Good news Nintendo buffs, it seems that the Christmas time grief that plagued new Nintendo owners in the form of a jammed network has come and gone, and everything is right as rain. Nintendo's eShop is officially back online.
Here's the message that graced Nintendo's official Facebook page earlier today: "The Nintendo eShop is now available on all systems. We do not anticipate any further outages, but will continue to closely monitor the situation. We sincerely apologize for this week's inconsistencies and thank you again for your patience and support."
Unfortunately, there is some bad news that comes along with the good. Despite that the Nintendo Network and eShop are running smoothly, there's still no word on when exactly gamers can expect the Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter. In the same statement, Nintendo said that it would "share more information about the launch of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter as soon as possible."
The network problems first started on Christmas morning. Nintendo chalked it up to an overcrowded network thanks to a bevy of new Nintendo system owners all trying to access the various online options simultaneously, coupled with the extreme popularity of the Pokémon Bank app, only available in Japan at the time.
With the overworked network, Nintendo was forced to delay the arrival of the Pokémon apps outside of Japan. A post on Nintendo's Facebook page read, "Hi, Pokémon fans. As you may know, we are currently experiencing a large volume of traffic on the Nintendo Network service. Due to the high traffic, we are postponing the launch of Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter until further notice. As a Nintendo standard, we strive for the utmost quality before launching any of our applications. We truly regret the inconvenience, and wish to reassure you that providing a solution is our top priority. We apologize for the delay and thank you for your continued patience."
It's unknown how this will affect the free 30 day trial for anyone who downloads and activates the service prior to January 31, if at all.
Still, it's not all terrible. The eShop was updated during its downtime with a few gems added in. According to a press release, the games include the SNES smash hit Super Punch-Out!! for the Wii U, and the N64's Mario Tennis for the 3DS. The release also noted that Dr. Luigi would be arriving just before New Year's, December 31. Other games include CastleStorm for the Wii U, as well as EDGE, Bird Mania Christmas 3D, and Cubit the Hardcore Platformer Robot.
We'll keep you posted if there's any developments on when players can expect the Pokémon Bank and Transfer apps.
