The PokéPositives of X & Y

Pokémon X & Y saw the first ever simultaneous release of a Nintendo title worldwide. Combined with the fact that the encryption for the 3DS has not yet been broken two years into its release, this has been one of the most exciting release of a Pokémon game in several years, and spell extremely good news for Nintendo. In the previous games, the Japanese games would be released months in advance of the other localised copies, and by the time the localised versions of the games are released, everything that can be known about the game will have been discovered, analysed, and plastered all over the fan-sites on the internet. In addition, the ability to decrypt the games on the previous generation consoles (like the DS) meant that hackers could dump the game, and data-mine the game in its entirety. This is how they can get the exact numbers and percentages of many of the mechanics you see on the various sites. They can even discover hidden, non-obtainable legendary Pokémons. This time, however, things are different. Before the release of the games, Nintendo kept a tight wrap on the things it revealed about the games. Even reviewers were barred from revealing too much about the games. About a week before the games were due to be released, several retailers in Canada and Italy broke the street date by selling copies of the games early. Thus began a barrage of leaks about the games. It was an exciting time to wake up everyday to a barrage of posts on sites such as reddit about the latest discovery of the games, whether it be of a new Pokémon, discovery of a new mechanic, or even just shots of the new graphics. Even two weeks into the games’ release, there are still new discoveries being made about the game, including three unobtainable legendary Pokémon. The combined release of the games before the holiday season could also spell very good news for Nintendo’s finances. The 3DS has been struggling with its sales even two years into its release. With the games selling 4 million copies worldwide (not even including the digital copies, and pre-orders) during the release weekend, this might just be the boost that the 3DS needs. In fact, the 3DS experienced a 99% increase in sales week-on-week that very weekend. Now Nintendo just needs to do the same for the Wii U.