Pokemon Bank, Poke Transporter return in 'certain Asian countries'

Nintendo relaunched the Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter apps for Pokémon X/Pokémon Y today in "certain Asian countries," with release dates in other regions still forthcoming, according to Nintendo of America's Twitter account.

One day after the apps' original release in Japan on Dec. 25, Nintendo took them down from the Nintendo 3DS eShop after excessive traffic overloaded the servers for both the 3DS and Wii U eShops. The Nintendo Network also suffered severe outages worldwide during the same period, problems that Nintendo later attributed to the linking of account balances for the two eShops. The issues caused the company to delay the North American release of the Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter apps, which was originally planned for Dec. 27.

"Pokémon Bank has launched in certain Asian countries," said Nintendo of America on Twitter yesterday. "Please stay tuned to our social channels for updates on availability in other regions, including North America." Nintendo 3DS owners in Japan confirmed today that the apps have returned to the Japanese eShop.

Once the Pokémon Bank and Poké Transporter apps are released, Pokémon X and Y players will be able to download and use them for free for 30 days. After that, they'll have to subscribe for the price of $4.99 per year. We've reached out to Nintendo of America for more details on release plans in North America, and will update this article with any information we receive.