Noob Shelter Podcast: Episode 13

NS-0013-2019-09-16-Final.mp3
SHOW INFORMATION:
  Show Notes for September 16, 2019
  Episode: 0013
  Show Title: Ash Ketchum
  Run Time: 1:04:50
Credits
  Executive Producers: None
  Hosted By: Matt Fugitive, John Rythone & Feyd2Black Mike
  Special Thanks to the following:
  Special Intro Song: Pokemon Main Theme - Japanese Version
  End Song: Wet Dream by Kip Addotta
  Dave Jones: Freedom Controller
  Adam Curry: Sound Clips
  John Fletcher: Sound Clips
  Anchor.FM: Our MP3 and RSS hosts
  Please Donate To The Noob Shelter Podcast!!
BREAKING NEWS:
  After 20 Years, Ash Earns the Title of Pokemon Master - Nerdist
    Link to Article
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 23:32
    Pokemon
    After 20 Years, Ash Earns the Title of Pok(C)mon Master
    It's been two decades of struggle for Pok(C)mon trainer Ash Ketchum. Despite his best efforts, the perpetual ten-year-old has never achieved his ultimate dream of becoming a Pok(C)mon Master. But all of that has finally changed. In the most recent episode of Pok(C)mon the Series: Sun and Moon, Ash wins the championship competition of the Alola League at long last. This moment finally gives the franchise's main character an official Pok(C)mon League tournament win. ''Good things come to those who wait'' is an old saying that turned out to be true in this instance. But man'... what a wait.
    The episode has thus far only aired in Japan, but news travels fast. And fans all over the world are expressing their excitement and disbelief at Ash's long awaited win all over social media.
    It took Ash Ketchum 20 years and countless series to win the Pok(C)mon league but he finally did it. Never stop chasing your dreams! Never give up! Anything is posssiiiiible!!!! pic.twitter.com/PdKtdvaZ6f
    '-- Khaled Abdallah (@khaled74) September 15, 2019
    Well damn'...
    The kid finally did it.
    Ash Ketchum became a Pokemon Champion after 20+ years! pic.twitter.com/LncVCvvnVy
    '-- Mike Mamon (@xPmnms) September 15, 2019
    Which was bigger? LeBron coming back 3-1 against the Warriors or Ash Ketchum winning his first Pokemon league after a 22 year drought? pic.twitter.com/aU3BM9Kvhl
    '-- Troydan (@Troydan) September 15, 2019
    If Ash can win a Pok(C)mon Leauge after 22 years then anything is possible damn it. pic.twitter.com/wwhx59EdzV
    '-- VA's Best SneakerheadðŸ--¥ðŸ¤¯ðŸ‘Ÿ (@NateCarps) September 16, 2019
    ASH WON THE POK‰MON LEAGUE OMG MY CHILDHOOD pic.twitter.com/b5JBVA45Up
    '-- ðŸ‘¼ðŸ¼ (@ucancallmewilla) September 16, 2019
    This is how hard work pays off. Never stop believing in yourself people.
    My man Ash Ketchum has finally become a Pok(C)mon master. pic.twitter.com/sPJ3Pfhsbw
    '-- Rao (@CasualRao) September 16, 2019
    Ash Ketchum has been a part of millions of lives & while many stop watching the Pok(C)mon anime Ash continued to be a role model trainer for new generations. He's lost every Pok(C)mon League to teach children it's ok to lose & today he finally won. What a day to be a Pok(C)mon fan ðŸ‚ pic.twitter.com/Gzbf9j08N9
    '-- Aero (@ActualAero) September 15, 2019
    But the most important mention of all came from original Ash voice actor Veronica Taylor, who tweeted out her congratulations to the character from his ''younger self.'' And that's the sound of every '90s kid across the globe as their hearts melt.
    MY HEART https://t.co/WpD33zPnI4
    '-- Joe Donley (@ShadupJoe) September 15, 2019
    This win isn't without controversy however; the Sun and Moon series (along with their respective games) haven't been as well received by some longtime fans of the franchise due to the massive breaks in tradition that have formed the foundation of the series for the past 20 years. But nevertheless, Ash has, for the most part, been the underdog. Or at the very least drawn that way. He's someone that can be rooted for universally because he's simply a kid with a dream and he works towards accomplishing it with the help of his Pokemon and the friends he makes along the way.
    Here's hoping it's not 2040 before Ash wins his next championship. Maybe by that time he'll have hit puberty?
    Images: The Pok(C)mon Company
Video Games:
  The ESA 'strongly disagrees' with UK commission's finding on loot boxes | PC Gamer
    Link to Article
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:05
    HomeNews(Image credit: Valve)
    Earlier this week the UK's Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport issued a report recommending that loot boxes in videogames be subject to the same regulations as gambling, which would include content labels on games with paid loot boxes and a ban on selling them to minors. The chair of the committee responsible for the report also criticized the UK government's position that loot boxes are not a form of gambling, and said that if it wants to maintain that position it should release a report explaining why.
    Ukie, the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, put on a happy face in response to the report, saying that it is "pleased the Committee acknowledges that the majority of people play video games in a positive, safe and responsible way," and emphasizing its support for efforts to increase "digital literacy."
    "We also welcome the Committee's recognition of good practice, which already exists in the industry, including pioneering community management and technical measures which ensure players have a safe experience online," it said in a statement. "The discussion around age ratings is actively ongoing and the system is continually reviewed. Changes have already been made including the introduction of an in-game purchase description label and as technology evolves so will the robust process by which it is reviewed and rated."
    The reaction on the North American side of the pond was somewhat more confrontational, however. "We take seriously the issues raised in the UK Parliament's Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee report, but strongly disagree with its findings," an Entertainment Software Association representative told GamesIndustry.biz.
    "As demonstrated by the recent announcement of policies regarding the disclosure of the relative rarity or probability of obtaining virtual items in paid loot boxes as well as the robust parental controls that empower parents to control in-game purchases, the videogame industry is a leader in partnering with parents and players to create enjoyable videogame experiences. In addition, numerous regulatory bodies around the world, including those in Australia, France, Ireland, Germany, and the UK, have come to a conclusion starkly different than that of this committee."
    Some countries have determined that loot boxes do not qualify as a form of gambling, but have also indicated that the decisions were based strictly on legal definitions and should not be taken to mean that loot boxes should be left unregulated. France's ARJEL regulatory body, for instance, determined that loot boxes do not legally qualify as gambling but "are undermining public policy goals for gambling," while the UK Gambling Commission said that there are "significant concerns" about games with loot boxes being played by children, but that they do not technically qualify as a form of gambling under current laws.
    The ESA represents major publishers, such as Activision Blizzard, Bethesda, Electronic Arts, Take-Two, and Tencent, and thus has a vested interest in avoiding regulation. It's always going to disagree with findings that could lead to legislation that limits monetization practices, though in this case it's done so a bit more forcefully than Ukie.
    Andy covers the day-to-day happenings in the big, wide world of PC gaming'--the stuff we call "news." In his off hours, he wishes he had time to play the 80-hour RPGs and immersive sims he used to love so much.
  Apple Arcade goes live for iOS 13 beta testers
    Link to Article
    Source: The Verge - Gamings
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:06
    A few days ahead of its scheduled September 19th launch, Apple Arcade is now live and accepting subscriptions from those participating in Apple's iOS 13 beta program. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman tweeted that Apple's gaming service, which unlocks access to dozens of ad-free games for a monthly fee, was up and running. Many other people have gained access on devices enrolled in the iOS 13 public beta.
    Subscriptions appear to be processing successfully, including the one-month free trial that Apple has promised, and games can be downloaded and played immediately. Over 50 titles are available at launch.
    The Verge has reached out to Apple for details on whether this early debut for beta customers is intentional and to confirm that Apple Arcade will remain available for those seeing it now. The company put out a press release about Apple Arcade today, and Apple executive Phil Schiller tweeted it, so this doesn't appear to be an accident. Apple's release doesn't mention anything about the service being available to beta testers early, however.
    Apple Arcade works across the iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV, and Mac computers, letting subscribers pick up where they left off across devices. All titles offered under the service do not include ads or any in-app purchases. You can see if you've been granted access by opening the App Store and selecting the Arcade tab. The previous message about Apple Arcade coming soon should now say ''Try it free.''
  Gears 5 breaks records with 3 million players during opening weekend
    Link to Article
    Source: VG247
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:06
    By Emily Gera,Monday, 16 September 2019 19:23 GMT
    Gears 5 has broken records for the biggest launch of any Xbox Game Studios release this generation.
    The new Gears title attracted over 3 million players across its opening weekend, Xbox reported today. This is double the first week debut of 2016's Gears of War 4, and makes it the most-played Xbox Game Studios title in its first week since 2012's Halo 4. On PC, Gears 5 tripled the performance of its predecessor, which also makes it the biggest ever launch for Xbox Game Pass for PC.
    Thanks to the incredible support from our fans, #Gears5 kicked off the Holiday season strong '' attracting over three million players in its opening weekend and setting new records for @XboxGamePass. https://t.co/kRWMxWBQXV
    '-- Xbox Wire (@XboxWire) September 16, 2019
    This confirms what we heard last week from Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad. Ahmad called Gears 5 the first ''mega hit'' of Xbox Game Pass, noting that it surpassed Forza Horizon 4. ''Competitive pricing and recent offers, a large library of games and access to MS 1st party has led to a high number of sign ups,'' he wrote on Twitter at the time.
    Check out VG247's review of Gears 5, which our Simon Miller says is ''like welcoming home an old friend only to find they have a new haircut that looks better the more you see of it.''
  A new Mega Man game is currently in the early stages of development, but it's not necessarily Mega Man 12
    Link to Article
    Source: VG247
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:11
    By James O'Connor,Monday, 16 September 2019 05:04 GMT
    Capcom's currently re-releasing all of its older Mega Man games, but something new is also being worked on.
    After the two Legacy Collections than collected Mega Man 1-10, as well as the X Legacy Collections, we now have the Mega Man Zero/ZX Legacy Collection on the way, too. But Mega Man fans might be wondering what's next for the Blue Bomber, and when they're see another proper, new game for him.
    Last year's Mega Man 11 was well-received, so it makes sense that we'll see him again. According to series producer Kazuhiro Tsuchyia, who spoke to Japanese outlet 4Gamer (which was then translated by Dualshockers), the next game in the series is in the works. The way the statement is phrased, though, it's not necessarily Mega Man 12 that is being worked on.
    ''There are a lot of titles I personally want to work on, but to tell the truth the next game to be developed has already been decided on, I'd just like to keep the specific details hidden for the moment. Please wait until we make an announcement.''
    He also clarifies, in relation to the interviewer asking about Mega Man X: Command Mission (a PS2/GameCube RPG), that he doesn't think of any of the other series as 'spin-offs'. ''I think that the there's no such thing as a spin-off in the Mega Man series, every saga is a main series on its own. When speaking of Mega Man, there will always be people who think of ''X'', as well as people who think of ''EXE'', and I think that's why each one's concept of what Mega Man is changes depending on the generation. For that reason, we don't want to deny any series of its future.''
    Perhaps we're finally going to get Mega Man: Battle Network 7?
Political Discourse
  Street Fighter Champion Gives Up Thousands In Protest Of Japanese Bureaucracy
    Link to Article
    Source: Kotaku
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:07
    Photo: CapcomThis past weekend, a legendary Street Fighter player placed first in what was perhaps the most stacked Street Fighter V tournament ever, but he will only be taking home a fraction of his prize money. That's due to Japan's heavily restrictive laws on competitive gaming and his own personal principles.
    Yusuke Momochi is one of the greatest fighting game players of all time, with major victories in various tournaments spanning all the way back to 2007. While he has dabbled in other games, Street Fighter continues to be his main area of expertise, and his legacy has continued into the release of Street Fighter V. Last weekend, Momochi traveled to Tokyo Game Show for the Capcom Pro Tour's Asia Premier. Over the course of the competition, he managed to edge out over 1,000 of his fellow competitors to eventually place first, earning him a huge amount of ranking points towards Capcom Cup qualification. His monetary compensation, however, has hit a bit of a snag.
    Owing to its importance on the Capcom Pro Tour, the Asia Premier event featured a big prize pool, with the champion set to take home 5 million yen (or around $46,000 USD, according to current conversion rates). But the delivery of that prize money would depend on their status as a licensed player. Due to Japan's harsh restrictions on competitive gaming'--which the country legally considers a form of gambling'--the Japanese eSports Union (JeSU) was formed to help competitors make a stable career out of esports. JeSU partnered with various game developers and began issuing special pro gamer licenses to players in 2018. These licenses would allow their recipients to earn money during official competitions hosted by Capcom, Bandai Namco, and the like. Without a license, players couldn't take home as much prize money. It would instead be capped at 100,000 yen, or around $900 USD.
    Momochi has been critical of this licensing system in the past, expressing skepticism that JeSU should be the arbiter of who does and doesn't get to be a pro player. While it has yet to be confirmed, many believe he was the sole holdout when JeSU and Capcom offered licenses to 22 top Street Fighter V players last year. Since then, the two organizations have continued to award licenses to competitors who manage to win money at developer-backed events to ensure they receive the entirety of their promised prize. Momochi has apparently continue to stick to his guns, even though these principles have made his ability to benefit financially from Street Fighter competition into a confusing mess every time he gets far enough to earn some scratch. Naturally, this issue reared its ugly head once again last weekend after Momochi managed to win the Asia Premier event.
    Momochi touched on this topic during his first Twitch stream after the tournament. According to a summary of the stream by Andrew ''jiyuna'' Fidelis, a long-time fighting game player who helps bridge the language barrier between Japan and English-speaking communities, Momochi said on the stream that he will only be receiving 60,200 yen (or around $558 USD) of the 5 million yen ($46,000) championship prize. Kotaku contacted both Capcom and Momochi about this situation but had yet to hear back at the time of publishing.
    It's unclear where things go from here. A recent ruling shared by JeSU that was translated by a separate party appears to indicate that licenses may no longer be required to receive money from esports tournaments for games that are free to play or don't allow players to become stronger with money (i.e. pay-to-win mechanics), but it's unclear how this will affect future competitions or when it will go into effect. Momochi, for his part, seems content to continue to hold out on the JeSU system entirely, even if that means missing out on big money in the process. Until Japanese regulations change in favor of competitive gaming or JeSU itself addresses Momochi's concerns, an alternative path forward isn't readily available.
Stupid Twitch is Stupid
  Twitch Suspends Streamer After She Wears Chun-Li Cosplay
    Link to Article
    Source: Kotaku
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:09
    Last night, Twitch suspended art streamer Quqco after she livestreamed herself wearing cosplay of Chun-Li from Street Fighter, Dexerto first reported.
    Quqco is a small streamer who often draws pictures from her favorite gaming franchises live on Twitch. Yesterday, she was wearing Chun-Li's signature blue qipao and bun covers, and soon after, she received notice of a three-day suspension for ''sexually suggestive content or activities,'' according to an email from Twitch posted to her Twitter. The outfit features a thigh-high slit that is sometimes considered risqu(C).
    ''I actually bought one size up to ensure that the slit wasn't too high,'' said Quqco in an email to Kotaku. ''The slit of this dress is cut lower than some runner shorts I own.''
    Twitch's guidelines surrounding sexually explicit content are vague, a widespread allegation waged by female streamers for years. ''Attire intended to be sexually suggestive and nudity are prohibited,'' Twitch's community guidelines read. For streams like Quqco's, they ''recommend attire appropriate for public settings, such as what you would wear on a public street, or to a mall or restaurant.'' The video in question has since been removed, so it's difficult to tell if there was a particular moment that may have been flagged by Twitch. Twitch did not respond to Kotaku's request for comment by the time of publication.
    Twitch previously suspended Quqco after she cosplayed Mai Shiranui from The King of Fighters. At the time, Quqco wrote on Twitter that she was banned because she was report brigaded by the popular subreddit Livestreamfail. ''I was sexually harassed,'' she wrote in a now-deleted tweet. ''All I wore was a Mai cosplay while I was drawing.'' Quqco believes this recent suspension was also due to ''a group of trolls who have been targeting me for mass reporting for a while...I am immediately reported because I've been branded a thot,'' she said, adding that she doesn't do physical activities like squatting or dancing on stream.
    Kotaku saw one now-removed comment on Livestreamfail in which a user said, ''Lmao saw her streaming again today and instantly reported the thot,'' although we were unable to confirm whether she was brigaded. Brigading is not an uncommon problem for female streamers; Kotaku has previously reported on self-appointed boob police who trawl through Twitch's directories searching for and reporting women they believe are violating Twitch's terms of service. Despite this, the moderators of Livestreamfail don't believe the suspension is connected to the subreddit's activity. ''Considering the thread was submitted after her ban by Twitch it's pretty hard to argue that it's the result of a LSF brigade,'' one told Kotaku.
    ''I am sure there are other girls who are facing the same difficulty as me,'' said Quqco. ''The problem is that there are so many trolls and ill-tended people who will band together to report a streamer.''
    Updated: 9/16/2019, 1:26 p.m. ET: The text of this article was updated to include new comment from the moderators of the Livestreamfail subreddit.
Movie News
  Battle at Big Rock - The Verge
    Link to Article
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 20:42
    Imagine trying to enjoy a nice barbecue dinner with your family when a couple of triceratops and a bloodthirsty T. rex suddenly upend it all by fighting in your front yard.
    That's the basis of the new Jurassic World short, directed by Colin Trevorrow, who also helmed the first Jurassic World in 2015. The eight-minute short, Battle at Big Rock, takes place one year after Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and picks up where the last film ended: dinosaurs are now freely roaming around the world and, inevitably, there are some problems.
    Battle at Big Rock has everything a Jurassic Park fan would want '-- family drama, dinosaurs crushing vans, and even a badass eight-year-old with a crossbow. Whether this family will make an appearance in Jurassic World 3 (set to be released in 2021 and also directed by Trevorrow) is unclear. There's certainly no sign of Chris Pratt's Owen Grady or Bryce Dallas Howard's Claire Dearing.
    Battle at Big Rock first debuted exclusively on FX, but is also available to watch on NBC.com, JurassicWorld.com, and YouTube.
QUICK SHOTS:
  Player Cataloges List Of Games That Still Have Poorly Implemented Subtitles
    Link to Article
    Source: Kotaku
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:08
    Just from playing games, I know that the subtitles they offer are often too small, have weird line breaks, or don't show up properly against the background of the game. This handy Reddit post offers a more detailed look at just how bad the situation can get in certain games.
    Over on the PC Gaming subreddit, user OldJoe911 posted a repository of screenshots of subtitles in games to illustrate the problems that can arise. Although the examples aren't exhaustive, they run the gamut from the 2000-era game Thief 2 to last year's Shadow of the Tomb Raider. Although OldJoe911 says in the post that more and more games are including subtitles for their games, the presentation remains an issue.
    ''Here are many other issues which all can be summed up to readability: very long lines, too much text, poor contrast, random line breaks, no minimum gaps between subs, low timecodes, grammar errors, out of sync, bad positioning, bad font type/style, partial subs and lack of subs altogether,'' they wrote. ''From my own experience, it seems that the industry in general have gotten better in including subs with their titles. The presentation of subs, however, is lackluster to say the least.''
    All of the games that OldJoe911 shows in the post have issues that make their subtitles harder to read, but there's a range of examples, some egregious and others more bearable. For example, Shadow of the Tomb Raider has larger subtitles with a translucent black box behind them, and it even offers an option for different characters to use different text colors. However, uneven line breaks like this one can make the text harder to parse:
    While Soma offers additional subtitles specifically for the hard of hearing, the extremely tight kerning'--which is the space between the letters'--in the game's subtitles can also present a readability issue.
    If you're deaf or hard of hearing, the lack of consistency of subtitles in games is a clear accessibility issue. People who aren't hard of hearing also use subtitles, myself included, and not being able to read the text kind of defeats the purpose when I'm trying to make sure I catch all the dialogue. Seeing all the different kinds of pitfalls that various games have run into with subtitles is surprising, but also a little sad. For me, it's just a minor irritation in games, but for someone who needs them, poor subtitles can make a game difficult or impossible to play.
  Three classic Dragon Quest games are coming to Switch
    Link to Article
    Source: VG247
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:08
    By Emily Gera,Monday, 16 September 2019 15:40 GMT
    Three classic Dragon Quest titles are headed to Nintendo Switch later this month.
    Starting September 27, Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest II: Luinaries of the Legendary Line, and Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation '' three retro releases that originally launched in 1986, 1987, and 1988, respectively '' are coming to the Nintendo Switch. Square Enix made the announcement earlier today.
    Find out where it all began '' the first three #DragonQuest games are coming to North America, and for the first time on console in Europe, on #NintendoSwitch!
    You can start with any of the three games, so get ready for classic adventures from September 27th. pic.twitter.com/iPklL1k0uv
    '-- DRAGON QUEST (@DragonQuest) September 16, 2019
    The retro titles will be made available digitally over the Nintendo eShop. The eShop already lists all three games and their respective prices, with the original Dragon Quest priced at $5, Dragon Quest 2: Luminaries of the Legendary Line for $6.50, and Dragon Quest 3: The Seeds of Salvation for $12.50.
    All three games launch on the store the same day as Dragon Quest 11 S: Echoes of an Elusive Age '' Definitive Edition, which is likewise slated to hit September 27 for Switch.
  Minecraft has over 112 million monthly users, which is massive
    Link to Article
    Source: VG247
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:11
    By James O'Connor,Monday, 16 September 2019 06:14 GMT
    A lot of people are still playing Minecraft regularly. Like'...a lot.
    In an interview with Business Insider, Mojang studio head Helen Chiang told them that the game has just reached this milestone, outpacing all previous projections for how many people are playing the game.
    That's over 1% of the world's population, although we'd have to suspect that some people are playing over multiple devices or accounts to inflate that figure a bit, because it's huge. As of May, the game had reached 176 million sales, so it's fair to assume that a lot of the active users are playing multiplayer with friends or family on copies they did not buy themselves.
    Minecraft continues to grow, with ray-tracing support coming to the PC version and Minecraft Earth on the horizon. The game is ten years old now, but is obviously still extremely popular, and this figure is all the more impressive for the fact that Minecraft is not free to play.
    This also means that Minecraft has more active monthly users than Roblox, which has a still-huge 100 million a month.
    If this inspires you to jump back in '' or even if you never left '' check out our guide to the best Minecraft seeds.
  A Hearthstone pro player lost a Grandmasters match because he was also playing Auto Chess
    Link to Article
    Source: VG247
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 19:13
    By James O'Connor,Monday, 16 September 2019 03:05 GMT
    Hearthstone Grandmaster Linh ''Seiko'' Nguyen lost while trying to juggle two games at once.
    Seiko was playing a Grandmasters match of Hearthstone and an Auto Chess qualifier at the same time, but it led to a sloppier performance in Hearthstone than he anticipated.
    Seiko was caught out during a tournament match against Elias ''Bozzzton'' Sebelius, when viewers of the stream noticed that he was constantly looking down, and did not seem to be fully focused on the match. As PC Gamer reports, he eventually threw the match, and viewers were annoyed at the professional player for clearly not being focused.
    In a since-deleted tweet, captured by another Hearthstone player, Seiko admitted to playing a qualifier for Auto Chess at the same time as his Hearthstone match.
    If you were wondering what the hell @HS_Seiko was doing during his match when he misplayed horribly and also was looking somewhere else than his screen most of the time'... He was playing another game on another screen. (tweet promptly deleted) #Hearthstone #grandmasters https://t.co/mm92sLFdU5 pic.twitter.com/KoNDLAf8RF
    '-- NPH Pasca (@hs_Pasca) September 14, 2019
    Seiko has now addressed the controversy directly, admitting that he did not expect things to escalate in the way that they have, and that he did not mean to be disrespectful. He will have to drop out of the Auto Chess qualifier, he says, to focus on Hearthstone.
    HS drama
    Read: https://t.co/9TAuylK36G
    '-- Linh Nguyen (@HS_Seiko) September 15, 2019
    In any case, it's hard to imagine that the professional esports scene around Hearthstone will forget this any time soon. In other Hearthstone news, the new solo campaign, Tombs of Terror, drops this week.
  Nintendo's wireless SNES controllers for Switch are now available to buy - The Verge
    Link to Article
    Tue, 17 Sep 2019 00:03
    If you're hankering for the perfect classic controller to play the Nintendo Switch's new collection of downloadable Super Nintendo titles, you may be happy to hear that the company's new retro wireless SNES gamepad is now available for purchase '-- assuming you're a Nintendo Switch Online member, of course.
    That's because just like last year's wireless NES gamepad, Nintendo will only let you buy one if you're already paying the $4/month, $20/year subscription fee that gives you the games to begin with.
    Don't expect them to be much use outside classic Nintendo titles
    Which makes a certain degree of sense, because the old-school SNES gamepad probably isn't going to help you play a whole lot of modern games without joysticks and triggers at your disposal. That's certainly what we discovered last year in our NES wireless gamepad review. On the plus side, you don't have to purchase two pads for a set price of $60 this time around. Nintendo is selling the SNES ones individually for $29.99 apiece, limit four per customer.
    Image: Nintendo But I would feel weird if I didn't mention one slightly more expensive, slightly less faithful option that I would definitely buy instead: the $45 8Bitdo SF30 Pro / SN30 Pro, a modernized take on the SNES controller with enough buttons and joysticks to play practically any Switch game, and that also pairs with Windows, Android, and MacOS. I own one, and it's pretty great.
    Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy.
  News: Pokemon Go releases Gen 5 into the wild today
    Link to Article
    Source: VideoGamer.com - All Updates
    Mon, 16 Sep 2019 17:18
    Pok(C)mon Go will introduce Pok(C)mon from the Unova region in its latest update, including the Black and White starters and new regional exclusives.
    'šª'š Get ready for a Unova unveiling, Trainers! 'š 'šªIt's almost time for new encounters with Pok(C)mon featured in Pok(C)mon Black Version and Pok(C)mon White Version. Will you be the first to catch all of them? ðŸ‰ #PokemonGOhttps://t.co/3RQE8QbDVy pic.twitter.com/PnBXKNnVQ2
    '-- Pok(C)mon GO (@PokemonGoApp) September 16, 2019The Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions have been included in the mobile version of the classic monster hunting game, and now it's time for the critters of Pok(C)mon Black and Pok(C)mon White to have their time in the sun. Along with the starters -- Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott -- lots of Unova region 'mons will appear in the wild today. These include Patrat, Lillipup, Lampent, Purrloin, Pidove, Blitzle, and Audino just to name a few of the flock.
    In raids, players will expect to see Lillipup, Patrat, and Klink, though it's unknown what difficulty these will be categorised as. Klink won't be appearing in the wild, however, so raids will be the only opportunity to add it to the Pok(C) Dex. But, if Trainers are especially lucky with the RNG, they may find a Shiny Patrat and Shiny Lillipup loafing about in the world.
    The Unova Stone is a new evolutionary item that will be introduced as well. Like the Sinnoh Stone, this will allow certain Unova Pok(C)mon to evolve to their next stage, and will be dispensed from Research Breakthroughs. Unlike the Sinnoh Stone, let's hope it has a higher drop rate because Sinnoh Stones are rarer than Combusken teeth.
    And finally, information on regional exclusives has been disclosed. In the western hemisphere, Trainers will encounter Heatmor, and in the eastern hemisphere, Durant will be found. I like to think that Durant started running away from a Heatmor and eventually stopped when it reached the other side of the world. The Elemental Monkey Pok(C)mon -- Panpour, Pansear, and Pansage -- will also arrive in all corners of the world. Panpour is exclusive to the Americas and Greenland, whereas Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India will discover Pansear. By process of elimination, that means that Pansage will pop up in the Asia-Pacific region.
    Colm, if you are reading this, I am definitely not multitasking and I am definitely not checking my phone for a Pansear to appear.