The best deals for Black Friday
Black Friday, the shopping mania that occurs the day after American Thanksgiving, may be more important than ever in 2016. Between 4K TVs, new game consoles, media hubs, mobile devices and wearables, there are many potential gifts this year — those discounts could be crucial to splurging on someone or treating yourself. But where do you go to find the best bargains? Never fear, as we’re rounding up some of the bigger deals you’ll see on and around November 25th. And many of these deals will be online, so you might not have to brave packed stores and shopping malls to save some cash.
New ‘Pokémon Go’ creature throws unpredictability into your game
That didn’t take long. Mere days after leaks hinted that Pokémon Go would get more monsters, Niantic and The Pokémon Company have rolled Ditto into the game. The critter is a shape-shifter that won’t reveal its true form until you capture it — in other words, the only reliable way to capture a Ditto is to keep playing until you find one at random. In the Gym, it’ll assume the looks and abilities of the first creature it sees and stay that way throughout other battles.
Ditto’s arrival may not be shocking, but it’s a reflection of the challenge the Pokémon Go team faces: how do they keep you playing now that the initial summer frenzy is over, and colder weather makes it harder to venture outside? While daily bonuses and themed events help, some trainers might not play unless there are more monsters and similar fresh content.
Source: App Store, Google Play, Pokemon Go
Nintendo offers rare discounts on 3DS and Wii U games
Nintendo isn’t known for running many sales on its games (you’re more likely to see sales on devices), but it’s making a big exception this year. It just kicked off a Cyber Deals eShop sale that offers large discounts on 3DS and Wii U titles — and these are frequently titles you’d want to play. On the 3DS, you’ll see price cuts on big titles like Hyrule Warriors Legends (down to $28), Fire Emblem Awakening ($20) and Monster Hunter Generations ($23). Head over to the Wii U side and you can pick up Twilight Princess HD ($35), Super Mario Galaxy 2 ($10) and Darksiders II ($10). Indie games like Super Meat Boy and Terraria are also on sale, and numerous Lego games (including Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens) are discounted across platforms.
The sale lasts through December 5th, and you’ll still get Gold Points if you’re a My Nintendo member. These aren’t necessarily the sales you’d hope for (Splatoon, anyone?). Look at it this way, though: it’s a good chance to scoop up a few of the titles you missed from the current generation before the Switch arrives.
Source: Nintendo
A ‘Pokemon’ glitch could corrupt your ‘Sun’ and ‘Moon’ saves
Enjoying Pokemon Sun and/or Moon? You aren’t alone. But as a heads up, for now, it looks like you shouldn’t save in the post-game Battle Tree location or pretty much any Pokemon Center in the game, according to Polygon. Folks online are saying that doing so can corrupt your save file, and that means all the work you’ve done to evolve Litten into an Incineroar will be for naught. We’ve reached out to The Pokemon Company about a fix for this and will update this post should more information arrive. In the meantime, you’ll just have to break the habit of saving after you’ve healed your party members at a Pokemon Center.
Via: Polygon
Source: Reddit, Styxiedust (Twitter)
Creator of ‘GBA4iOS’ Teases New SNES, Game Boy, and Nintendo 64 iOS Emulator ‘Delta’
Developer Riley Testut has begun teasing the launch of a new emulator, called “Delta,” coming this December in beta form, presumably for iOS devices. On Delta’s teaser site, hazy images of controllers for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System and Nintendo 64 are shown alongside the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Color. Testut tweeted out the information for Delta yesterday, while also saying goodbye to his previous emulator GBA4iOS.
Users were able to get GBA4iOS onto their iOS device without jailbreaking it by setting the iPhone’s date back to 2012, but even a 2.0 update to the software made it easier to install the emulator and removed that requirement. A built-in web browser allowed users to install and play original Game Boy, Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy Color ROMs right on their iPhone or iPad. Although the platform has yet to be confirmed, Testut’s mention of GBA4iOS alongside the Delta teaser suggests that the new emulator will be for iOS devices.
The new website for Delta doesn’t confirm how the emulator will handle downloads yet, but will likely be in a similar vein to Testut’s previous software emulators. Responding to a few user questions in the original Twitter thread, Testut mentioned that tvOS support is something he wants, but “there are some technical issues right now standing in the way,” so the launch is expected to focus on iOS.
Goodbye GBA4iOS. Hello, Delta. https://t.co/If4W92MMmf
— Riley Testut (@rileytestut) November 21, 2016
Apple often takes a stringent approach to emulators that appear to download on its devices, but it was Nintendo which filed a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request against GBA4iOS in 2014, leading to the shut down of that emulator. Similar ends met emulators like iDOS and iMAME in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
Tags: Nintendo, emulator, Nintendo 64
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Ben Heck’s reverse-engineered Game Boy Printer
It’s a bit late for Ben to break the warranty on this particular piece of hardware: The Game Boy Printer was released ages ago, which means it’s ripe for being reverse-engineered! First we need to know what we’re dealing with, so Ben performs a teardown to reveal the microcontroller and RAM, at which point he determines what pin-outs are needed to connect to an Arduino. That’s not all, though — we also need to know how to talk to the printer, and the easiest way to do that is with an oscilloscope and an original Game Boy Camera to snoop on the data stream. Not everything is so straightforward, however: Ben hits a snag and the printer stops partway through printing. What could he be missing?
What other hardware should Ben reverse-engineer? And what have you reverse-engineered? Let us know over on the element14 Community.
A full ‘Pokemon’ game could come to Nintendo’s Switch
It sounds like a version of Pokemon Sun and Moon could be headed to Nintendo’s upcoming Switch console. It’d be akin to Red and Blue’s sibling Yellow or Pearl and Diamond’s Platinum, according to Eurogamer’s sources. Currently the codename is Stars. Now, for a bit of unpacking. Both Yellow and Pearl were similar to their generational predecessors, but offered new features like different legendary-class pocket monsters or starting with the adorable Pikachu at your side.
Eurogamer says that development paused on Stars while the team at Game Freak was wrapping Sun and Moon, but now that those are in stores work has resumed. This won’t be a simple port, from the sounds of it. The game will feature high-res graphics and new bits that aren’t in the new 3DS titles. What’s more, you’ll apparently be able to trade creatures back and forth between the console and handheld version using the Pokemon Bank mobile app. There’s also the chance for new Pokemon in Stars that aren’t available in Sun and Moon.
The main Pokemon games stick to handhelds because they’re made for battling and trading on the go with friends. As the sizzle reel from October made obvious, the Switch is in fact a portable console, so the design philosophies from the 3DS games shouldn’t be a roadblock here. If you’re hoping to play the game next March when the console is scheduled to release you’re going to be out of luck: Eurogamer’s sources say Stars won’t be out until sometime later in 2017.
Earlier this year when two of our editors faced the question of whether or not the series should move to consoles, Senior Editor Aaron Souppouris had this to say:
“Almost 30 years [since Red and Blue came out] and we have the ability to make Pokemon games that look, sound and feel better than the original animated series. And we’re not doing it.”
With this rumor, it looks like we’re one step closer to that happening.
Source: Eurogamer
A real-world ‘Zelda’ escape room game is coming next year
Have you ever found yourself humming the Zelda theme on your commute, longing to embark on a Hyrulian adventure? Well, next year Nintendo will make that dream a reality.
Created in collaboration with renowned escape-room designer SCRAP, Defenders of the Triforce is a Legend of Zelda inspired, real-world puzzle adventure. Starting in San Francisco on January 31st, Nintendo’s first ever live-action game will also be making its way to Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, Phoenix, Houston, Chicago and New York.
Like other real-escape experiences, Defenders of the Triforce will see parties of six working together to solve puzzles, only this time they’ll also be attempting to save the world from long time Zelda villain, Ganondorf.
During the adventure, participants will be using classic items from the series to solve puzzles and progress to the next room. Players can also expect to encounter their fair share of beloved characters from Zelda lore, including Gorons, Zoras and Kokiri.
Tickets and other information can be found at the official site, with prices starting at $38.
Source: Nintendo
12 gifts for the gaming geek in your life
Whether they’ve got a fully tricked out PC gaming rig or just looking to get a little retro button mashing done on their new 4K TV, we’ve got the gift for the gamer in your life. Obviously, with some new consoles on the scene, there’s an obvious upgrade out there for the hardcore in the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S. But you don’t need to drop $300 – $400 to upgrade your favorite geek’s gaming experience. A high-end mouse, top notch controller or a new headset can make a world of difference for those glued to online battles. And, for those in your life that prefer their gaming be a little more… let’s say physical, you can’t go wrong with a board game like Mechs vs. Minions or King of Tokyo.
For our full list of recommendations in all categories, don’t forget to stop by our main Holiday Gift Guide hub.
‘Super Mario Run’ arrives on iPhone and iPad December 15th
At the iPhone 7 event, Apple and Nintendo revealed that Mario would make his way to iOS devices this December. Well, today Nintendo revealed the exact date: December 15th. That’s the day Super Mario Run will be available to play on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. The app can be downloaded for free, but you’ll only be able to play parts of the game’s three modes without handing over additional funds. To unlock the full game, you’ll have to pay $10.
When the time comes, Super Mario Run will be available in 151 countries (full list here) and 10 languages including English, Japanese, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Dutch, Russian and traditional Chinese. If you happen to live in one of those locales, you’ll just need to make sure you have a device that runs iOS 8.0 or later in order to leap over obstacles, take on enemies and collect coins in a few weeks.
Don’t worry, Android faithful: Nintendo says you’ll get a chance to play the mobile game as well. Unfortunately, the company hasn’t announced when, just the vague “at some point in the future.”
Source: Nintendo (Business Wire)
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