Last year, my friend who lives in the United States on Mountain Time wanted to pre-download Pokémon Scarlet.
He wondered why he had pre-ordered it at the shop, but payment had not been processed, and neither had the game pre-downloaded.
He asked me to explain how and when he could pre-download Pokémon Scarlet. Since I have been a Pokémon enthusiast for years, I helped him answer these questions.
How to Preload Pokémon Scarlet?
You can preload Pokémon Scarlet from the Nintendo eShop. Here are the steps to follow.
- On your Nintendo Switch home page, go to the Nintendo eShop.
- Click the search bar and, type Pokémon Scarlet and Violet or go to the Coming Soon section.
- Tap on the full version for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
- Click on Proceed to Purchase and, downloading will start after confirming the purchase.
The required storage space for Pokémon Scarlet is 6.38 GB. You must delete other game data from your memory if you do not have enough space or prepare a micro SD for extra space.
The micro SD should be compatible with the Nintendo Switch.
When can you pre-download on Switch?
😜You can pre-order select games and DLC on Nintendo eShop before the release date. Your payment will be processed after seven days before the game is released.
Then, your system will preload a non-playable version of the game after the payment is processed.
You can download an update available at the time of the release of the game to start playing. Unprocessed payment will lead to your pre-order being canceled.
🙄In addition to this, there are no preloads on Nintendo Switch eShop except for a few exceptions in the past.
You can download Pokémon Scarlet & Violet – The Indigo Disk DLC after it has been released in your region.
Here are the time zones when Pokémon Scarlet & Violet – The Indigo Disk DLC was released.
|
DATE |
TIME ZONE |
|
December 13, 2023 |
5 pm PT |
|
December 13, 2023 |
8 pm ET |
|
December 13, 2023 |
7 pm CT |
|
December 14, 2023 |
1 am BST |
|
December 14, 2023 |
6:30 am IST |
|
December 14, 2023 |
2 am CEST |
|
December 14, 2023 |
9 am CST |
|
December 14, 2023 |
10 am KST/JST |
|
December 14, 2023 |
2 pm NZDT |
|
December 14, 2023 |
12 pm AEDT |
How does the pre-downloading work?
😀Pre-downloading enables you to unpack, unlock, and install games before their official release date. You will start playing the game immediately with no extra steps once the game is launched.
However, it is not available for all games. Once you have downloaded the game file, the origin client will display the timer counting down until the game is unlocked.
You can play after downloading some new games, but others need decrypting and unpacking steps before you install.
Decrypting takes 15 to 30 minutes after the game unlocks. The file will be unpacked to the game installer folder for 15 to 30 minutes.
You can then click the Install button to start the game installer.
Since I started playing Pokemon at a tender age, my love for the game kept growing. My passion is what inspired me to pursue video game journalism. This helped me gain immersive experience of 5 years. I have a lot of expertise in the gaming industry since I have been editing game-related content for a long time. Since I have also been studying this game in-depth for years, I am now a professional player. My desire is to share everything I know about Pokemon to help you broaden your knowledge on the game. You can read more about me on the about us page.