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NY governor bans registered sex offenders from playing Pokemon Go
Local governments and police departments are very concerned with Pokemon Go. After police departments in several neighboring states issued guidelines to help ensure players catch ’em all safely, Governor Andrew Cuomo directed the New York State Department of Corrections to ban all registered sex offenders from playing Pokemon Go and similar games.
“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 said. “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.”
Cuomo, and other state legislators, were most concerned about Pokemon Go’s unfortunately-named “Lure” module:
Additionally, a feature of the game, where, for a small fee, a “lure” can be purchased to intentionally encourage traffic to a particular location, also appears to have the potential to be abused by predators.
This recommendation by Governor Cuomo most likely will lead to similar announcements by other local and state governments, and more information about the specifics of New York State’s plan can be found at NY.gov.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Pokemon Go
Pokemon Go Plus peripheral won’t be available until September
By now, I’m sure you’ve heard more than a few stories about people succumbing to disaster while playing Pokemon Go. The engrossing mobile app demands constant attention when trying to capture a Pokemon, and this has lead to some players walking right into traffic… or right off a cliff.
Possibly foreseeing these problems, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company have been hard at work on the Pokemon Go Plus, a companion peripheral that is supposed to enhance your Pokemon Go experience. Connecting to your smartphone via Bluetooth, the Pokemon Go Plus is supposed to alert players when they’re near a PokeStop or Pokemon. The peripheral was expected to launch shortly after the app, but Nintendo has been rather silent about its release date… until now.
Writing on Twitter, Nintendo has confirmed the Pokemon Go Plus will be available in September:
The #PokemonGO Plus accessory will now be released Sept 2016 instead of the originally expected end of July launch. https://t.co/QgjZf1aAV6
— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) July 27, 2016
The Pokemon Go Plus will retail for $34.99 when it’s released.
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Pokemon Go
Square Enix will bring “new announcements and reveals” and 15 playable demos to Gamescom 2016
The Comic-Con booth has been broken down, so it’s on to the next Summer showcase for Square Enix. This morning, the publisher announced they’ll have 15 titles on display at this year’s Gamescom convention, which will kick off in Cologne, Germany on August 19.
Square Enix plans to have a massive presence on the show floor including multiple booths packed with more than 220 demo stations and totaling 1,100 square meters of space. These screens will be equipped with many of the company’s 2016 and 2017 offerings including Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, Dragon Quest Builders, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, and World of Final Fantasy . A portion of the booth will also be devoted to “Square Enix Collective” titles, and another section will tout the publisher’s “new announcements and reveals.”
What are they announcing? We’ll have to wait until August to find out for sure, but for now, you can peruse Square Enix’s complete Gamescom lineup after the break. (more…)
Telltale reveals new screenshots and details from The Walking Dead Season 3
Telltale Games revealed a bit more about The Walking Dead Season 3 during their trip to the San Diego Comic-Con this weekend. Creative Director Dennis Lenart was joined by Melissa Hutchison (the voice actress behind Clementine) held a panel for fans and shared a new poster, new screenshots, and new details on how the third season will play out, including a little about how the two playable characters will interact:
In [the] first shot, you’ll see Javier and Clementine making their way through a walker-infested slaughterhouse. Remember, you’ll be playing as both characters, although you may not be playing each character within the same frame of time…
Lenart also discussed the importance of playing as Javier, and how the team was able to create a character without any prior relationship with Clementine. This will provide an interesting opportunity for players to meet a character they may have helped shape. They’ll also have a chance to play as a survivor fresh to the series, who is currently struggling to keep his family together in the face of the undead apocalypse.
The panelists also discussed the story structure for Season 3 and how it’ll morph depending upon if players are new to the series versus those who have imported their choices from Season 1 and Season 2:
Another unique aspect of this third season is that while it absolutely continues the story of the previous two seasons, it also serves as a new entry point for fans who’ve yet to be caught up to speed. Players starting with this third season will be introduced to young survivor AJ, who fans will recognize as the son of Rebecca from Season Two – and we can confirm that he will be making an appearance in this season as well. So players who are new to the series will have a chance to learn more about Clementine’s backstory, while at the same time, those who have played previous seasons will have a story that’s uniquely tailored to the diverging paths they’ve taken in the past.
The first episode from The Walking Dead Season 3 will be released this Fall, but you can find the new poster and screenshots after the break. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Xbox One
Tagged Comic-Con 2016, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier
Pokemon Go just set a record for first-week downloads on iOS App Store
Hey, have you heard about this Pokemon Go thing? I think it’s pretty popular.
Groan all you want at that intro, but Pokemon Go is actually so popular that Apple recently told Polygon it’s been downloaded from the iOS App Store more times in its first week of availability than any other app in history.
Specific download numbers weren’t revealed, but after today’s Japanese launch, Pokemon Go’s record-setting ways should continue during its second week and its third and its…
Posted in Mobile, News
Tagged Pokemon Go
First Batman: The Telltale Series trailer reveals an August 2 launch date for Episode 1
As promised, Telltale Games has lit up the Bat Signal and unveiled the first trailer for Batman: The Telltale Series. We’ve also learned that Episode 1, Realm of Shadows, will be available to download for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices on August 2.
Also making good on their promise to create a game that puts just as much focus on Bruce Wayne as it does on the Caped Crusader, the first trailer showcases how both sides of the superhero’s personality fight for the soul of Gotham:
Enter the fractured psyche of Bruce Wayne and discover the powerful and far-reaching consequences of your choices as the Dark Knight. In this gritty and violent new story from the award-winning creators of The Walking Dead: A Telltale Games Series, you’ll make discoveries that will shatter Bruce Wayne’s world, and the already fragile stability of a corrupt Gotham City.
Designed to resemble a “living, breathing comic book,” Batman: The Telltale Series will feature a huge case including Troy Baker as Batman/Bruce Wayne, Travis Willingham as Harvey Dent, Erin Yvette as Vicki Vale, Enn Reitel as Alfred Pennyworth, Murphy Guyer as Lieutenant James Gordon, Richard McGonagle as Carmine Falcone, and Laura Bailey as Catwoman/Selina Kyle
Minecraft: Story Mode explores the dangers of VR next week in Episode 7: Access Denied
Telltale is returning to the world of Minecraft: Story Mode next week with the upcoming release of Episode 7: Access Denied. Set to launch for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices on July 26, Access Denied takes place in a world where a Skynet-like AI uses virtual reality to enslave the population:
In Episode 7: Access Denied, continuing their portal journey in search of home, Jesse and crew land in a world entirely controlled by PAMA – a sinister “thinking machine” determined to command everyone and everything in pursuit of optimal usefulness and efficiency. Forced on the run to avoid capture and assimilation, you’ll need to work with a new ally to defeat the corrupted computer and free the population it has enslaved.
If you listen closely in the trailer above, you’ll likely hear Community‘s Yvette Nicole Brown, who joins the cast of Episode 7: Access Denied as Harper, PAMA’s creator in hiding.
Minecraft: Story Mode – Episode 7: Access Denied will be available as part of the Adventure Pass, which is priced at $14.99. Players can also purchase it individually for $4.99.
First episode from Batman: The Telltale Series will debut in August; First trailer coming next week
Telltale Games will release the first episode in their upcoming Batman series, Batman: The Telltale Series, in August for the PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and mobile devices.
Batman: The Telltale Series will also be available as a retail-only “Season Pass Disc” for the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The “Season Pass Disc” will include the first episode on the disc and access to subsequent episodes as they’re released.
The first trailer and final release date for Batman: The Telltale Series will make its debut during next week’s San Diego Comic-Con. To give fans their first look at the game, the developer also plans to host a special “Crowd Play Event” on Saturday, July 23. Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller will host the event alongside Troy Baker (the voice of Bruce Wayne), and you can register to attend at the Telltale Blog.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Batman: The Telltale Series, Comic-Con 2016