AAAAAAAAAAND WELCOME...to this ongoing blog that I hope takes off, or at least dies with dignity. Isn't that feeling when the credits roll grand? Even better when you're treated to a really unexpected, yet really pleasant tune. Recently, I've had a really nasty habit of starting games, playing it for a bit, moving on, and not coming back until I forgot where I was. It's gotten really bad recently, and I just realized why: Did you know DTOID used to have forums? Within them was a regular thread that allowed you to post your completed games and then someone would edit the master list and we'd see how many game we could beat each year as a community. Some people were insane (All hail Chris "Magnalon" Carter and StriderHoang) and easily surpassed 50 games. What I want is to be able to adapt that yearly thread into a cblog form for the community to enjoy and hopefully push other people like me to be more motivated to complete games. Because you finally completing a game (Or getting a … [Read more...]

Although the Pokémon GO update was yesterday, the new gyms are now up and running as of today. There has been changes added to the way Gyms work in Pokémon GO, such as now being able to obtain items from them, and a new Gym badge feature. Here's the breakdown from Niantic regarding the new Gym update: "New Gym Features and Updates: Starting soon, Gyms are undergoing a major facelift. You'll soon be able to spin the Photo Disc at Gyms to acquire items just as you do at PokéStops-but that's only the beginning. More updates to Gym battles are also just around the corner. Gyms are no longer based on Prestige and training. Instead, they now feature six permanent slots that can be filled by the controlling team's Pokémon. Each Pokémon assigned to these slots must be unique. For example, only one Blissey can be assigned to a Gym at a time. In addition, opposing teams will battle the Pokémon in the order they were assigned to the Gym. At the heart of … [Read more...]

If you’re using tracking apps to catch Pokemon, don’t expect them to behave. Yesterday we dropped details of a the game’s huge new patch, which added some major features – gym badges, legendary monsters, TMs, expanded gyms, the works. Also included, it seems, was a mark that will pop up on the profiles of cheaters. A verified account from developer Niantic, labeled ‘NianticGeorge’, has spelled this change out in a Reddit post: “Starting today, Pokémon caught using third-party services that circumvent normal gameplay will appear marked with a slash in the inventory and may not behave as expected. We are humbled by the excitement for all the new features we announced yesterday.This is one small part of our continued commitment to maintaining the integrity of our community and delivering an amazing Pokémon GO experience.” It remains to be seen what they mean when they say that these monsters will not behave as expected, but … [Read more...]

Pokemon GO’s new update totally changes the way that Gym mechanics work and the community is very excited. The new system is meant to encourage more players to get involved in the multiplayer side of the mobile AR game and help less serious players feel comfortable in the world of Gym battles. Part of the new system gives players a chance to motivate other people’s Pokemon by feeding them berries at Gyms. During the first few hours of testing this new Pokemon GO feature, players seem to be finding a secret reward that Niantic didn’t mention in the original press release… After feeding a Pokemon a berry at an updated Gym, players seem to be getting rewarded with an average of 20 Stardust. This is a fairly insignificant reward, but can definitely add up over time. The more exciting report is that, on occasion, players also seem to be getting rewarded with a single candy that matches the species of Pokemon that was being fed. Multiple players are already taking … [Read more...]

Pokemon GO’s latest update has the potential to breath fresh life into the mobile AR game. By reinventing the Gym system and introducing new Battle Raids, there is now an improved multiplayer experience that should help keep the community engaged in the game’s content. Unfortunately, some Pokemon GO players are now worried about whether or not they are high enough level to participate in Battle Raids. After downloading the Pokemon GO update, players will see a new tab labeled ‘Raids.’ There are currently no Battle Raids available to the public, but the text in the box says, “Raid Battles are not yet available for your level.” The additional ‘for your level’ has a lot of people worried that there is some kind of level requirement. Rest assured that everyone, including max level players, are currently seeing that same message. None of the official notes from Niantic about Battle Raids have mentioned a level requirement at all, so this … [Read more...]

Niantic has lifted the lid on what is described as the biggest update to Pokémon Go since the game launched. The update will introduce a revamped gym gameplay experience, the ability to earn gym badges, co-op raid battles, and more. The new gym system will allow players to spin for items like they do at PokéStops. Prestige and training has also been removed, instead, gyms now feature six permanent slots that can be filled by the controlling team's Pokémon. Each of these Pokémon must be unique and opposing teams will have to battle Pokémon in the order they were added. "At the heart of the update is a new motivation system that will significantly change how you interact with Gyms," Niantic adds. "When a Pokémon is assigned to a Gym, a motivation meter will be displayed. Pokémon assigned to defend a Gym lose motivation over time and as they are defeated in battle. As a Pokémon loses motivation, its CP will temporarily decrease, … [Read more...]

Raid me, my friend! It seems Niantic not only drip feeds updates to its once mega-popular Pokémon Go, but also likes to doll out news about updates in the same manner. We now know that the big summer update for the game doesn't exactly remove gyms, but transforms them into raids. Up to 20 players can now participate, at once, to topple ultra strong Pokémon with a chance to capture it for the player who downed it. To join a raid, you'll need a raid ticket. Those can be picked up from Pokéstops, but you'll only receive one a day. Obviously you can buy more, because this is a mobile game after all. Participate in enough raids and you'll eventually earn a "special" raid ticket, which allows you to battle at a certain gym for the chance to earn a Legendary Pokémon. Along with those changes, it looks like gyms are also going to become regular Pokéstops, thus allowing for smaller towns and less populated areas to have more chances to check-in daily. The … [Read more...]

According to Niantic, Pokémon GO is about to get its biggest ever update. The mobile developer has previously acknowledged the problems with the game's Gym mechanics, admitting that the system needed refinement. However, it looks like that day has come. Detailed on Niantic's website, the latest update will focus on rebalancing this aspect of the game. Not only will it add smaller features like a new Badge collectable, it completely overhauls and rebalances the process of taking and controlling Gyms. The introduction of a motivation system and the ability to cooperatively raid Gyms means that it will be harder for any of the teams to hold a location for too long. Check out Niantic's full explanation below. The biggest update to Pokémon GO is nearly here! Very soon, Trainers around the world will be able to participate in a revamped Gym gameplay experience, including the opportunity to join together with others to battle against powerful Pokémon in the new Raid … [Read more...]

Happy birthday, Pokemon Go! The mobile Poke ball throwing phenomenon is almost a whole a year old - yep, it's near a whole 365 days since the madness that was a man living in a Pokemon gym and people driving into police cars-and Niantic is giving the game a massive upgrade to get ready for another year. I got hands on with the new build last week at E3 2017and there's a hell of a lot to get through so without further ado, here's everything you need to know to get you ready to jump back in. Starting with... Pokemon Go now has RAIDS While Pokemon Gyms have always been there to get you working alongside your team mates, there's never been a way to truly all jump in together and play at once. Raid Battles change all that. Taking place at gyms, Raids mean up to 20 Pokemon trainers can battle simultaneously to take down a seriously high level Pokemon known as a Raid Boss. An egg on top of a gym with a countdown timer will tell you when a Raid is starting. All you have to do then is get to … [Read more...]

Since the very beginning of Pokemon GO, the mobile game’s PvP aspect has been its weakest link. The gym system was fun at first, but quickly became too repetitive and a grind that offered too few rewards for the time investment. After a year of feedback and planning, Niantic is finally ready to switch things up with some major changes to Pokemon GO’s gym mechanics and a brand new raid feature. The official Niantic announcement was full of details to unpack. Let’s start off with the Gym changes, before moving on to Battle Raids. When the update arrives, players will finally be able to spin on Gyms to receive items, similar to Pokestops. That’s just the beginning of the change though… Gyms are no longer based on Prestige and training. Instead, they now feature six permanent slots that can be filled by the controlling team’s Pokémon. Each Pokémon assigned to these slots must be unique. For example, only one Blissey can be assigned to a … [Read more...]

Pokémon GO potentially has some big changes incoming. We’re around halfway through the Pokémon Go Solstice Celebration but amidst the fun, a little nugget of potential news has quietly surfaced over on the official website. If you visit the support page, you’ll notice that it’s currently displaying a message at the top that reads, “Heads Up: Gyms will soon be closing temporarily for remodeling. Any Pokémon you’ve assigned to Gyms will be returned to you at that time.” A Niantic representative on Reddit confirmed that the gyms will be closing to prepare for an update. “As we get ready to update Pokémon GO, we want to ensure that Trainers have a sufficient heads up that Gyms will soon be disabled so that they can collect their Defender bonus. We will provide updates on our social channels in advance of Gyms closing in-game.” The Next Web reports that at their conference back in May, Niantic CMO Mike Quigley hinted at … [Read more...]

Pokeland is a new Pokemon title coming to smart devices. Users will log into their Nintendo Account, allowing Miis to appear in-game. Pokeland appears to be similar to the WiiWare action game Pokemon Rumble, according to Nintendo Life, and launched today in Japan on Android as an Alpha test demo. The test will not be performed on iOS according to the official website. The demo features 52 stages and 134 different types of monsters across six islands. After testing is complete on June 9, all progress will be wiped. Rumor of another Pokemon mobile offering is said to be in the works, and it’s supposedly a Pokemon card-game app. This particular rumor came alongside one stating Nintendo was looking into creating a Zelda mobile title. A release outside of Japan for Pokeland hasn’t been announced, but The Pokemon Company will likely provide some news on it at some point once the testing phase is finished. If you need a Pokemon mobile fix in the meantime, Pokemon: Magikarp Jump … [Read more...]

If you don’t like surprises, here’s what you might find inside your pokémon egg. Just like in the more traditional Pokemon games, the creatures in Pokemon Go can be caught in their natural habitat but also can be hatched from eggs by simply walking around. This is actually an incredibly useful method of finding some types of Pokemon in the game that can’t be found out in the wild quite so reliably. On this page we break down absolutely everything you need to know about egg hatching – and then we detail every single Pokemon from both generation 1 (Red/Blue/Yellow) and generation 2 (Gold/Silver/Crystal) of the Pokemon featured in Pokemon Go, broken into sections. Within those sections gen 1 Pokemon are at the top and gen 2 Pokemon are the second lot in the chart. Let’s get to it… The first thing you’ll want to do to begin your journey as a Pokemon breeder is get your hands on an egg or two. To do that you’ll want to visit Pokestops. … [Read more...]

In an Apple press release, it was revealed that Pokemon Go was the most downloaded app of 2016, with the recently-released Mario Run making the top 10. “Super Mario Run is also among last year’s top 10 most downloaded apps worldwide, with Pokémon Go taking the top spot. Pokémon Go, a beloved game from Niantic, quickly became a cultural phenomenon in mid-2016. Prisma, Reigns, Procreate, Lumino City, Sweat With Kayla and djay Pro, from some of Apple’s independent developers, were among the most successful apps for iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch and Mac, respectively. The App Store offers 2.2 million apps in total, up over 20 percent from last year.” The popularity of Pokemon Go and other augmented reality games could easily pave the way for new and exciting games with meatier gameplay and stories. It brought people together, made strangers into friends, and gave people access to Pokemon in ways they wouldn’t have had before. For a free … [Read more...]

Since the development of smartphones, the mobile gaming market has grown to feature a lot more titles than just Snake. With a handheld console in everyone’s pocket, the industry has completely changed. Now console and PC developers are making their way to mobile devices as well. Nintendo is no exception as their first major example, Super Mario Run, is coming out later this month. While Pokemon Go was a tremendous hit, Nintendo does not %100 own the Pokemon Company and so the release of Super Mario Run will truly be the company’s first critical leap into mobile gaming. For that reason, they want to make sure as many people as possible jump on board this experience. With this, Nintendo has released the first live action trailer for Super Mario Run. The trailer shows people of different cultures and styles around the running all over. Eventually they all combine to one large marathon in a big city, behind the one and only Mario. It looks like a Rocky “Gonna Fly … [Read more...]

Pokemon Go has truly become one of the biggest phenomenas in the video game world today. The beautiful thing about it, is that it still has so much potential to grow. It doesn’t even contain all of the original 151. Now there are over 700 creatures in this wonderful series. It seems to be about time that Pokemon Go made some more available to its fanbase. If you’re a fan of Cyndaquil, Chikorita, or others, then some good news is heading your way. After doing some research on the latest APK for Pokemon Go, Silph Road discovered some great new details of what is coming. First, there was a reference of 100 new Pokemon in the code, most of them being from Generation 2. The lovable little mimic, known as Ditto, was also part of this group. A new move was also found in the coding. Transform has been found and is a quick move. It will be the game’s first new move since it launched. We have heard rumors about this for awhile, but there is also a Daily Quest System … [Read more...]

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise. The games first released in 1996, and have since become a worldwide icon. Since its inception, the series has branched out and become more than a video game series and now includes an anime, manga, movies, trading card game, and more.Just in the realm of games, the series has also seen an number of spin-offs across a wide variety of platforms. Most gamers have played a Pokemon title, and have fond memories of capturing and battling with the ever growing roster of monsters. Many still play them, and have for decades.And now, on the eve of the next games in the legendary series, Pokemon Sun and Moon, here is a brief look into the history of what is one of the most iconic and popular series to ever grace video games, and how this series has grown into the titles that we play today.The idea of Pokemon came from Satoshi Tajiri, who wanted to share his love of catching insects with others. Together with Ken Sugimori, Tajiri … [Read more...]

  Starting on October 26, Pokémon GO players will be able to catch some of the spookiest Pokémon in the game, thanks to increased global encounters of Drowzee, Gastly, Gengar, Golbat, Haunter, Hypno, and Zubat. Of course, it just wouldn’t be Halloween without candy, and thus Trainers will have the chance to earn more Pokémon Candy during the event as well, with full details found on the official blog. Tatsuo Nomura, senior product manager at Niantic, stated, “It’s been incredible watching people explore their neighborhoods and catch wild Pokémon all summer. We would like to trick-or-treat in our own special way by giving Trainers the chance to catch more Pokémon and earn extra Candy this Halloween.” Every Pokémon that you manage to catch during this period will earn you six Candies, twice the normal amount. The Professor will also … [Read more...]

For over a year now, the world has been in anticipation about what the Nintendo NX could be. Rumors were flying left and right with different ideas coming into play, such as it being a home and mobile hybrid console and it having detachable controllers. It turns out, many of these were true. The first preview trailer, of the officially named Nintendo Switch, premiered today.From what we can tell from the trailer, it is truly a hybrid home and mobile device that has detachable controllers. This helps for multiplayer action at home or on the go. Multiple systems can connect together for an even better multiplayer experience as well. There were plenty of games shown off with the device too. Not just from Nintendo, but 3rd party developers as well. With this kind of software and hardware, it’s hard not to get excited.First, as a home console and mobile hybrid there is a lot of open room for developers to work with. Switch has the same strengths as any other home console … [Read more...]

Nintendo has released a statement with details on how their hardware and software sold in August 2016, and it seems the 2Ds and 3DS did quite well. The Nintendo 2DS saw a rise in sales of over 500 percent when compared to August 2015. The company stated that the increase was in part due to the price cut down to $80 that went into effect in May. The statement also cited excitement for the Pokemon brand, which was likely a reference to Pokemon Go. The Nintendo 3DS also saw improved sales, which went up 83 percent when compared to the same period last year. 3DS first-party game sales increased by 57 percent, both in physical and digital sales. Nintendo also mentioned Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, which were in the No. 9 and No. 11 positions for overall sales in August, despite being released nearly two years ago. Wii U software sales were also up by 30 percent , though no new hardware figures were given. According to a recent report, Nintendo’s upcoming NX system will be … [Read more...]