gotta-catch-em-all
Latest
Nintendo Network smuggles Pinsir, Heracross through Pokemon X / Y's customs
"Gotta catch 'em all" is a seriously-demanding life motto these days, considering there's more than 700 Pokemon out in the wild. With some of those only appearing in one version of a region's dual-release debut, earning the Pokemon Master title can be tough if you can't find someone willing to trade. Pokemon X / Y owners will soon be able to get a little closer to Master status though, thanks to an upcoming Nintendo Network distribution event. You see, Heracross only resides in Pokemon Y, whereas Pinsir only prowls the wildlands of Pokemon X. But starting August 13, X / Y trainers can end the hunt and download level-50 versions of either Pokemon using the Nintendo Network. Beyond boosting their Pokedex headcount, trainers can also head into GameStop from August 18 - 31 to find codes for the Heracronite or Pinsirite Mega Stones, items that allow either Pokemon to Digivolve Mega Evolve mid-battle. You can get a complete stat rundown of both Heracross and Pinsir at the promotion's description page, as well as instructions for nabbing your free Pokemon. If you're all set on bug-type Pokemon and would rather not turn Pinsir into a winged nightmare, you can still get a poster by pre-ordering Pokemon Omega Ruby or Pokemon Alpha Sapphire from GameStop. [Image: The Pokemon Company]
New Pokemon trailer welcomes you back to the Hoenn Region
It's been over a decade since players first set foot into the long grass of the Hoenn Region, but Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Pokemon Omega Ruby promise to offer a wholly new adventure, full of novel Pokemon, Mega Evolutions and excuses to catch 'em all. [Image: Nintendo]
The Lawbringer: Gotta sue 'em all over the Pet Battle system?
Pop law abounds in The Lawbringer, your weekly dose of WoW, the law, video games and the MMO genre. Mathew McCurley takes you through the world running parallel to the games we love and enjoy, full of rules, regulations, pitfalls and traps. How about you hang out with us as we discuss some of the more esoteric aspects of the games we love to play? Remember in the last edition of Lawbringer, when I wrote that the majority of the questions post-BlizzCon 2011 were questions about panda people, whether Kung Fu Panda would sue, and how Pandaren are possible in China? Well, there was a third question: How can the Pet Battle system exist in World of Warcraft when it is so spiritually and mechanically similar to the underlying game mechanics of the Pokémon franchise? The truth is that it is and it isn't as similar as you might suspect, and the key factors in any copyright fight don't hold up a potential cause of action. From the BlizzCon presentation, we gleaned a good bit of information about the WoW Pet Battle system coming with Mists of Pandaria. Players have been collecting companion (or vanity) pets for years, little dudes and dudettes who follow your characters around looking cool, performing cute emotes, and acting as the occasional status symbol. Companion pets even became the first foray into Blizzard-accepted real-money gold buying with the Guardian Cub as an experiment in fighting gray-market gold selling. Companion pets have become their own meta-game in WoW despite the introduction of the actual meta-game Pet Battle system. Companion pets will now be at the center of a minigame of their own. After years of collecting and coveting, finally these pets will serve a purpose beyond looking adorable or annoying Dalaran with chilling screams of "NEW TOYS, FOR ME?!" Many players have noticed that the Pet Battle system bears a striking resemblance to the biggest pet battle system franchise ever created, Pokémon. Do you know what Pokémon is? I'm sure you know what Pokémon is.
TheSpeedGamers aim to catch every Pokemon in 72 hours for charity
The idea of a three-day speed run of Pokémon, in which the runners would attempt to capture all of the pocket-sized monsters therein, would have been a lot more feasible back in 1998. Today, the number of in-game species has ballooned from 151 to 493, a number that can only be appreciated when depicted in words: Four-hundred and ninety-three. The charitable gaming experts of TheSpeedGamers plan to accomplish this near-impossible goal while taking donations for Ally's House, an Oklahoma-based children's cancer foundation. It sounds like a really great cause -- why not show some support on the group's livestream? Even if your "support" is just you repeatedly singing the Pokérap over and over, ad infinitum.
