69 million copies of Pokémon Sun and Moon by the end of 2016. The span between Nov. 18 and Dec. 31 is just 44 days long, which means that Nintendo was...
Latest Nintendo 3DS Forum Activity View all posts
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3 CommentsAnimal Crossing mobile title delayed again
Nintendo has pushed back the launch of its Animal Crossing mobile game again. It now won't come out until sometime after March.
The news was part of Nintendo's overall earnings report on the third quarter of its fiscal year. Though not formally dated, Animal Crossing had been slated to launch on mobile by the end of Nintendo's fiscal year, which would be March 31. That has now been pushed to the next fiscal year.
In the rest of the filing, Nintendo reported a profit of 64.67 billion yen ($575.7 million) for the quarter, up from the 62.8 billion yen ($559 million) the previous quarter and more than double the 29.1 billion ($259 million) for the same quarter in the previous year. Pokémon Sun and Moon was by far Nintendo's top seller for the quarter, at 14.69 million units globally....
News
2 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon to receive new Mega Stone distribution
A promotion launching for Pokémon Sun and Moon next month will allow players to collect previously unobtainable Mega Stones, the Japanese Global Link site says. This will allow players to gather and use even more of these special battle items, which were introduced to the franchise with Pokémon X and Y.
In order to receive these Mega Stones, players must participate in online competitions. The first of these campaigns will take place in late February, according to the Global Link. Those who take part will receive the Mega Stones for Mawile and Beedrill as a gift.
More Mega Stones are due in the future, with no timeline or further details yet specified. All future giveaways will include Mega Stones not already available in Sun and Moon, however.
Although Mega Evolutions and their...
Culture
5 CommentsWatch a Pokémon producer name as many Pokémon as he can in 20 seconds
This is kinda charming. Junichi Masuda, whose tenure with Pokémon goes back to Red and Green, was ambushed and challenged to name as many Pokémon as he could in 20 seconds. How’d he do?
Well, uh, he got 30. That’s good! A pps (Pokémon per second) of greater than 1 is a superior performance, although he got caught up at the end for a couple of seconds before settling on Mew. How many could you do? (Note: Typing them in the comments does not count.)
Considering there are 802 Pokémon in existence, there’s no way he could do them all, of course. The world’s fastest talker, as certified by Guinness World Records, is Sean Shannon, who spoke at a pace of 655 words per minute on Aug. 30, 1995.
Theoretically, Shannon (assuming a perfect and instant recall of the Pokédex) would be able to name...
News
44 CommentsVideo game releases for February 2017
Here are some of the big video game releases for the month of February 2017. Be sure to check out the list we put together of our most anticipated games of 2017 and subscribe to Polygon's YouTube channel for tons of gaming videos. Also, here are the free games you get with your Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus subscriptions this month. Additionally, here's what is coming to your favorite video streaming services and here's what is leaving in February.
What are you looking forward to playing? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments.
Note: This is not a comprehensive list of releases and only games with specific dates are listed below. Some games are announced for February but have no firm release date.
Feb. 2:
Fire Emblem Heroes (Android and iOS) — In...
News
7 CommentsPokémon Bank’s Mew glitch ban cracked by Sun and Moon players
A compatibility update for Pokémon Bank, the Nintendo 3DS storage app, finally made the software usable in Pokémon Sun and Moon this week. Just days after the update went live, however, users have already figured out a way to circumvent Pokémon Bank’s ban on one popular, hard-to-obtain legendary.
Although Pokémon Bank users get a special item for Mew, one of the rarest Pokémon, it’s almost impossible to capture the monster through official methods. Instead, many who play the Virtual Console versions of Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow have used a glitch to get Mew into their collections. A video explaining how that works is below.
But Pokémon Bank won’t allow players to move over Mew obtained through this glitch into Sun and Moon — unless they use this extremely complex method, which is...
News
6 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon cheaters banned from online services
Nearly 6,000 Pokémon Sun and Moon players have been banned from using the Global Link, the game’s main online feature. In an announcement on the Japanese Global Link page, The Pokémon Company confirmed that players with “illegal save data” have been barred from going online.
5,954 players have been caught cheating thus far. That typically means they’ve used hacks, modifications and other means to alter items and trainer info, or that they’ve used “illegal” Pokémon in online competitions or trades.
It’s unclear which particular cheats are getting players in trouble with The Pokémon Company, however — and whether those who simply received hacked Pokémon unwittingly are now facing the consequences too. We’ve reached out for clarification on what gets players booted from the Global Link.
T...
News
12 CommentsA legendary Pokémon glitch is back to wreaking havoc with Pokémon Bank update
Pokémon players can now transfer Pokémon from the series’ older Nintendo 3DS titles to Sun and Moon using Pokémon Bank — with some big exceptions. Several players report that an old, well-known glitch Pokémon leaves its mark when they attempt to bring it into Sun and Moon.
MissingNo. is a legendary programming error that first appeared in the Game Boy versions of Red and Blue. Although it’s not technically a Pokémon, the mess of scrambled graphics could be used in battles and occupy a space in a player’s party or storage box. Essentially, MissingNo. takes on many of the characteristics of a Pokémon without being one. Trying to catch the glitch could cause Pokémon Yellow to freeze, for example, as well as create other graphical glitches in Red and Blue.
Those who caught the glitch...
News
3 CommentsPokémon Bank unlocks this strange cutscene in Pokémon Sun and Moon
Pokémon Bank is now compatible with Pokémon Sun and Moon, making it possible for trainers to fill out their Pokédexes with monsters from every generation. While the biggest selling point is completing the newly expanded National Pokédex, the compatibility update also lets players encounter a curious new cutscene, with the help of some transferred-over old Pokémon.
Bringing over a Solrock to Pokémon Sun or Lunatone to Pokémon Moon — from Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, respectively — makes it possible to interact with a certain character in a particular way. A Reddit user breaks down the steps:
Transfer Solrock to Pokemon Sun or Lunatone to Pokemon Moon.
Put Solrock/Lunatone in your party.
Fly to Ruins of Abundance on Ula'ula Island.
Head south to enter Haina Desert.
H...
News
7 CommentsPokémon Bank now available for Pokémon Sun and Moon (update)
The Pokémon Bank application has now been updated, according to the Pokémon Sun and Moon website. The Nintendo 3DS service, which allows players to transfer their Pokémon between a variety of mainline titles, is now compatible with Sun and Moon.
In celebration of the eagerly anticipated update, all Pokémon Bank users will receive a special gift. From now until Oct. 2, a rare Z-Crystal item for the legendary Pokémon Mew will be given away exclusively through Pokémon Bank. The Mewnium-Z item works with Sun and Moon, which introduced the Z-Move mechanic to the franchise.
Pokémon Bank has been updated for #PokemonSunMoon! To celebrate, all Pokémon Bank users can receive Mew’s Z-Crystal! https://t.co/XSh23CubsI pic.twitter.com/pZEU0sdDkH— Pokémon (@Pokemon) January 25, 2017
The graphic...
News
4 CommentsMario Sports Superstars brings amiibo cards into the arena in March
Mario Sports Superstars launches on Nintendo 3DS March 24, Nintendo announced. The sporting event collection, first announced during a Nintendo Direct last fall, will do more than add horse racing to the Mario universe for the first time, however. Nintendo will also release a set of amiibo cards based on the game, the first line of the collectible trading cards based on a Mario title.
The Mario Sports Superstars amiibo cards will feature characters taken from the upcoming game. Mario, Daisy, Peach and other Mushroom Kingdom heroes will be seen in-action on the cards, kicking soccer balls and playing golf and participating in the game’s other two sports.
Packs of five random cards each will be sold for $4.99 at retail, but Nintendo will start off players’ collections when picking up the...
News
19 CommentsPokémon players just want to know when Pokémon Bank is out
A big compatibility update for Pokémon storage app Pokémon Bank is due sometime this month, but Pokémon Sun and Moon players are pretty tired of waiting. With January nearing its end and not a peep from The Pokémon Company about when the Nintendo 3DS app’s big update is coming, many fans are making their anxiety and impatience publicly known.
The Pokémon Company first announced a January 2017 launch window for the Pokémon Bank update back in September, when it added a page about the application to the Sun and Moon website. When it becomes compatible with the latest pair of Pokémon 3DS games, the paid service will offer storage for up to 3,000 Pokémon and the ability to move monsters over from predecessors X, Y, Alpha Sapphire, Omega Ruby and the Virtual Console releases of Red, Blue...
News
11 CommentsFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia may have a big learning curve for modern fans
On May 19, Nintendo will release a version of Fire Emblem Gaiden, the series’ second installment, stateside for the first time on Nintendo 3DS. But the newly dubbed Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia may look pretty unfamiliar to Fire Emblem fans who cut their teeth on other recent 3DS Fire Emblem entries.
Based on the trailer Nintendo debuted during yesterday’s Fire Emblem livestream, Shadows of Valentia harkens closely to the 1992 original Fire Emblem Gaiden. As the Japan-only Famicom title’s name implies — “Gaiden” means “side story” in Japanese — the game deviates from the formula that more recent fans. Some of the most devoted Fire Emblem fans have detailed the most significants changes that this so-called experimental role-playing game brought about from its predecessor, many...
News
9 CommentsFire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia heading to 3DS this May
The next game in the Fire Emblem franchise is in development for Nintendo 3DS. Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a reworking of Fire Emblem Gaiden, Nintendo announced during a Fire Emblem-themed direct this evening.
The game will launch on May 19, Nintendo confirmed. A two-pack of amiibo based on the main characters in the game — Alm and Celica — will arrive at retail that same day.
Nintendo
The amiibo set launching alongside Fire Emblem Echoes.
Nintendo debuted a trailer detailing the game’s backstory, as well as comparing it to Fire Emblem Gaiden. A classic game in the series, it never hit Western shores. Shadows of Valentia will feature the earlier’s game’s cast, and Nintendo said that it has completely reimagined Gaiden for the 3DS title. The game...
News
1 CommentWatch today’s Fire Emblem Nintendo Direct livestream here
After last week’s big Nintendo Switch blowout, Nintendo still has plenty to share about its upcoming games. Today, the game maker will hold a Nintendo Direct presentation focused on the Fire Emblem franchise, where the company will offer updates on “upcoming Fire Emblem titles.”
Nintendo’s Fire Emblem Direct kicks off at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET. It will be streamed on Nintendo’s Twitch and YouTube channels.
At least two Fire Emblem titles are confirmed to be in development. Nintendo announced a Fire Emblem game for mobile devices last year. It was originally slated for release sometime in 2016 — along with an Animal Crossing game for mobile — but was later delayed to 2017.
Last week, Nintendo and Koei Tecmo announced plans for a spinoff, Fire Emblem Warriors, for Nintendo Switch. Based on...
News
17 CommentsPokémon Sun and Moon’s second global mission is yet another failure
Pokémon Sun and Moon’s second global mission wrapped late on Jan. 9, and it turns out that players again missed the mark. Players did not meet the goal of scanning and capturing one million Pokémon in total, according to the Global Link website.
The online competition required players to use the “Island Scan” feature to locate and then battle Pokémon; afterward, they had to make sure to register their progress with the online Global Sync function. Had they been successful, players would have received 2,017 festival coins, the currency used in the online Festival Plaza that hosts these events. Instead, the consolation prize is a much more paltry 217 festival coins.
On the bright side, the Japanese version of the Global Link site suggests players did a bit better than in the first...
Games of the Year
16 CommentsPocket Card Jockey was last year’s best Nintendo game that no one played
I spent most of 2016 in transit. Until the tail-end of the year, I wasted hours a day on a taxing but scenic, commute. It’s what I’ll remember from the previous 12 months — but not just for how much time I spent alone on trains and on foot, but for how I spent that time.
Typically, I would sleep if I was on the early morning train, or doze off late at night. (I was a frequent passenger on both.) Sometimes I’d write, or read, or stare out the window. Mostly I stewed in my anxious thoughts and calculated what little time I’d have to myself when I got back home at the end of a long, long day. It was rarely ever enough to start whatever console game I was excited about; I hardly had time to eat dinner and watch TV before I had to go to bed and start all over again.
For a period of time,...
Culture
15 CommentsThis may be Pokémon Sun and Moon’s weirdest fan theory
Pokémon Sun and Moon introduce nearly 100 new Pokémon to the franchise. Players have voiced their strong opinions about many of them, from Popplio to Salandit. Their take on the unassuming normal-type Pokémon Komala may be our favorite of them all, however.
Komala is an adorable koala-looking thing with attachment issues. The Pokédex says that it can’t help but cling to its trainer — but even more obvious is the Pokémon’s attachment to its log. Komala is the Pokémon equivalent of Twin Peaks’ Log Lady, and in more ways than just that one.
Turns out that Komala’s log is the subject of a pretty bizarro theory. What if that big-headed koala bear wasn’t the Pokémon we call Komala? Instead, some fans are convinced that the piece of wood is the real Pokémon.
the log is komala— KENDY✨...
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