Pokémon Global Link Closes In January 2014

[Earnest Cavalli]

Pokémon Global Link Closes In January 2014

Nintendo has revealed plans to shutter the Global Link service for Pokémon Black 2 and Pokémon White 2 come January 14, 2014.

Those of you who don't spend your every waking minute stalking Scizor through the tall grass may not be familiar with the Pokémon Global Link service. It's a bit hard to explain, but the key thing you need know about the Global Link system is that it allows players to attach their copy of Pokémon Black 2 or Pokémon White 2 to an online service which gives users the chance to explore new areas (via web browser) and capture 'mon that would otherwise be much more difficult to find.

If that sounds useful, that's because it is. Unfortunately the whole thing is being shuttered in just a few months. Specifically, January 14, 2014.

Instead of simply slamming this door shut however, Nintendo is closing the Global Link service to make way for a new, improved Global Link system designed for use with the upcoming Pokémon X and Pokémon Y games for the 3DS. According to Nintendo, players who enjoyed the extant Global Link service will be able to carry over "certain achievements and records" to the new Global Link system. Full details on this have yet to be revealed, but Nintendo claims that more information will come available "in the near future."

Our thoughts? We welcome a new Global Link service. The existing version of the scheme is all well and good, but there is so much more than Nintendo could do with this kind of online connectivity on the 3DS. The online functionality seen in Animal Crossing: New Leaf adds a ton of replay value to the game, and we hope Nintendo can top itself for the next Pokémon titles. X and Y hit store shelves on October 12, so here's hoping we won't have to wait too long to hear Nintendo's plans for the new service.

Source: Pokémon [http://en.pokemon-gl.com/about/e_notice/]

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[Dragonbums]

So many Pokemon on that website have become broken with their dream moves and abilites.
I never hated Ninetaiils and Politoad so much.
On that note at least they tell users in advance that they are going to pull the plug.
Unlike some studios which simply shut it down, and explain afterwards once a million fans start complaining.

 

[theultimateend]

I feel like the title of this news article and the actual content are a bit different.

Would be like saying Show X is ending because its season is coming to a close. It got renewed for another season >.>...

 

[MikailCaboose]

I feel like the title of this news article and the actual content are a bit different.

Would be like saying Show X is ending because its season is coming to a close. It got renewed for another season >.>...

Not quite. From what I gathered from the article it sounds like Black/White 2 aren't going to have access to the Global Link. It's more like "Show X is ending because it's moving from local programming to a cable network". Now whether or not this is actually the case, I don't know.

 

[Scarim Coral]

You mean they're shutting down on the Dreamworld feature (I read it on Serebii)?
I think it kind of a shame they are going to shut it only a few months after X and Y is release. I would of thought it would of been around 6 months to a year at most.
Sure most people will hop onto X and Y but there would be still be a few people hanging onto Black and White and the sequeal for abit longer.

 

[Baldr]

You still have 6 months to save up and get a 3DS, no excuses to still be playing B&W2. Yeah I wish I could retrieve my Blue/Red/Yellow/Silver/Gold Pokemon stuck in the cartridges, but the new games were worth the change in technology.

 

[Fractral]

Yay, now I can waste another hundred hours of my life grinding through those soul crushing minigames so that I can get enough points to maybe get a decent pokemon. It was a good idea, make no mistake, but the content in it was sadly lacking, and it took forever to get enough points to encounter the decent pokemon like politoed and vulpix.

 

[CriticalMiss]

So is this thing like the Safari Zone but on a browser? I haven't played a pokeymans game in years so I've no idea what all these new whatchamahoosits and gadgematrons are that they've added in. I'm holding out for the Pokémon MMO that is definitely a good idea.

 

[SD-Fiend]

I'm trying to complete the game as best as I can. I want to get as many medals as I can and one of the objectives is to catch 100 pokemon within the entralink and I unfortunately don't have either internet or wifi at the moment. unless I figure somehing out soon I'm forever screwed.

 

[hickwarrior]

So is this thing like the Safari Zone but on a browser? I haven't played a pokeymans game in years so I've no idea what all these new whatchamahoosits and gadgematrons are that they've added in. I'm holding out for the Pokémon MMO that is definitely a good idea.

The pokemon dream world allowed people with a copy of black/white and its sequel to hook up with it. In that world, you could grow berries, catch pokemon and snatch items people had on their share shelves. I think the main reason people used it was for the pokemon in the dreamworld.

Actually, it's not so much catching, as you have to do that in the game itself. Really, you 'befriend' the pokemon by playing a minigame with them. If you succeed, you can make a wish at the dream tree to get the pokemon into your game once you synched up with the internet. Then you can catch it at a special area, that's supposedly more made for japanese markets. Think of streetpass in that regard.

Hope it helped to clear up what the feature is about.

 

[Johnson McGee]

It never really made sense to me to integrate B/W with an online component. It's added costs for Nintendo and would inevitably be shelved at some point, which in turn hamstrings the replay value of the games. Personally I think the walker was a far better concept and since the 3DS has a build in pedometer they wouldn't even need a separate device to incorporate that functionality for X/Y.

 

[theultimateend]

I feel like the title of this news article and the actual content are a bit different.

Would be like saying Show X is ending because its season is coming to a close. It got renewed for another season >.>...

Not quite. From what I gathered from the article it sounds like Black/White 2 aren't going to have access to the Global Link. It's more like "Show X is ending because it's moving from local programming to a cable network". Now whether or not this is actually the case, I don't know.

Oh! Fair point.

I'm so fixated on 3D Pokemon that my only concern was losing this neat feature for it.

That is a bit of a bummer then but frankly I didn't think it would be around this long .

Good point though, set me straight.