Skip to main content GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love Search GamesRadar+ View Profile Xbox Series X Nintendo Switch Tabletop Gaming Toys & Collectibles Retro Gamer Newsletters Total Film Gaming Magazines Why subscribe? Subscribe from just £3 Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£9.99View Nintendo Switch 2 Elden Ring Nightreign Future Games Show Adventure Games Pokemon Platinum Pokemon Platinum's most obscure feature was a reward seemingly given to just 20 players lucky enough to participate in a complicated limited-time event with a lottery prize Catherine Lewis 1 April 2025 Only a tiny percentage of players were ever able to experience what it was like to be a Wi-Fi Plaza VIP When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: The Pokemon Company) A lot of events were held in Pokemon Platinum over the years, but perhaps the most obscure one of all time offered a reward for just 20 Japanese players – in the form of an otherwise unused (but wholly underwhelming) feature. As documented by YouTube creator Etchy (below), the event in question took place in Platinum's Wi-Fi Plaza – the now defunct online feature which allowed you to join a room with other players, participate in minigames, and level up "tap toys," which were activated using the touch screen and produced different sound and visual effects. The devs at Game Freak seemingly had more ideas in mind for the Wi-Fi Plaza that weren't widely implemented, however, including "VIP" players. Being granted VIP status would mean a few things for players. For one, when others interacted with them in the Wi-Fi Plaza, they'd see a special golden trainer card instead of the regular ol' blue and red ones, and others would know to look for them, too, because the news board would announce that a "very special guest has arrived." Otherwise, VIPs would immediately enter the plaza with a maximum-level tap toy – something which you otherwise had to (for some reason) grind to every time you entered the online hub. Generally, VIP status sounds rather underwhelming, but that makes the exclusivity of it even more bizarre. Etchy has discovered that, despite there being basically no other mention of Wi-Fi Plaza VIPs on the internet, back in 2008, an event was held in Japan that gave players the chance to earn the status for themselves. This was a Pokemon Daisuki Club (a Japanese Pokemon fan club site) event, where the site's staff members appeared in the Wi-Fi Plaza as VIPs themselves. Speaking to them gave you unique passwords, which could be entered along with their trainer's name into the Daisuki Club website in order to enter players into a lottery. The Pokémon Platinum Event We Didn’t Know About - YouTube The prize was, you guessed it, VIP status – a reward only offered to 20 lucky winners. Etchy also found an old Pokemon blog post explaining that players would, in addition, receive a "wonderful gift," but what this gift was seems to be information lost to time. According to the YouTuber's research, no other official blog posts since mentioned the VIP feature, seemingly making this a wholly unique one-off timed event. It was only available for a very limited time, too – players had the chance of encountering the Daisuki Club staff members between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. for five days, between October 27 and October 31, 2008. Notably, those are all weekdays, too, so players weren't even given the chance to take part on a day that they were likely to be off from work or school. Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. According to some archived Nintendo financial results, as of March 2010, Pokemon Platinum sold around 7.06 million copies worldwide. If we were to assume these sales accounted for all players ever (which for multiple reasons, like people buying pre-owned copies, isn't entirely accurate), that'd mean just 0.00028% of players ever unlocked the VIP feature. It was certainly exclusive, but that makes the fact that it actually offered so little all the more baffling. While you're here, be sure to check out our roundup of the best Pokemon games. See more Nintendo News Catherine Lewis Social Links Navigation News Writer I'm one of GamesRadar+'s news writers, who works alongside the rest of the news team to deliver cool gaming stories that we love. After spending more hours than I can count filling The University of Sheffield's student newspaper with Pokemon and indie game content, and picking up a degree in Journalism Studies, I started my career at GAMINGbible where I worked as a journalist for over a year and a half. I then became TechRadar Gaming's news writer, where I sourced stories and wrote about all sorts of intriguing topics. In my spare time, you're sure to find me on my Nintendo Switch or PS5 playing through story-driven RPGs like Xenoblade Chronicles and Persona 5 Royal, nuzlocking old Pokemon games, or going for a Victory Royale in Fortnite. You must confirm your public display name before commenting Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name. Latest in Pokemon Pokemon Platinum's most obscure feature was a reward seemingly given to just 20 players lucky enough to participate in a complicated limited-time event with a lottery prize Ranked rewards and matches in Pokemon TCG Pocket explained Best Pokemon TCG Pocket ex Starter deck to choose After wondering what the heck Pokemon Legends: Z-A's name actually meant, we now know it's tied to a pretty cool ranking system Pokemon Legends: Z-A will allegedly introduce 27 new Mega Evolutions, leakers claim, and we can only hope Flygon gets its chance this time How to get Pokemon TCG Pocket Shiny cards Latest in News Atomfall officially reaches “extremely British” status as the survival game surpasses 1.5 million players, who’ve collectively sipped 300,000 cups of tea and executed 3.7 million kills with a cricket bat New Elden Ring Nightreign trailer is all about the archer class that wasn't in the beta, and this might be the first FromSoftware game where bows don't suck Severance star joins Harlan Coben's new Netflix show following the success of Fool Me Once and Missing You After just 4 days of inZOI early access, The Sims 4's most notorious NSFW mod has come to the hyper-realistic life sim The Switch 2 Pro Controller seemingly adds a headphone jack, and that's such a godsend I'm almost willing to forgive Nintendo for being 12 years behind PlayStation and Xbox Nintendo Switch 2 Direct time and where to watch the event More about pokemon Ranked rewards and matches in Pokemon TCG Pocket explained After wondering what the heck Pokemon Legends: Z-A's name actually meant, we now know it's tied to a pretty cool ranking system New Elden Ring Nightreign trailer is all about the archer class that wasn't in the beta, and this might be the first FromSoftware game where bows don't suck See more latest Most Popular New Elden Ring Nightreign trailer is all about the archer class that wasn't in the beta, and this might be the first FromSoftware game where bows don't suck Atomfall officially reaches “extremely British” status as the survival game surpasses 1.5 million players, who’ve collectively sipped 300,000 cups of tea and executed 3.7 million kills with a cricket bat Halo: Flashpoint's extensive Spartan Edition board game just got $28 off, while Recon Edition is it's cheapest ever Severance star joins Harlan Coben's new Netflix show following the success of Fool Me Once and Missing You Nintendo Switch 2 Direct time and where to watch the event After just 4 days of inZOI early access, The Sims 4's most notorious NSFW mod has come to the hyper-realistic life sim The Switch 2 Pro Controller seemingly adds a headphone jack, and that's such a godsend I'm almost willing to forgive Nintendo for being 12 years behind PlayStation and Xbox 14 years after the game was released, the cast of A Minecraft Movie think now is the perfect time for the adaptation to hit screens: "There's so many reasons" Riot Games Executive Producer "humbled" by response to League of Legends TCG, taking heed of fans' calls for better UI and original art Barbarian director says his "wild" Resident Evil movie will be "unlike any of the previous films", says it was "built in the spirit of the games" GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS Agricola review: "Accurate representation of the highly competitive and often unstable world of agriculture" Atomfall review: "This isn't British Fallout – it's something much better than that" inZOI review: "Currently feels like a soulless imitation of the worst parts of The Sims" Assassin's Creed Shadows review: "More confidence, texture, and purpose than we've seen since Assassin's Creed pivoted into RPG territory" HeroQuest review: "The grandaddy of dungeon crawlers" The Electric State review: "Although this may be their most visually stunning movie yet, it looks like the Russos are yet to find their footing outside of the MCU" Fight or Flight review: "Slick and silly action sequences garner well-earned John Wick and Bullet train comparisons" Mickey 17 Review: "Bong Joon Ho's best English movie to date and arguably Robert Pattinson's best movie ever" Captain America: Brave New World review: "Anthony Mackie's Cap earns his Stars and Stripes in this uneven, un-MCU thriller" The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep review – "A satisfying new anime adventure that harks back to the Netflix series' heyday" Lazarus review: "Unfortunately Cowboy Bebop director's new sci-fi anime never quite melds into a harmonious whole" Daredevil: Born Again season 1 review: "There have been far worse Marvel projects, but few as disappointing as this" Reacher season 3 review: "Alan Ritchson's hero still rules as we get the best season yet" Yellowjackets season 3 review: "At its best when it leans all the way into its kookier – and scarier – side" Cobra Kai season 6, part 3 review: "Puts a near-perfect bow on Cobra Kai and the Karate Kid series" GamesRadar+ is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site. Contact Future's experts Terms and conditions Privacy policy Cookies policy Advertise with us Review guidelines Write for us Accessibility Statement Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885. Please login or signup to comment Please wait...