Jessica Chastain and Jake Gyllenhaal will star in ‘The Division’
Ubisoft’s mission to bring another of its major franchises to the big screen has been given a boost after the company confirmed The Division movie’s first big stars. As predicted last month, Jake Gyllenhaal has signed onto the project alongside Interstellar and Zero Dark Thirty actress Jessica Chastain. As agents, they’ll combine to help restore a dystopian New York that has been decimated by a lethal strain of smallpox and has become host to powerful criminal gangs.
Details are scarce, but both Chastain and Gyllenhaal will offer production assistance via their own companies. Gyllenhaal, in particular, will be keen to avoid a second box office bomb after Prince of Persia failed to attract audiences. Ubisoft says the city’s pandemic-stricken streets host “countless stories of love, loss, treachery, and heroism” but won’t comment on the direction of the script just yet.
As well as The Division, Ubisoft Motion Pictures is working on big-screen adaptations of Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon, Watch Dogs, Rabbids and, of course, Assassin’s Creed. The Michael Fassbender-led flick will hit screens on December 21st.
Source: Ubisoft Blog
Overwatch heroes are getting Olympic-themed makeovers
With the 2016 Olympics just days away, Blizzard is giving its popular multiplayer shooter an unofficial sporting makeover. To coincide with the events in Rio, every one of Overwatch’s 22 heroes has been assigned a sport in the “Summer Games” and given a selection of new skins, sprays and other in-game emotes to play with. Reaper is a BMX rider and Winston is a keen volleyball player, but nothing beats Roadhog as a high diver.
Between August 2nd and August 22nd, gamers can “celebrate Overwatch’s inaugural Summer Games” with its new themed Loot Boxes. These virtual crates are awarded when a player gains enough experience points (XP) to level up and normally contain four pieces of in-game flair like sound bites, outfits and victory poses. If a player doesn’t wish to commit to the grind, they are also available to buy via various PC and console marketplaces. The company says there are more than 90 Summer Games items to collect, with each box promising at least one themed item.
While the company has yet to share official news of the new Loot Boxes, they have started appearing on international PlayStation and Xbox One stores. They cost the same as standard boxes — between $1.99 and $39.99 — and are not available to purchase using in-game credits. This has already left some gamers, who have been saving in-game credits in the hope of unlocking new skins and emotes, a little frustrated.
That frustration could be lifted by the existence of a new map, which Blizzard appears to be teasing in a Summer Games package sent to prominent Twitch broadcaster Laced Up Lauren (see below). There’s currently no word on whether Lucio will get to return to his home country but we’ve reached out to Blizzard to ask if Overwatch will get its first new map in the coming days.
Here is a closer look at the items inside the @PlayOverwatch box that was sent to me by @Blizzard_Ent. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/j0busREpAN
— Laced Up Lauren (@LacedUpLauren) August 2, 2016
Source: PlayStation Store (UK)
Telltale’s ‘Batman’ game does Bruce Wayne justice
Batman comics excel when they dive into the psyche of Bruce Wayne. The moody billionaire is conflicted by his desire to be a good person while protecting Gotham by any means necessary. How much force is excessive? Where do you draw the line? It’s easy for the Caped Crusader to lose sight. Bruce is also a genius, capable of unraveling the most complex mysteries. Watching him scour the city and piece together a supervillain’s plot is as rewarding for the reader as seeing the Dark Knight foil it with fists.
It’s these aspects of Batman that Telltale is trying to infuse into its next point-and-click adventure game. BATMAN, a five-episode series that premieres today, looks and plays like a comic book. Unlike previous games featuring the Dark Knight — which have prioritized action and weaving in every supervillain imaginable — this new title puts story above everything else. The result is an experience that feels closer to the comics, balancing the measured Bruce Wayne and his often brutal alter ego Batman.
The episode starts with a group of thugs flooding into city hall. Gotham City Police Department quickly arrive on the scene, led by Commissioner Gordon, but are thwarted by an explosion that erupts out of an elevator shaft. Batman, meanwhile, is hiding in a nearby building and swoops in using his grapple gun. A series of quicktime events follow — linear, scripted sequences that required carefully timed button presses — with Wayne dashing between desks and using his assortment of gadgets to gain an advantage. He sticks to the shadows, picking off heavies one by one.
Later that night, Bruce walks into a room packed with guests in Wayne Manor. You’ll be asked to explain your late arrival (crack a joke? Make an excuse?) and a cut that’s visible on your left cheek. These conversations add another dimension to your life as a superhero; you have to live through the fallout, covering your tracks and listening to what people think about your actions. One individual, who respects the Wayne family, describes Batman as a vigilante dealing out justice “like the Wild West.” You can choose how to respond and a pop-up will appear in the corner of the screen, reminding you that the guest will remember what you say.
The message here is simple: What you do as Bruce Wayne is just as important, if not more so, than your crimefighting as Batman.
Bruce’s morals are later tested by a mobster, Carmine Falcone. He controls a large part of the city and Harvey Dent, pre-Two Face transformation, wants him to support his campaign for mayor. Here’s the conundrum: As Batman, Bruce would like to destroy the crime lord and his operations. As Dent’s ally, however, he faces a larger dilemma — should he work with the slimeball to get Dent into power, believing the District Attorney will follow through and help Gotham? Or does he stand firm and reject Faclone’s support, jeopardizing Dent’s campaign and the city’s future?
Interactions like this one are littered throughout the episode. You’re forced to make decisions that will shape Bruce’s relationships with other characters, such as Selina Kyle and Oswald Cobblepot. They all have motivations and allegiances, as well as the ability to help Batman. Like many Telltale video games, however, it’s impossible to please everyone. You have to choose a path you think will serve Gotham best.
“You’re not brawling for the sake of beating a boss or racking up combos; it’s to uncover a truth that propels the story forward.”
Bruce’s intellect and detective skills are presented through some surprisingly elaborate puzzles. Midway through the episode, Batman stumbles upon a crime scene inside a warehouse. The game gives you the freedom to walk around, investigate objects and analyze chemicals with the Batsuit. Based on Batman’s musings, you have to link up the various clues in order to build a sound theory. It’s trickier than you might think, with plenty of combinations that ultimately lead nowhere.
The game is constantly flipping between Batman and Bruce. The two characters are distinct but intertwined, providing new insights into the hero and opening up different avenues of investigation. Few games have portrayed the Dark Knight this way, instead focusing on his prowess as a crime fighter. That’s a shame, because Batman is more than a vigilante beating up crooks in the dead of night. He’s also Bruce, a broken man struggling with his past and inner demons. That complexity is why the comics have been so successful, and it’s a part of the character that deserves to be explored in video games too.
Xbox One S review: A worthy successor — to the Xbox 360
Microsoft is making a lot of assumptions with the Xbox One S. It’s a 40 percent smaller, 100 percent whiter version of the Xbox One that launched nearly three years ago, albeit with a few key differences. First is the built-in 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player and compatibility with high dynamic range video for increased contrast and a wider color gamut. Then there’s support for Ultra HD streaming from apps like Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. As for the rest of the system? For better and worse, it’s basically the same.
The benefits of upgrading from 2005’s launch Xbox 360 to the Xbox 360 S in 2010 were pretty clear-cut. That isn’t the case this time around, though: Microsoft didn’t have to fix a loud console with an incredibly high failure rate. No, thanks to a slew of software updates, the Xbox One’s most serious issues have already been mostly addressed. And that makes the Xbox One S’ value proposition tricky.
Let’s say you have a 4K TV or plan on buying one in the relatively near future. Should you shell out $400 for the One S? What if you don’t plan on upgrading your TV any time soon and don’t see the appeal in collecting even more “perfect-er” Blu-rays? After spending a weekend testing the system in each of the above situations, the answer remains clear.
Hardware
Though they share a similar name, you’re not likely to confuse the Xbox One for the One S. The S measures 9.125 x 11.7 x 2.5 inches, versus the original’s 13.1 x 10.8 x 3.1 inches, and “floats” on a half-inch-thick slab of black plastic that’s flush with the back panel, but inset a quarter of an inch everywhere else. Microsoft boasts that the console is almost half the size of its predecessor.
That sounds impressive enough on paper, but the difference is even more striking in person, when you place the two consoles side by side. Every time I glance at them sitting next to each other I’m in disbelief that Microsoft managed to cram the same hardware and a power supply into a dramatically smaller package. Thanks to all this, putting the console in a backpack or messenger bag to use away from home is actually feasible — especially given the drop in weight, from 7.8 to 6.4 pounds.
The 2TB launch model sports a “robot white” chassis with black accents, whereas the original was a mix of glossy and matte black with chrome accents. After the Xbox 360’s overheating epidemic, Microsoft made a concerted effort to cover the Xbox One with vents. They’re here on the One S too, but they look different. Diagonal slats have given way to circular perforations throughout, with a 5-inch fan opening on the broadest panel. In seven consecutive hours of gaming, Ultra HD Blu-rays and streaming in 4K, I really didn’t hear it turn on — and if it did, the fan was extremely quiet.
Up front, the USB 3.0 port that was awkwardly stuck on the left side of the Xbox One has been moved to the lower left corner of the front face, below the slot-loading Ultra HD Blu-ray drive. Now there’s a small circular eject button sitting in the middle of the front side, while a push-button Xbox jewel near the right edge powers the system on and off. Immediately below that is the most important addition to the console: an IR blaster. Navigating the system dashboard and controlling streaming apps with a universal remote no longer requires Microsoft’s do-all Kinect sensor, because the One S itself can take commands from a remote. That’s your not-so-subtle hint that the Kinect is basically dead.
That take-it-or-leave-it approach to Kinect is obvious from the backside too. Whereas the Xbox 360 S added a dedicated port for the camera/mic gizmo, the One S strips it away entirely. If you still want to use the device for Cortana voice commands, for example, you can order a USB adapter from the Xbox website, free of charge. What finally doesn’t require an additional dongle, though, is the power supply. Since 2005, every Xbox has needed a bulky external power brick. That’s thankfully no longer the case: The One S uses a power cable similar to what’s included with many other modern devices.
The rest of the back panel remains unchanged. Microsoft may have given up on Kinect, but it hasn’t abandoned the HDMI input for connecting your cable box to the system. An HDMI-out socket, a pair of USB 3.0 connections, IR output, optical audio and an Ethernet jack round out the rest of the ports. Oh! And with the One S, there’s an included stand you can use to position the console vertically. It snaps into place easily, but I’m not sure how many people will actually situate their console that way.
Gamepad
I didn’t like the gamepad that came packed in with the 2013 Xbox One. It felt unfinished, with sharp edges and stiff shoulder buttons. Thankfully, the controller included with the One S represents the revisions Microsoft has made since then. The device now has rounded seams with satisfyingly clicky shoulder buttons and a 3.5mm headphone jack directly below the D-pad. This joypad will work as a Bluetooth controller for your gaming PC, and Microsoft says it has better range too. The subtle texture on the underbelly adds a fair amount of grip and reminds me a lot of the PlayStation 4 gamepad’s bottom side. All of those refinements make this controller a joy to use for extended sessions.
Thanks to these changes, the $150 Xbox One Elite controller is a lot less necessary now. The custom key bindings and swappable thumbsticks are still great, but spending that much feels even more like overkill now than it did last year.
Software
Without the Windows Anniversary update, there’s nothing different about the Xbox One S. Over the weekend, Microsoft started rolling out the patch that unlocks 4K UHD streaming, Ultra HD Blu-ray playback and support for HDR video. That’s right, none of the headlining features of the console are usable out of the box without a large software update. Again. In 2013, this was kind of understandable: Following a controversial E3 keynote five months before launch, Microsoft had to drastically retool the system software.
This time should have been different, though. The company has presumably been working on the Xbox One S for a while. And yet, the device’s headline features aren’t available in the box. Similar to what happened with the original Xbox One launch, if you wanted to pull the One S out of the box and start watching The Revenant or streaming Man in the High Castle you’ll have to sit through a lengthy update. On my modest 90 Mbps connection, it took me about 45 minutes from unboxing to actually using the console. I cannot stress how ridiculous it is that this is still a thing. More than that, the Blu-ray player app doesn’t come pre-installed either.
Once that’s out of the way, though, it’s smooth sailing. The recent Anniversary Update makes the console feels complete. You can listen to music from any source while you’re playing games or just navigating the dashboard now, and accessing your games and apps is a lot easier with a handy shortcut button in the home screen’s upper-right corner. This officially marks the debut of Cortana on the Xbox platform as well.
4K UHD
For all the external changes, it’s what’s inside the Xbox One S that matters most. Support for 4K Ultra HD video is the console’s headline feature. Good thing, then, that it handles 2160p playback without a hitch. Not all movies and TV shows are created equal, though. Sure, Netflix has a raft of UHD programming on offer, but not everything looks nearly as good as House of Cards or Stranger Things in 4K. That’s partly because not everything uses high-dynamic range video for improved contrast and color saturation.
Same goes for movies, like last year’s The Revenant. Each scene carries a tremendous amount of depth and detail; the picture quality and award-winning cinematography makes the movie feel like a BBC nature documentary on steroids. Truthfully, though, the film is going to look amazing on any UHD Blu-ray player regardless of the manufacturer. It’s a testament of the talent involved, not who made the playback device.
The Xbox One will also play HDR-enabled games. However, none of them will be available until this fall when the Microsoft-developed Gears of War 4 and Forza Horizon 3 come out. Working with HDR is going to be expensive for developers to implement, though, so don’t expect many games aside from Microsoft’s own to actually use it. Is there a difference playing normal games like Forza Horizon 2 or last year’s Rise of the Tomb Raider in 4K versus 1080p? Not that I could tell. The Xbox One S upscales those games’ 1080p resolution to 2160p, matching the UHD display it’s connected to, but I otherwise couldn’t spot any differences.
The Competition
Ultra-HD Blu-ray players from Samsung and Philips cost around $300 and have built-in streaming apps, but you can’t play Madden or Halo on those. That’s the value proposition here: You can rely on your TV or Ultra-HD Blu-ray player to access the programming that’ll make the most of all those pixels on your new display, but you can’t play Xbox games on those. The PlayStation 4 still only plays 1080p Blu-rays and despite Sony’s claims that the console can output 4K video, we haven’t seen it happen yet. Sony has teased a higher-spec PS4 too (codenamed “Neo”), but the company hasn’t said anything about UHD Blu-ray playback.
Really, the Xbox One S’ biggest competition comes from Microsoft itself. The company may have kicked off its E3 keynote by unveiling the Xbox One S, but it wrapped the event with news of “Project Scorpio.” It’s a high-spec Xbox One that the company claims will play games at a native 4K resolution and also in virtual reality. It’s slated to arrive late next year. Microsoft so far hasn’t said anything about price, but given its specs, it’s safe to say it won’t be cheap.
In terms of money, the One S is in direct competition with the original Xbox One. The $300 One S’ with 500GB of storage doesn’t come out until later this month. Meanwhile, you can buy the original Xbox One with 500GB for just $250 — half of what it cost three years ago. This fire sale is indicative of Microsoft’s future plans for the One S: It’ll become the default, with Project Scorpio aimed at more serious gamers (or those with deeper pockets).
Wrap-up
Unless you own a fancy new display or have one earmarked for the future, there’s no reason to upgrade from your existing Xbox One. The only benefit you’ll see is the increased internal storage space and, even then there are existing Xbox One models with 2TB of room for games and apps. That said, there’s a lot to like about the system, especially if your TV can support all the super high-resolution bells and whistles on offer. There isn’t one distinct reason to buy one today, but if you don’t already own an Ultra HD Blu-ray player, you won’t be disappointed if you decide to pick one up. The S is the Xbox One you know, but tailored for the future.
‘Pokémon Go’ makers explain why they blocked third-party apps
Gotta catch ’em all. It’s the itch you just can’t stop scratching — and one where a wave of unofficial Pokémon Go apps and web-based maps helped clue you in on exactly where those Jynx were hiding. Unfortunately, alongside an app update last weekend, the team behind the app shut down data access to third-party services like PokeVision. It released a statement to users on its Facebook page, saying these services were “interfering with our ability to maintain quality of service for our users and to bring Pokémon Go to users around the world.” It added that the huge number of users has had an effect on its roll-out plans.
The company says it’s removed its “3-step” Pokémon detection legend “in order to improve upon the underlying design”. The team is working to improve the feature, which means it should find its way back into the app at some point. Niantic also apologized for not tweeting so much during the roll-out of the app, saying that it’ll try to do better in communicating what’s going down in the future.
Source: Pokemon Go (Facebook)
What’s on your HDTV: Summer Olympics, NFL preseason
It’s time for the 2016 Summer Olympics, broadcast live from Rio (in HD, Ultra HD 4K with HDR and VR!), so you know what I’m watching this week. The tape-delayed Opening Ceremony kicks things off Friday night, but after that all the sports will be broadcast or streaming live. Football fans can rejoice as preseason action gets rolling, while gamers have several nice choices with Telltale’s Batman game on all platforms with Crowd Play, or Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked on consoles. Key & Peele’s Keanu is here on Blu-ray and Netflix is ready to premiere a new David Cross comedy special plus The Little Prince.
Blu-ray & Games & Streaming
- Batman: The Killing Joke
- Ever After High: Epic Winter (Netflix, 8/5)
- The Lobster
- Keanu
- Meet the Blacks
- Mother’s Day
- The Girlfriend Experience (S1)
- The Blacklist (S3)
- Blindspot (S1)
- The Knick (S2)
- Dead Island Retro Revenge (PC, PS4, Xbox One)
- Batman: The Telltale Series Episode 1 (Everything)
- Risk: Urban Assault (PS4, Xbox One)
- Battleship (PS4, Xbox One)
- This is the Police (PC)
- Don’t Starve: Shipwrecked (PS4, Xbox One)
- Nightmares from the Deep: The Cursed Heart (PS4)
- Overcooked (PS4, PC, Xbox One)
- Cannon Brawl (Xbox One)
Monday
- American Ninja Warrior, NBC, 8PM
- So You Think You Can Dance, Fox, 8PM
- WWE Raw, USA, 8PM
- The Fosters, Freeform, 8PM
- Meet the Donors: Does Money Talk?, HBO, 9PM
- I Am JFK Jr., Spike TV, 9PM
- Chris Harris on Cars, BBC America, 9PM
- Guilt, Freeform, 9PM
- Rizzoli & Isles, TNT, 9PM
- Angie Tribeca, TBS, 9PM
- The Making of the Mob, AMC, 10PM
- Major Crimes, TNT, 10PM
- Are You the One?, MTV, 10PM
- Unreal, Lifetime, 10PM
- Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, TBS, 10:30PM
Tuesday
- Difficult People, Hulu, 3AM
- Casual, Hulu, 3AM
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
- Whose Line is it Anyway?, CW, 8PM
- WWE Smackdown, USA, 8PM
- Coupled (season finale), Fox, 8PM
- MADtv, CW, 9PM
- Zoo, CBS, 9PM
- Animal Kingdom, TNT, 9PM
- Deadliest Catch, Discovery, 9PM
- 60 Minutes Sports, Showtime, 9PM
- Scream, MTV, 10PM
- Feed the Beast (season finale), AMC, 10PM
- Tosh.0, Comedy Central, 10PM
- Wrecked, TBS, 10PM
- Not Safe with Nikki Glaser, Comedy Central, 10:30PM
Wednesday
- Beat Bugs (S1), Netflix, 3AM
- Chelsea, Netflix 3AM
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us, CW, 8PM
- America’s Got Talent, NBC, 8PM
- Unsung Hollywood: Charlie Murphy, TV One, 8PM
- Young & Hungry (season finale), Freeform, 8PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- CMA Music Festival, ABC, 8PM
- Baby Daddy (season finale), Freeform, 8:30PM
- Suits, USA, 9PM
- American Gothic, CBS, 9PM
- Dating Naked, VH1, 9PM
- Kingdom (season finale), DirecTV, 9PM
- The Night Shift, NBC, 9PM
- Mr. Robot, USA, 10PM
- Tyrant, FX, 10PM
- Any Given Wednesday with Bill Simmons, HBO, 10PM
- Another Period, Comedy Central, 10PM
- The Real World/Road Rules Challenge, MTV, 10PM
Thursday
- Olympic Preview, NBC, 8PM
- Battlebots, ABC, 8PM
- Home Free (season finale), Fox, 8PM
- Greatest Hits, ABC, 9PM
- Big Brother, CBS, 9PM
- The First 48, A&E, 9PM
- Ripper Street, BBC America, 10PM
- Lip Sync Battle, Spike TV, 10PM
- Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, FX, 10PM
- Queen of the South, USA, 10PM
Friday
- David Cross: Making America Great Again!, Netflix, 3AM
- The Little Prince, Netflix, 3AM
- 2016 Summer Olympics, NBC, 7:30PM
- Masters of Illusion, CW, 8PM
- Killjoys, Syfy, 9PM
- Dark Matter, Syfy, 10PM
- Outcast, Cinemax, 10PM
- Ridiculousness, MTV, 10PM
- The Eric Andre Show (season premiere), Cartoon Network, 12AM
Saturday
- Summer Olympics, NBC, 8PM
- Sorority Nightmare, Lifetime, 8PM
- 2 Lava 2 Lantula, Syfy, 9PM
- Boston EMS, ABC, 10PM
Sunday
- Big Brother, CBS, 8PM
- Preseason NFL: Packers vs. Colts, ESPN, 8PM
- Hamilton, History, 8PM
- Celebrity Family Feud, ABC, 8PM
- Inspector Lewis, PBS, 9PM
- The Night of, HBO, 9PM
- Ray Donovan, Showtime, 9PM
- The Hunt, BBC America, 9PM
- Power, Starz, 9PM
- Naked & Afraid XL, Discovery, 10PM
- Survivor’s Remorse, Starz, 10PM
- Braindead, CBS, 10PM
- Motive, USA, 10PM
- Ballers, HBO, 10PM
- Roadies, Showtime, 10PM
- The Jim Gaffigan Show, TV Land, 10PM
- Murder in the First, TNT, 10PM
- Vice Principals, HBO, 10:30PM
- Tunnel, PBS, 10:30PM
- Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, HBO, 11PM
(All times listed are ET)
Pokémon Go hits 100 million downloads
Pokémon Go is still going strong, despite privacy scares and feature bugs. According to a report by App Annie, it has now been installed over 100 million times, up 25 million from late July. While that number is from an analyst report and the actual number of downloads could be slightly different, it’s not that hard to believe. As TechCrunch noted, the game was downloaded 50 million times on Android within only 19 days according to previous estimates, whereas it took 77 days for ColorSwitch to get to that point.
App Annie also says that the game still earns over $10 million in daily revenue from both iOS and Android apps, over three weeks after it was released. Despite its success, it doesn’t seem to have an adverse effect on other applications. The analyst’s report mentions that other games saw their daily revenue drop for a few days after the app was launched, but they quickly bounced back. Further, it has popularized augmented reality apps and has given other developers an example of how to create engaging games.
“By now, it should be clear that Pokémon Go’s launch was a watershed moment for AR and its success has not come at the expense of other mobile games or apps,” the report concluded. “Instead, it has opened up new engagement and revenue opportunities for the entire app ecosystem by creating a model to close the online-to-offline (O2O) loop.”
Via: TechCrunch
Source: App Annie
Microsoft announces ‘Gears of War 4’ eSports Pro Circuit
When it comes to Xbox-exclusive multiplayer games, Gears of War is second only to Halo — and Microsoft is leaning on that popularity for its next big tournament: the Gears eSports Pro Circuit. This ten-month, international gaming circuit kicks off with the launch of Gears of War 4, and will dole out a million dollars in prize money at eight live regional matches. The best part? The tournament is open to professional and amateur players alike — all you need to qualify is a copy of the game and your own natural talent.
Here’s how it works: When Gears of War 4 launches in October, players will be able to earn “Gears Pro Points” by competing in regional MLG online ladder matches. The players with the most points will be able to qualify for open LAN events hosted at cities across the globe. These top players will be flown out to LAN events in London, Paris, Las Vegas and other cities every couple of months — with each event boasting prize pools between $75-250,000.
In addition to the total million dollar prize pool, Microsoft will be hosting an extra launch event in October, worth an additional $100,000. Fans will also be able to buy Gears eSports-themed in-game content to support the tournament. Additionally, fans will be able to watch a weekly MLG Gears eSports broadcast showcasing the best of online qualifying matches and finals. That’s a lot of events for a game that isn’t out until October 11th. Want to learn more? Check out the source link for the Pro Circuit’s official announcement.
Source: Xbox
New York Governor bans sex offenders from ‘Pokémon Go’
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has forbidden registered sex offenders in his state from downloading and playing Pokémon Go and similar augmented reality games. According to a statement released Monday morning, the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision will apply the governor’s directive to “nearly 3,000 Level 1, 2 and 3 sex offenders currently on parole” in the state of New York.
Governor Cuomo’s plan comes after a report from New York Senators Jeffrey D. Klein and Diane Savino found dozens of Pokémon, Pokéstops and Pokémon gyms within half a block of 100 different registered sex offenders in New York City. In an open letter to Niantic CEO John Hanke, Cuomo offered to send the state’s sex offender registry data so the company could block those users from its immensely popular game. The Governor’s office has also reached out to Apple and Google to inform them of the same concerns.
“Protecting New York’s children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don’t become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims,” Governor Cuomo wrote. “These actions will provide safeguards for the players of these augmented reality games and help take one more tool away from those seeking to do harm to our children.”
While sex offender registries have become controversial in some states, Governor Cuomo has a history of tracking sex offenders’ online activity in New York. As Attorney General, he introduced legislation that required sex offenders to register all their current email addresses, screen names and other internet aliases with the state. According to the Governor’s office, that legislation has banned over 18,000 register sex offenders from 40 different social media sites or tech services.
Wear a vibrating bracelet while playing ‘Pokemon Sun’ and ‘Moon’
Pokemon Go isn’t the only adorable-monster-hunting game to get a physical accessory — Pokemon Sun and Moon will connect to the Z-Ring, a peripheral that lights up, vibrates and makes noises whenever players use special Z-Moves in the games. Z-Moves are new to the series; they’re strong attacks that can only be used once per battle. A Z-Move unleashes the full combined power of the trainer and the Pokemon, and it’s activated when the trainer has a Z-Ring (in-game) and Z-Crystals. If the trainer’s crystals are the same type as the battling Pokemon’s, then together they can use a Z-Move.
Tomy International is making the real-life Z-Ring and it’s set to hit store shelves alongside Sun and Moon on November 18th. Note that despite its name, the Z-Ring is actually a bracelet.
How the Z-Ring works in-game (left) and the physical model
Pokemon Sun and Moon are set on a series of tropical islands known as the Alola region, a resort destination packed with new Pokemon and challenges. In the lore, a handful of existing Pokemon have grown up in Alola and adapted to the area with new evolutions, including Exeggutor, Vulpix, Ninetales, Sandshrew and Sandslash. Along with these fresh forms, Nintendo today also revealed a handful of new Pokemon coming to November’s games — check them all out in the gallery and video below.
AIVAnet 