Latest news with #PokemonCompany
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Insider
Nintendo's ‘Pokemon Legends: Z-A' out October 16, 2025
The Pokemon Company, which is jointly owned by Nintendo (NTDOY), Game Freak, and Creatures, announced that the 'Pokemon Legends: Z-A' and 'Pokemon Legends: Z-A – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition' games have been slated for release on Thursday, October 16, 2025. Preorders will begin Thursday, June 5, on Nintendo eShop. Players who purchase either the physical or digital version of 'Pokemon Legends: Z-A' for Nintendo Switch will have the option to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition by purchasing an upgrade pack. Upgrade packs will be available on Nintendo eShop and My Nintendo Store. The company added that a Pokemon Presents presentation will occur July 22. Confident Investing Starts Here:
CNET
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Google Gemini Beat Pokemon Blue, and I Have Questions
While Google spent most of its I/O event Tuesday showing Gemini's new features, CEO Sundar Pichai announced an important Gemini milestone: it beat Pokemon Blue. That Pokemon game holds a special place in my heart, since it was the first game in the series I played on my original GameBoy when I was seven years old. I remember booting the game up for the first time, collecting badges around Kanto and watching as my Pokemon evolved from cute little critters to behemoth creatures with elemental powers. Read more: What You Need to Know About Google Beam So when I heard Gemini beat Pokemon Blue, I was excited to revisit this piece of my childhood. And as I thought about this milestone for Gemini, I had some questions about Gemini's run through. Pichai posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing Gemini beating Pokemon Blue that answers some of these questions, but the video has only fueled more intrigue. So here are the questions I have about Gemini's Pokemon Blue playthrough, and what we know about it so far. What starter Pokemon did Gemini pick? Choosing your starter Pokemon is an important choice in any Pokemon journey. Nintendo It's the first choice you make in the game. Do you pick grass-type Bulbasaur, fire-type Charmander or water-type Squirtle? From the video Pichai posted on X, we see Gemini playing with a Blastoise, the final evolution of Squirtle, so we can assume that Gemini chose the water-type at the beginning of the game. Nothing against Squirtle, but we all know the correct starter Pokemon is Charmander. No -- I will not be elaborating. What Pokemon team did Gemini face the Elite Four with? After you collect all the badges in the game, you face the Elite Four, which is a collection of some of the strongest Pokemon trainers in the game and the last trainers you have to beat to claim the title of Pokemon champion. Each Elite Four trainer has a team made of a different Pokemon type. For example, one trainer specializes in water-type Pokemon and another specializes in dragon-type Pokemon. This means you should have a well-rounded team to tackle this challenge. And from what we see in Pichai's post on X, Gemini's team was trash. From a grainy screenshot, we can see Gemini's Lv. 86 Blastoise, which is pretty overpowered for the Elite Four, but that's Gemini's starter so I can forgive it. But that's the last good thing we see in this team. I made a team better than this when I was seven years old. X From there, Gemini's team includes what appears to be a Lv. 37 Weepinbell, Lv. 9 Zubat, Lv. 8 Pikachu, Lv. 22 Nidoran♀ and a Lv. 15 Spearow. Woof. That might be the worst Pokemon team I've ever seen. All of these Pokemon are underleveled to take on the Elite Four, who all have Pokemon between levels 55 and 65. With a team like that, no wonder Blastoise was so overpowered. That Pokemon's back is hurting from carrying the team. Give them a break, Gemini! How many Pokemon did Gemini catch? From Pichai's post, we see that Gemini's Pokedex has 26 of 151 Pokemon. The only way you get an entry in your Pokedex is by catching a Pokemon or evolving one, so Gemini has caught or evolved 26 Pokemon. We know that Gemini evolved Squirtle into Wartortle into Blastoise, so that's three Pokedex entries. Just by looking at Gemini's team, we see that Weepinbell was likely evolved from Bellsprout, which counts for two entries, so there's five entries. Adding the rest of the team makes nine total Pokedex entries. So nine of the 26 Pokemon are accounted for in Gemini's team. That means Gemini could have caught 17 other Pokemon that are being held in storage in the game. What those other Pokemon are, I have no idea. Maybe a Pidgey and a Caterpie, since you encounter those early in the game, and maybe even a Geodude. It's hard to say, but from what we can see from Gemini's final team, I wouldn't be surprised if Gemini tried to catch the first Pokemon it encountered in a given area. Did Gemini catch any Legendary Pokemon? From left to right, Zapdos, Moltres and Articuno. Pokemon the Movie 2000 Pokemon Blue has three legendary birds, Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres, that you run into at various points in the game. While you might run into endless Pidgeys in the game, you will only encounter one of these birds throughout the game. That means if you want to fill up your Pokedex, catching them is very important. Given Gemini's Lv. 86 Blastoise, I'm willing to bet Gemini wiped those birds out of the sky without a second thought. If I had to guess, Gemini had an issue with electric-type Zapdos, that's strong against water types like Blastoise, and ice-type Articuno probably put up a good fight. But fire-type Moltres probably got blasted out of the sky and curbstomped by that giant, bipedal turtle. The poor bird never stood a chance. What about Mewtwo? Mewtwo is still waiting for Gemini. Bulbapedia Mewtwo is a very strong and rare Pokemon, and from what we've seen, Gemini hasn't found Mewtwo yet. The cave Mewtwo is in can only be accessed after defeating the Elite Four and becoming the Pokemon Champion, and the video Pichai posted shows us Gemini becoming champion. So as far as we know, Mewtwo is still chilling in a cave, waiting for Gemini. What Pokemon did Gemini use the Master Ball on? A Master Ball is a special Pokeball in the game that can catch any Pokemon. It's best used to catch high level or legendary Pokemon. I used mine to catch Mewtwo when I was younger. And after everything I've said above, do you really think Gemini knows what a Master Ball is? If it did use the Master Ball, it probably threw it at a low-level Rattata or Magikarp. Whatever the first Pokemon Gemini saw after getting the Master Ball, Gemini probably used it on that Pokemon. What was Gemini doing for 800 hours? During Google's presentation, we saw that it took Gemini about 800 hours to beat Pokemon Blue. According to How Long to Beat, it should take someone between 26 hours to beat the base game and about 101 hours to complete every quest, collect all badges, beat the Elite Four and collect all the Pokemon. So it took Gemini about eight times as long to just beat the game as it should take to fully complete the game. I can't say for sure what Gemini was doing in that time, but I imagine it had some trouble navigating from gym to gym. And since Blastoise is so overpowered, I'm willing to bet Gemini spent a lot of time losing Pokemon battles, working its way back to where it lost and then losing again. I don't even want to know how long it took Gemini to beat the Elite Four. For more on Google I/O, here's what was announced at the event.
CNET
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Palworld Developer Has Removed Game Features Due to Nintendo Legal Pressure
When it debuted as an early access game in 2024, the popular action/collection videogame Palworld was an instant hit, but it didn't take a judicial expert to predict that its similarities to Pokemon would invite legal action. That happened about eight months later when Nintendo and The Pokemon Company filed suit, claiming patent infringement. Now, gamers are seeing some of the effects of that legal threat. Pocketpair, the studio behind the unofficial parody, Some features in the game, such as the use of Pal Spheres (similar to Poke Balls in Pokemon) and gliding with Pals have been patched out of gameplay with updates in November and this month. In a blog post titled, "Regarding the lawsuit, changes to Palworld and the future," Pocketpair said the changes "were indeed a result of the ongoing litigation." The post goes on to say: "everyone here at Pocketpair was disappointed that this adjustment had to be made, and we fully understand that many players feel the same frustration. Unfortunately, as the alternative would have led to an even greater deterioration of the gameplay experience for players, it was determined that this change was necessary." Much of the debate around Palworld's existence and why it's facing legal challenges has to do with whether the game itself could be protected legally if it's considered a parody. That may be why the lawsuit is based on patent infringement, focusing on mechanics of the game, rather than copyright infringement. Even with legal action pending, the game's expansion has not slowed down. It's available on PlayStation 5, Xbox consoles and PC, and there's a mobile version still in the works.
The Mainichi
26-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Series of Pokemon-themed exhibits sharing Japan's regional charms begins in Miyagi Pref.
SENDAI -- The company behind the popular Pokemon game and anime franchise is launching a series of exhibits across Japan to promote regional products, with the first kicking off in northeastern Japan's Miyagi Prefecture on April 24. The Pokemon Company has unrolled its Pokemon Local Acts initiative to promote the charms of local communities in Japan with the help of "ambassadorial Pokemon" in 12 prefectures to date. In the latest initiative, the company is collaborating with department stores across the country to stage the exhibits. It aims to encourage people to learn about the charms of each region through the characters and visit those areas. The exhibits will sell products made in collaboration with each area alongside original Pokemon merchandise. At an opening ceremony at the Fujisaki Department Store in Sendai on April 24, 15 Pokemon character mascots for 12 prefectures including the water-riding Lapras for Miyagi Prefecture, Geodude for Iwate Prefecture and Chansey for Fukushima Prefecture, were present for the ribbon-cutting. The exhibit features around 540 items such as Miyagi's specialty "sasakamaboko" (bamboo leaf-shaped fish cake) packaged with Lapras illustrations among other local delicacies. On weekends and national holidays, meet-and-greet sessions with Pokemon characters will be held via a lottery system. The company's Senior Director Chihiro Hirose said, "We hope the power of Pokemon will connect and bond people with regional communities." The exhibit is open in Sendai until May 6, after which it will be brought to the prefectures of Fukui and Miyazaki this summer and winter, respectively. (Japanese original by Hiroyuki Yamanaka, Sendai Bureau)
CBC
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Gotta buy 'em all: Pokemon card game is under threat from scalpers, fans say
Looking to buy Pokemon cards? Good luck. "It's rough right now," said Jake Wagman, a 23-year-old Pokemon card collector in Toronto. "I blinked and product is impossible to find. It's unavailable." Wagman used to be able to walk into a big box store or hobby shop and buy a handful of packs of his favourite cards with ease. But over the past few months, thanks to a boom in interest, the Pokemon Trading Card Game hobby has been plagued by scalpers emptying store shelves, then asking for double and triple the price on the resale market like on eBay. "All of a sudden people are just like seeing Pokemon, like the Pokemon brand, and they're buying a product and they don't even know what they're buying because they think it'll be valuable," said Wagman. "It's to make like, you know, 50 bucks here or 20 bucks there. And it's frankly ruining it for the people that actually want to collect and want to play." Collectors and fans worry that if it goes on for much longer, this could damage the hobby, especially for the children that make up the next generation of fans. Pokemon cards, again? The Pokemon Trading Card Game (or Pokemon TCG) first released in North America in 1998, as part of the megapopular Japanese franchise that also includes video games, television shows and action figures. In it, players take on the role of trainers who catch, trade and train animal-like monsters called Pokemon to duel with other trainers' Pokemon. The original release's most coveted card is easily the now-iconic Charizard, which now sells for thousands of dollars on the resale market. Back in '98, getting pack of 11 cards was as easy as paying $4 for one. And they were readily available on store shelves. Since then, Pokemon has completely taken off. The Pokemon Company boasts retail sales in the billions through its media and merchandise. Its total retail sales for the 2023 fiscal year reached $10.8 billion US, or more than $15 billion Cdn. "The Pokemon Company constantly comes out with so many different things that are a lot of fun," said Charlene Sutherland, an investment associate in Toronto. "I think Pokemon is just a classic. I think there's a lot of us who either grew up with the shows or are collectors, or have played the video games … and just love the way it's been done." So what's happening now? The recent shortage of Pokemon TCG cards kicked off with a new set called Surging Sparks which launched in November. A particular card featuring fan-favourite creature Pikachu sells for over $1,000 Cdn on places such as eBay, which had people buying up as many packs as they could from hobby shops and big box stores. The hype was cranked up even further with the following set, Prismatic Evolutions in January. Some of the cards from this set have sold for over $5,000 Cdn on eBay. "It was pretty wild, something I've never seen before really," said Sebastian Bilodeau, assistant store manager at Exor Games in Charlottetown. He says when Prismatic Evolutions first went on sale, they had a lineup of 50 to 60 people around the building. "Keep in mind, this is like January. Like, people are waiting outside for two, three hours in the freezing cold," said Bilodeau. In the last few months, it's become near-impossible to find any sets of Pokemon cards, and not just from the newest sets. Some Canadian stores have even reported break-ins, with the thieves going straight for the Pokemon card aisle. WATCH | The value of Pokemon cards is up and these store owners say that's leading to break-ins: The value of Pokemon cards is up and these store owners say that's leading to break-ins 1 month ago Duration 3:03 The trading cards have been around since the 1990s but have seen a boost in popularity in recent years. Their value can range from a few cents to hundreds of dollars and, in some rare cases, a lot more. It's not the first time Pokemon cards have seen a big boom. During the COVID-19 pandemic, people who collected cards as a kid got back into the hobby, and The Pokemon Company struggled to keep up with supply. But the recent surge of scalping has made this time around different. Damaging the hobby Then there were the Costco fights. Viral videos from the U.S. showed people pushing and shoving to get their hands on the product when the big-box store chain had an early release and a discounted price on a box of packs. Scalping is far from new, of course, when it comes to coveted items like concert tickets or limited edition sneakers. But it's new to Pokemon. And Sutherland says it's a bad look for the community. "Seeing videos of people who are literally getting into fist fights at Costco over Pokemon cards also has just brought a completely negative connotation to the community," she said. "When you see videos of grown adults going and fighting over Pokemon cards, knowing that it's also ruining this experience for parents and kids who are trying to get into, it just puts a bad taste." Some stores are making efforts to prevent brawls from breaking out. Bilodeau says Exor Games is reserving a large percentage of its product for in-store purchases, and capping how much an individual can buy. But Jordan Hennessy says that's not the case everywhere. He collects the cards, and runs a trading card stall at a flea market in Kelowna, B.C.. He says some stores have started charging over the retail standard for packs, with the reasoning that a scalper is just going to buy it and sell it for that higher price anyway. There's hope that the Pokemon Company will pick up on the demand and print more of these popular sets. But until then, the best chance people have at getting their favourite cards is finding out when their local store gets new stock in or paying a scalper's asking price. Hennessy is concerned that if children can't get the cards, it could hurt the Pokemon community long-term. "It's the seven, eight-year-old to 15-, 16-year-old that will always keep it relevant and keep Pokemon printing stuff, keep Pokemon making TV shows and video games," said Hennessy.
