The Verge - Entertainments |
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ latest trailer shows off big changes for battles
- Pokémon Unite is coming to iOS and Android on September 22nd
- Asus’ special edition Zephyrus G14 comes with its own DJ deck
- Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl look adorable in new trailer
- Among Us devs aren’t happy with Fortnite’s blatant copying
- Ubisoft Singapore probed by national watchdog after toxic workplace allegations
- The Spectrum TV app is back in Roku’s channel store after being yanked
- You can now queue to purchase a PS5 (update: sold out)
- YouTube Premium subscribers can get three months of Stadia Pro for free
- Nerf just made the iconic Aliens Pulse Rifle into a badass foam blaster
| Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ latest trailer shows off big changes for battles Posted: 18 Aug 2021 07:37 AM PDT  Nintendo announced a ton of new information for the hotly anticipated Pokémon Legends: Arceus during today's Pokémon Presents showcase. In addition to covering a new battle system, new regional pokémon, and the new skills trainers will need to catch 'em all, Nintendo also released a brand-new, beautiful trailer. Pokémon Legend: Arceus takes place in the Hisui region — a natural paradise filled with different ecosystems and stuffed all kinds of regional pokémon. Your goal is to help the Galaxy Expedition Team study and catalog the pokémon of the region by compiling the very first Pokédex. Nintendo offered a glimpse into Pokémon Legends: Arceus' battle system, which combines classic pokémon gameplay with a couple of new twists. One new feature is the Action Order bar that displays which pokémon's turn is next. You can influence turn order and frequency by using attacks that fall into either the strong style or the agile style category. Strong style moves hit harder but are slower and increase the amount of time between your next attack. Agile style moves are weaker but faster and using them will give you multiple opportunities to attack in a row. Pokémon Legends: Arceus also showcased the different kinds of pokémon inhabiting the Hisui region. Like Sun and Moon and Sword and Shield, Pokémon Legends will feature regional variants of pokémon who have specially adapted to life in the Hisui region. Some of these local variants, like the Hisuian braviary or the spirit possessed basculegion, will let you ride them to cross the vast and varied landscape. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a bold new direction for the beloved monster-catching franchise. The game's emphasis on freely roaming through swaying grass as little bidoofs jump about has already drawn comparisons to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. It seems that Nintendo wants to break the familiar format of previous Pokémon games by giving players a gorgeous pokémon-stuffed world and the leisure to explore it. Pokémon Legends: Arceus comes to the Nintendo Switch on January 28th, 2022.  |
| Pokémon Unite is coming to iOS and Android on September 22nd Posted: 18 Aug 2021 06:34 AM PDT  Pokémon Unite, the five-versus-five MOBA game that released in July for the Nintendo Switch, will debut on iOS and Android devices on September 22nd. The Pokémon Company shared today during a livestream that you can pre-register for the mobile game now on your respective devices (iOS, Android). You'll be notified when it's officially available to download. Whether you play Pokémon Unite on mobile or a Nintendo Switch, the game will offer cross-platform play to broaden who you can play alongside or against. By linking your account on both the Switch version and the mobile game, you'll be able to have cross-progression, which will allow you to play the game with your saved data and characters on whichever device is more convenient.
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| Asus’ special edition Zephyrus G14 comes with its own DJ deck Posted: 18 Aug 2021 06:30 AM PDT  If there's one company I trust to do a good job with utterly ridiculous computer ideas, it's Asus. Last fall, the company worked with cyberpunky fashion designer Acronym to make possibly the weirdest-looking gaming laptop I've ever seen (the ZPHYRS G14 ACRNM). This year, it's partnered with popular DJ Alan Walker to create a less avant-garde, more musical version of the same device. This is the Zephyrus G14 Alan Walker Edition, a laptop for gamers, DJs, and (ideally) gamer DJs. The insides of this laptop are nothing ROG fans haven't seen before. There's only one configuration, selling for $1,999.99, which includes an AMD Ryzen 5900HS processor and a low-end GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card, as well as a QHD 120Hz screen, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. So, just to be clear, this isn't really a sensible purchase unless you're an Alan Walker superfan, because that same price can get you a non-Walker G14 with a more powerful RTX 3060 GPU, as well as 32GB of RAM. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788137/bfarsace_210817_4714_0010.jpg) Still, it's a pretty cool device. The lid is laced with a reflective belt commanding passersby to "JOIN THE REPUBLIC" and "JOIN THE WALKERS." Alan Walker's logo — resembling an A superimposed over a W — is printed in various places, including the A and W keys as well as on the nameplate. There's a diagonal line print on the touchpad meant to resemble music equalizer patterns, and there are splashes of bright blue — Walker's favorite color — across the keyboard as well. It's not an obnoxious aesthetic, like these special editions sometimes have — it looks more like a standard G14 with some colorful tweaks. Walker says the design reflects the look he'd want his personal device to have. "They approached me and asked, what are your expectations for the laptop, what do you look for in a laptop if you were to pick one yourself?" he told The Verge in an interview. "It was a lot of back and forth — like, a lot." /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788134/bfarsace_210817_4714_0003.jpg) /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788138/bfarsace_210817_4714_0012.jpg) The other cool thing is that the packaging this G14 comes in becomes a DJ deck when connected to the laptop via USB-C. It's not the most high-tech affair — if you lift up the paper floor, you'll see a nest of wires taped to the bottom of the box. "That's one of those crazy ideas where we ended up debating, would this be possible?" Walker said of the DJ box. "Asus is like 'Yeah, cool, we can maybe think about something, figure something out,' and then they came back with a box." He added, "It's so weird how it even works." I expected this to be complicated to set up for a non-DJ like myself, but it was a breeze. Plug the box into the G14, and a preloaded software called ROG Remix opens automatically. You can play a song within that program, and then tweak it by pressing various buttons on the box. There are buttons for things like speed, start / stop, and a few basic effects. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788135/bfarsace_210817_4714_0004.jpg) /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788136/bfarsace_210817_4714_0007.jpg) This was — caveating, again, that I'm not a DJ — a lot of fun. The buttons all worked, and the effects sounded very cool to my untrained ears. It seems like something you could easily use at a party, especially since the G14's speakers are fantastic. The music was crackling a bit at the beginning, but that seemed to sort itself out after a few tracks. Mostly, I'm impressed that this is all coming out of a plastic box. Walker agrees that his G14 is a better purchase for people like me than it would be for actual DJs. "It's not necessarily the number-one gadget to get if you want to start with DJing, but it's definitely a cool starting point," says Walker. "I hope that people will use it to be creative and play around with music." He does, however, expect that he'll use the G14 on his next tour. "It's got everything that I need, basically, to work and prepare for my shows," Walker says. "I can easily foresee myself using it every day." He says he might use it to plan his set lists prior to performances, and to work on the visuals as well. He might also use it for some gaming in his spare time. "Lately I've been playing Call of Duty," he says. "Also some Valorant." The ROG Zephyrus G14 Alan Walker Edition is available now for $1,999.99. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788131/bfarsace_210817_4714_0001.jpg)  |
| Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl look adorable in new trailer Posted: 18 Aug 2021 06:27 AM PDT  At a Pokémon-focused livestream, Nintendo revealed a trailer showing off the absolutely adorable new look for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl. The clip gave a good overview of the world itself, along with some of the enhanced elements, like what sounds like a nice orchestral mix for the score. You can also decorate pokéballs with stickers now, and — finally — actually change your outfit in-game. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are remakes of the 2006 Nintendo DS titles Diamond and Pearl. The new versions feature a much-changed chibi art style, along with "some of the player-friendly features of modern Pokémon games," according to Nintendo. That includes a fan-favorite feature where a pokémon can follow you as you explore the world. Aside from that, they're expected to feature the same story and world as the originals. The remakes were originally announced in February alongside Pokémon Legends: Arceus, an open-world prequel that's launching next year. It's a bit of a busy time for the Pokémon franchise at the moment. In addition to the new games, Pokémon Snap just received a major update, Pokémon Go continues to chug along (albeit with some controversy), and the competitive strategy game Pokémon Unite recently debuted on the Switch, with a mobile version expected next month. Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl are expected to launch on November 19th. On November 5th, a special edition Switch Lite is launching with Pearl / Diamond visuals.  |
| Among Us devs aren’t happy with Fortnite’s blatant copying Posted: 18 Aug 2021 04:54 AM PDT  Epic Games launched Fortnite: Impostors yesterday, a new mode that copies the Among Us game mechanics. While Among Us, the multiplayer game that soared in popularity at the start of the pandemic, was free on the Epic Games Store recently, Epic didn't collaborate with Innersloth, the studio that created Among Us, for the new Fortnite mode. The developers behind Among Us are clearly surprised and unhappy that Epic has copied their game so blatantly, with social deduction gameplay and a very similar map. "It would've been really, really cool to collab," said Victoria Tran, Innersloth community director. "Like game mechanics, fine, those shouldn't be gatekept, but at the very least even different themes or terminology makes things more interesting?" — Gary Porter (@supergarydeluxe) August 17, 2021 Gary Porter, a developer for Among Us, also pointed out the similarities between the map that Fortnite uses and Among Us. "It's okay though they flipped electrical and medbay and connected security to the cafeteria," joked Porter on Twitter. "I wasn't even around for the development of Skeld [the first Among Us map] and I'm still kind of offended." Calum Underwood, another developer on Among Us, tweeted and deleted what he referred to as "spicy tweets," before then inviting other game makers to collaborate with Among Us instead. Kotaku also spotted that Adriel Wallick, a programmer at Innersloth, also shared a comic about the theft of art online.
Innersloth co-founder, Marcus Bromander, said the company didn't patent Among Us mechanics as "I don't think that leads to a healthy game industry." Instead, Bromander expected Epic to put more effort into their own spin on it. Epic's Impostors mode in Fortnite has obviously taken the Among Us team by surprise, even if it's only a temporary mode in the game. The not-so-subtle hints at copying and art theft here come after small creators have accused Epic of stealing their work in the past. Epic has faced years of legal complaints related to emotes that the company copied from children and independent artists without paying for them. Epic's choice to copy Among Us also comes just months after the company's bitter legal battle with Apple. It's a legal fight that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has described as about "basic freedoms of all consumers and developers." It's not a great look if Epic is fighting for small developers in one sense, but undermining them elsewhere.  |
| Ubisoft Singapore probed by national watchdog after toxic workplace allegations Posted: 18 Aug 2021 04:22 AM PDT  Ubisoft Singapore, the lead studio on Skull & Bones and co-developer of Assassin's Creed Valhalla, is being investigated by a national employment watchdog over allegations of misconduct at the studio. Singaporean newspaper The Straits Times reports that the country's Tripartite Alliance for Fair and Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) began its investigation after receiving anonymous feedback about conditions at the studio. The probe follows a wide-ranging report from Kotaku last month based on conversations with over 20 current and former employees about the studio's allegedly toxic workplace environment. Sources said female employees were sometimes subjected to unwanted physical contact, and that subsequent investigations from HR would drag on for months and result in minor penalties. The studio is also alleged to suffer from racial disparities, with local employees unable to progress past a so-called "French ceiling" at the Paris-headquartered company. The Straits Times reports that such investigations usually involve interviews with affected parties, and can result in civic or criminal sanctions. Civil sanctions may include blocking the studio from applying for new work passes for foreign employees, while more serious infractions can lead to a criminal investigation. In a statement given to The Verge, Ubisoft said it was aware that feedback had been sent to the TAFEP, but said it couldn't comment on the probe while discussions were still ongoing. "Every Ubisoft studio, including Ubisoft Singapore, strives to create and foster a culture that team members and partners can be proud of," the company said. "We do not and will not tolerate discrimination or abuse. We celebrate our international culture and work to ensure our teams are deeply integrated into their respective local communities." In response to last month's report from Kotaku, the company said 40 percent of expert and senior expert roles at Ubisoft Singapore are filled by Singaporeans or permanent residents. "Our objective is to continue to increase Singaporean leadership through various programs including a dedicated management learning path to accelerate the development of new leaders," it said. In an August 6th press conference, Ubisoft Singapore's managing director Darryl Long, who took over leadership of the studio said that the company "[needs] to start to change the way we are perceived and the way we act internally as well," The Straits Times reports. The allegations of misconduct at Ubisoft Singapore have taken place against a backdrop of widespread reports of toxicity across Ubisoft as a whole. An anonymous survey of nearly 14,000 employees published in October revealed that as many as a quarter of them have seen or experienced workplace misconduct, with 20 percent saying they didn't feel "fully respected or safe in the work environment." However, despite several high profile employees being fired from the company, CEO Yves Guillemot has said that "real change will take time." Meanwhile, competitor Activision Blizzard is currently embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy of its own, having been recently sued by California's Department of Fair Employment and Housing.  |
| The Spectrum TV app is back in Roku’s channel store after being yanked Posted: 17 Aug 2021 02:46 PM PDT  Roku users who've been unable to get Charter's Spectrum TV app through the platform's channels store can once again do so after months of being unable to download it. Roku announced on its blog today that new and existing users can access Spectrum TV on its devices by signing into the app using their Charter broadband credentials or by signing up for an account through Roku. The agreement resolves an ongoing carriage dispute that resulted in Roku pulling the Spectrum TV app from its store in December. The companies issued a joint statement on Tuesday that both had come to "a mutually beneficial agreement to renew distribution of the Spectrum TV App." "As a result of the renewal, the Spectrum TV App is now available for download from the Roku channel store," the companies write. "We are pleased to renew our partnership and offer this great streaming experience to our shared customers." When the app was pulled from Roku's store in December, users who already had it installed could continue using it without service interruption. However, any new users hoping to access their service through the platform were out of luck. Spectrum offered a statement at the time that despite its "best efforts to reach an agreement, Roku has not accepted Spectrum's offer to continue our contract." Neither company offered any further details about the agreement, but Roku's seen similar support disputes before — even with some of the largest players in streaming. In April, Roku pulled YouTube TV from its store, though Google soon after added support for its live TV service to the primary YouTube app, giving its users a workaround. Notably, HBO Max didn't arrive on the Roku platform until December of last year, roughly half a year after the service officially launched.  |
| You can now queue to purchase a PS5 (update: sold out) Posted: 17 Aug 2021 01:59 PM PDT  Update August 17th, 6:04PM ET: Sony appears to have sold out of PS5 consoles for the day. We'll make sure to let you know when the next opportunity comes up. Sony began releasing a fresh batch of PlayStation 5 consoles through its online storefront today at 5:15PM ET / 2:15PM PT. Both the $499.99 version of the PS5 that can accept discs and the discless version that costs $100 less are currently available for order, however, there's no guarantee you'll be able to purchase one if you make it through the public queue, which can take an upwards of an hour. If you're unfamiliar with Sony's ordering process, it uses a slightly better queuing system that automatically places you in line if you're on its site when the sale goes live. Consoles still tend to sell out quickly, as they have done since the console launched late last year. If you're looking for tips on securing a PS5, be attentive, listen for the audible chime, and hope that luck is on your side. Oh, and be sure to log into your PlayStation account and enter your shipping and payment information ahead of time. Sony says that it'll ship the console for free if you purchase something alongside it in your cart. What good is a PS5 without extra games and accessories, though? As mentioned before, Sony will give you free shipping today if you check out with an extra item in your cart in addition to the console, so check out the games and accessories below to see if there's something you might want.  |
| YouTube Premium subscribers can get three months of Stadia Pro for free Posted: 17 Aug 2021 01:04 PM PDT  Google is offering a new promotion to YouTube Premium subscribers — three free months to try the games included in Stadia Pro, as long as you're a new subscriber (via 9to5Google). While there's a chance someone willing to pay to remove ads from YouTube may have already messed around with Stadia, three months is a solid amount of time to see if cloud gaming makes sense for you, and it's two months longer than Stadia's usual free trial. The deal comes with a few caveats, naturally. Besides limiting the free months to new subscribers, Google is also only offering the promotion in the following countries: the US, Canada, France, Germany, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. You can claim the offer until January 31st, 2022, and you have until February 14th, 2022 at 9AM PT to redeem it, according to Google's fine print. If you cancel, expect to be charged Pro's $9.99 per month price once the three months ends and to lose access to any games you didn't purchase. Stadia Pro includes the benefits of a game library and higher resolution video quality for the games you stream, though it's worth noting that the current selection of games you can claim for free is a bit... eclectic. There are beloved modern entries like Hitman, smaller indie titles like Floor Kids, and classic options like Killer Queen Black. For most newer releases, you'll have to purchase them outright, and you can find quite a few things to play that way. Stadia Pro subscribers typically get a discount, too. Even though Google's taken a step back from Stadia, the platform continues receiving interesting new releases to purchase in its store. You can redeem the free three months starting today. Stadia also offers games like Destiny 2 and Super Bomberman R Online to try for free with just a Google account: no need to provide a credit card just to find out if Stadia works for you.  |
| Nerf just made the iconic Aliens Pulse Rifle into a badass foam blaster Posted: 17 Aug 2021 11:20 AM PDT  That huge carry handle, pump-action underbarrel grenade launcher, and digital ammo counter on the side: is there a more iconic sci-fi weapon than the Aliens M41A Pulse Rifle? Now, it's about to become an iconic Nerf blaster as well, because Hasbro has just announced a $95 version that flings foam darts — enough of them that it might actually be viable in a stock Nerf war! /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22787876/aliens_nerf_pulse_rifle_spin_2.gif) You see, unlike Nerf's $130 blaster rifle from The Mandalorian or most of its Overwatch toys, this 28-inch long blaster isn't just a prop with a few token foam projectiles inside: it's a fully-automatic blaster that takes Nerf Elite-sized dart magazines a la the fan-favorite RapidStrike, powered by four C batteries, plus "movie-inspired blast sounds." Oh, and Hasbro tells me that's a genuine digital ammo counter on the side: it actually counts darts even if you hold the trigger down! The standard mag contains 10 darts, but it should fit less screen-accurate aftermarket ones to increase your capacity, and you can set the ammo counter as high as 99. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22787903/aliens_nerf_pulse_rifle_4.gif) That underbarrel grenade launcher actually fires Nerf Mega darts (one at a time) and has a genuine spring-loaded plunger tube inside connected to a secondary trigger you can actually pull — unlike, say, the pitiful underbarrel rocket launcher on Nerf's old Demolisher or similar blasters where you had to pull hard on a manual plunger to pop a rocket out. There doesn't seem to be an internal magazine for additional Mega darts, though, so you might have to keep those in a pocket. /cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22788025/Hasbro_Nerf_Aliens_Open2_FINAL.jpg) For years, toy blaster fans have been trying to replicate the features and functionality of the iconic Aliens Pulse Rifle, converting their Thompson airsoft replicas and Nerf blasters into full-scale props. They'd often zip-tie or meld Nerf's own blasters beneath their RapidStrikes or Stryfes to get an underbarrel blaster like this. My favorite so far is Campbell Nerf Works' Stryfle, a 3D-printed set of parts you can use to combine a Stryfe and a handleless Magnus to great effect: I'm actually working on a "Vitamin C Edition" of the Stryfle myself, as Campbell dubbed his orange version in a Reddit post.
But now, you don't need to be a modder to have a fully functioning Aliens Pulse Rifle that fires Nerf darts and looks far more the part. Well, at least you don't once October 2022 rolls around, because today's preorders aren't expected to ship for a very long while. While $95 is a lot, it's a good bit less than many of Hasbro's other licensed collectibles, like the $130 Soldier 76 pulse rifle from Overwatch. It's not every day Hasbro gets a licensed blaster right (I lay out some examples here), but this feels like it might be one of them. You can find preorders at Hasbro Pulse and GameStop, with EB Games Canada to come.  |
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