‘Destiny’ Going Strong With ‘Rise Of Iron’ Expansion

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In 2012, Activision struck a multi-year deal with Bungie, the original developers of Halo, to produce an unparalleled first-person shooting experience for consoles, with an original storyline and engaging set-up. The end result was Destiny, a game that arrived in mid-2014 to high praise from both gamers and critics alike, and it became a bestseller with over 30 million registered players.

Bungie has continued to push Destiny‘s story with add-ons, including last year’s The Taken King, which was a major success. However, some players felt that Destiny still didn’t have enough special events and items, so Bungie is looking to resolve that this fall with the Rise of Iron expansion.

Rise

Set to debut on September 20 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4, Rise of Iron promises to expand the universe even further with a new location to explore and new events such as additional Raid and Strike, which players can’t get enough of) and new items to acquire.

“Rise of Iron is an exciting addition to the Destiny universe,” said Pete Parsons, CEO of Bungie. “We are continually blown away and inspired by the growing Destiny community’s energy and enthusiasm.”

Activision didn’t have a booth on the E3 show floor this week, but the company still held behind-closed-door sessions. There, Bungie presented how players would rediscover a sense of energy with the add-on, mainly with the debut of a new setting on Earth called the Plaguelands, where they can explore to find new missions and items.

“The trick in keeping players coming back for more within a gaming universe is finding the kind of content that will keep them around for the long-term,” creative director Chris Barrett explained to Game Informer. “Stuff like raids just takes a lot of time to build but we’re excited to try and deliver that stuff for fans, and we’re all players ourselves. I go home and feel the same way: I want to explore a whole new zone and play new raids. We’re excited to get that stuff built and into players’ hands as soon as possible, so we’re always looking to add new events and stuff for players to do. In the past year, we’ve released new updates and events and fixes, and it’s just exciting to be able to release a new expansion with so much good stuff in it.”

Rise 2

But perhaps the biggest expansion will come with the story, which remains a highly engaging part of the Destiny universe.

“The world of Destiny is an awesome place and the fans love it and we’re always looking for ways to expand the game and the lore,” said Barrett. “We’re really focused on this release with telling the best story we can within the game. Our number one priority is making a great new campaign, setting, and adventure for players. We’re not only looking for ways to expand Destiny on the outside but also bring stuff that is found in the grimoire into the game itself. And that’s one of the reasons we’re telling the story of the Iron Lords in Rise of Iron.”

Activision will no doubt promote the game with some a new retail package, as it did with The Taken King, but find some way to overcome potential outrage, since the expansion won’t be available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, which a large portion of Destiny players still use.

Bethesda Jumps Into ESports And VR

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Bethesda was widely praised as having the best event of last year’s E3, where Fallout 4 stole the show and went on to become a huge sales sensation. The publisher didn’t offer anything quite like that this year, but it showed a solid lineup with some interesting twists and turns.

The Bethesda pre-E3 briefing event served to highlight two trends that are occupying an ever-greater mind share among the dedicating gaming audience: eSports and virtual reality (VR). The event led with a cold open into a trailer for the revival of a powerful franchise in Quake Champions, the new version of what id Software studio director Tim Willets praised. “Yes, Quake is back,” Willets said. “The game that defined competitive multiplayer is back, and it’s better than ever.” Willets reminded the audience that Quake was a pioneer for eSports, and is still played in tournaments worldwide.

Willets described Quake Champions as “a competitive arena first-person shooter for the PC designed for all skill levels,”underscoring the desire to bring in as large an audience as possible. Id Software knows what delights the fans, as can be seen by the enthusiastic reception for Doom last month. “We know high-end performance is critical,” Willets said. The game features 120 Hz graphics with unlocked frame rates, and is designed for world-class eSports play at every level. As part of the launch plan, Bethesda will be supporting competitive tournaments and leagues, and providing more information at the upcoming QuakeCon in August.

What really made the Bethesda E3 event stand out how it took a step forward into VR by announcing Fallout 4 for the HTC Vive, coming in 2017. This project helps cement Fallout 4 as a leading brand, and will draw more people to the Fallout franchise. Additionally, it positions the company as a technology leader, cements the Fallout brand, and may help drive more people into buying Fallout games on other platforms.

With both Quake Champions and Fallout 4 VR, Bethesda is building up an existing game brand by extending it and appealing to the hardcore gamers who make up the E3 audience. Industry observers were impressed with Bethesda’s lineup.

“Bethesda’s follow-up from last year’s spectacular press event was overall very strong, featuring several titles that are popular with the core gaming audience,” said SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen. “Notably, Bethesda is getting hip to recent changes in the games market: after its success on mobile with Fallout Shelter, it is now also pursuing competitive gaming with Quake Champions. Bethesda has the ability to take an early lead in the VR market as one of the big publishers throwing their weight behind the new platform, following its announcement of Fallout 4 for HTC Vive scheduled for release next year. Provided these titles develop into the success we expect them to, the question who will acquire Bethesda will undoubtedly re-emerge in the months to come.”

Square Enix’s Fantastic Presence At E3 2016

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With the release of Rise of the Tomb Raider, Just Cause 3 and Hitman—the latter two recently received major content updates—Square Enix has a lot to celebrate, but the best is still to come. Its diverse line-up of games being shown at E3 this year, ranging from the sci-fi thriller Deus Ex: Mankind Divided to the newest additions to the Final Fantasy franchise, particularly Final Fantasy XV.

Here are the games that have the publisher feeling cybernetically augmented and riding high on a giant Chocobo this week.

Deus Ex: Mankind Divided

The futuristic thriller featuring a cybernetically augmented man named Adam Jensen, caught in a world of social turmoil and conspiracies, made some big announcements last week before E3 began. Chief among them is Breach, which is an arcade-puzzle mode based in the Deus Ex world, where players are challenged to “hack” data servers using virtual reality to uncover the truth behind the big corporations. The Breach demo has been on display at E3, along with demonstrations from the main game, and attendees have been responding to it positively.

But perhaps the most impressive showcase is the real life Deus Ex-inspired bionic arm, created in partnership with Open Bionics using a 3D printer. Daniel Melville, the first person to use the designer prosthetic, is at E3 to show off the mechanical arm’s capabilities and how Deus Ex‘s fictional future is impacting the real one.

Attendees can control a model robot arm themselves at the Square Enix booth using the Razer Stargazer camera. The mechanical arm, which is in a clear box, will mirror hand gestures in real-time.

https://twitter.com/MissDestructo/status/743196774525919232

Deus Ex GO

Square Enix also announced Deus Ex GO last week—a spin-off game that transforms the Deus Ex experience into a puzzle game for mobile devices. Considering how the team at Square Enix Montreal won the Apple Design Award this week for Lara Croft GO, we can expect some pretty big things to come from the Deus Ex version. An early version of the game is being demoed on the show floor, while the developers have talked extensively about it on the Square Enix E3 livestream.

Final Fantasy

Of all Square Enix’s franchises, Final Fantasy is easily the biggest among them. That’s demonstrated by how there are five different Final Fantasy games being showcased at E3 this year—seven if you count the two Kingdom Hearts games, which combine Final Fantasy elements with Disney characters and environments. Although Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is making history as the first in the franchise to be built from the ground up for mobile devices, Final Fantasy XV is clearly getting the most attention, evidenced by how its E3 trailer features a track remixed by Grammy Award winning DJ, Afrojack.

The developers are promoting the epic combat sequences and superb graphics that characterize the series by delivering a live gameplay demonstration at Sony’s pre-E3 press conference and on the show floor’s live stage. They have also been showcasing the game’s various features, including the flying car, throughout the week on Square Enix’s livestream. However, the most exciting feature of all could be the recent reveal that Final Fantasy XV will support PlayStation VR with a virtual reality experience.

Final Fantasy XV is scheduled to release on September 30 for Xbox One and PlayStation 4.

Square Enix’s show floor booth also features a 6-foot tall Fat Chocobo (the iconic bird from the game) statue to promote Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward. Attendees are invited to ride it for a photo opportunity.

Lara Croft

It’s the 20th anniversary of the Tomb Raider franchise, so of course the world’s most iconic adventurer is going to have a presence at E3, especially since Rise of the Tomb Raider released to high acclaim last fall for Xbox One and in January for PC. Square Enix has been engaging fans across its social media channels for months with behind-the-scenes content and Lara Croft trivia. For example, she appeared in a 1997 issue of a magazine called The Face wearing outfits designed by Gucci, Jean Colonna and Alexander McQueen. Last week, the company gave away two Tomb Raider II golden mask replicas, with more prizes and contests to come.

The Tomb Raider celebration continued from on from E3 this week, with some retrospectives shown on the Square Enix E3 livestream. Attendees can stop by the booth to receive a limited edition, custom engraved medallion sporting the 20-year celebration logo. Fans are also being asked, “what does Tomb Raider mean to you?”And are invited to submit videos detailing fond Tomb Raider memories and how the game influenced their lives. Square Enix is also hosting a community fan art contest, which ends tomorrow. Winners will receive $1,000 each, and their works will be featured in a special print art offering later this year.

Nintendo Transforms E3 Booth Into Living ‘Legend Of Zelda’ World

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This E3, Nintendo is all about The Legend of Zelda. Despite announcements for several other titles like Pokémon GO, Pokémon Sun/Moon, Paper Mario and more, the company’s booth is dedicated entirely to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. For the first time in the franchise, Breath of the Wild allows players to explore Hyrule in an open-world environment, so Nintendo wanted to bring that experience to the E3 floor.

Second in size only to Sony, Nintendo’s 30,000 square foot booth takes fans “outside” to explore the world of Hyrule. The floor is covered in real grass, there’s a stunning mural, life-sized props, statues and more. Ambient nature noises fill the air, and each location was treated with a sort of “smell-o-vision,” such as burning logs next to a fire pit and pine next to trees. Every 24 minutes, the booth transitions from day to night and vice versa; immersing explorers into matching colors, sounds and shadows.

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This is the first time that Nintendo has dedicated an entire booth to one franchise.

“We just wanted to create an immersive experience in the booth and dedicate everything to the one game by replicating the experience happening in the game,” Charlie Scibetta, senior director of corporate communications at Nintendo, in an interview with GamesBeat. “It’s an open-air adventure. You can feel one with nature. You can hear the sound of wind in the booth. We have fans. We have real grass. Everything is to scale. We wanted to go big with Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.”

Guests attending E3 were met with high walls depicting images and characters from The Legend of Zelda, but could not see inside the booth, itself. Those lucky enough to make it through the long lines were treated to either a 15-minute gameplay demo or entry into the massive booth for photo ops. In this way, Nintendo catered to both the dedicated and the curious to explore their interactive play area.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is scheduled for launch in 2017 exclusively for the Nintendo Wii U and NX.

 

‘Mafia III’ Transports E3 2016 To 1960s New Orleans

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When EA announced that it would not appear at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year, choosing instead to host its own EA Play event (which took place earlier this week), many wondered who would step up to fill in the void. The answer turned out to be 2K Games, which came in ready to promote its big hit for the holiday 2016 season: Mafia III.

Taking place in the 1960s, Mafia III puts players in the shoes of Lincoln Clay, a vengeful man who finds himself fighting a war against the Italian Mob after they wipe out his entire crew during an ambush. But the tale of revenge isn’t a simple one, as Clay vows to wipe them out financially first with the help of rival mob bosses.

The trailer provides a better idea of how closely the team at Hangar 13 is working to recapture the era of the ’60s in the game, including an authentic soundtrack with selections from Credence Clearwater Revival and other artists. But 2K didn’t stop there. The publisher went all out to recreate the city of New Bordeaux (loosely based on New Orleans) on the E3 show floor, complete with buildings and a variety of activities for attendees. These include catching beads thrown from second-floor balconies; getting their fortunes read by tarot card readers; and listening to a live band with a lot of ’60s influence.

2K also had a roaming New Orleans funeral making its way through the halls, with a big bang to back them up throughout. Additionally, Mafia III was promoted outside of the show floor with a food truck serving authentic New Orleans cuisine, including jambalaya and alligator tenders.

It’s a step above for 2K’s usual marketing. Mafia II was well promoted when it released in 2010, but it didn’t get the kind extravaganza its sequel is getting at E3. 2K had no problem making its booth take front and center in the South Hall on the show floor, and it befits the publisher that has put out hit franchises such as NBA 2K, Borderlands and Grand Theft Auto.

In fact, the booth gained huge buzz on social media as well, with a couple of examples below:

https://twitter.com/remscobell/status/743287204764606464

https://twitter.com/Bagelbeard/status/743237313388548096

Although the publisher’s other games–WWE 2K17 and NBA 2K17–got little promotion compared to Mafia III, there’s no question that 2K has made a huge impression at E3 this year, which could resonate to the fall when Mafia III releases on October 7 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.

VR Gets A Big Push At E3

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Virtual reality is one of the bigger themes going into this year’s E3 event, with thousands of products being showcased between the likes of Oculus, Sony and other third-party publishers. With that, a number of companies hit the ground running before the show even started, with each of the big four publishers involved promising some sort of VR-related product to come out within the next year.

Let’s cover each of the events, indicating what each company has in mind:

Microsoft

Although Microsoft didn’t show off any new games for its HoloLens technology (or any other related VR demos for that matter), it did promise that its next forthcoming hardware, Project Scorpio, would in fact be virtual reality-compatible right from the start, as well as ready for 4K-based visual performance. The company didn’t give a specific release date, but it’s expected around holiday 2017, and is not expected to get in the way of the current performance of the Xbox One hardware.

Ubisoft

Ubisoft made one of its upcoming VR games a highlight during its E3 panel, with the debut of multiplayer gameplay for its free-soaring game Eagle Flight. In it, birds can actually “shoot down” other birds using sonar attacks, while chasing after specific objectives on a map. Using free-range flight, players can use any given number of routes to get to these objectives, then proceed to win the match as planned. The game is set for release later this year.

Bethesda 

Although Bethesda is slowly but surely making its way into the world of virtual reality, it’s doing so with all the right licenses on board. During its showcase on Sunday night, it enabled players to take part with demos based on franchises like Doom and Fallout 4, utilizing VR tech. Fallout is currently slated for a 2017 release, and other franchises, like Doom and Skyrim, could easily follow suit.

Sony 

Finally, Sony had a lot on its plate with PlayStation VR, devoting a good chunk of its Monday night press conference to the technology. Set to release this October for $399, a number of PlayStation VR games are getting a great deal of attention, including specific demos based on the Star Wars: Battlefront, Final Fantasy 15 and Batman: Arkham franchises, as well as original titles, like Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which will be completely compatible with both PlayStation VR and traditional controls when it releases this January.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWnLKZuBz3s

The company noted that over 50 games are slated to release during the launch of the headset, with many more in development for arrival over the course of the next year.

So, as you can see, VR is playing a tremendous part in the show, even before it opens. Imagine how much influence the tech will have once next year’s presentations start rolling around.

CD Projekt Red Is Playing Its ‘Gwent’ Cards Just Right

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Sometimes, a mini-game grows so high in popularity that it takes on a life of its own. That’s what’s happening with Gwent, a collectible card game that was featured in the highly acclaimed fantasy role-playing game, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. CD Projekt Red, the development company behind The Witcher franchise, confirmed on Monday morning during Microsoft’s pre-E3 press conference that Gwent: The Witcher Card Game would become a standalone game coming to Xbox One and PC.

The collectible card game was initially a mini-game included in The Witcher 3, but its deep tactical gameplay and its fun collectibles made into a fan favorite experience of its own. The developer decided to expand upon these themes by making Gwent a fully accessible title, complete with a single-player campaign filled with challenges and opponents, as well as cross-platform multiplayer so friends can play with one another regardless if they on a PC or Xbox One.

The news of Gwent’s standalone arrival has been received well by fans, and there have already been thousands of sign-ups for the game’s official beta, with the final beta set to kick off in September. A release date hasn’t been given yet, but the game is expected to launch during this holiday season.

Gwent comes along at just the right time, and provides a unique marketing opportunity for the team at CD Projekt Red. After all, Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft has proven to be a very popular spin-off for Blizzard, and it continues to be a massive draw for players. Activision’s Skylanders: Battlecast has also been well-received since its launch last month, with more add-ons expected in the months ahead.

But Gwent is its own beast, with fans across social media eager to get their hands on a “full” card-playing experience, even if that means breaking away from The Witcher 3 for a while.

One tweet pointed out how the developer went as far as to make a real-life Gwent table for its presentation at E3.

Other tweets expressing excitement over the separate release of Gwent can be found below:

There’s currently no word on whether Gwent will release for mobile devices, but given its potential, it shouldn’t be ruled out.

ESports Games Are Shaking Up E3 2016

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The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) is the place where top video game trends are showcased, and there’s no bigger buzz in gaming right now than eSports. Considering how eSports viewers take in a tremendous amount of content, with revenues expected to reach $463 million this year, it’s no surprise that companies are including eSports features in their top competitive games.

Here are a few examples of how some companies are catering to the eSports crowd at this year’s E3:

Quake Champions

Following the recent success of Doom, id Software and Bethesda wasted no time in modernizing another classic franchise with Quake Champions, which was revealed during the publisher’s pre-E3 showcase Sunday night. Right off the bat, id Software creative director, Tim Willits, confirmed that Quake was being built from the ground up with eSports potential in mind.

Its multiplayer components are largely focused on competitive play, and there are already a number of players who have proven just how accessible the game is, judging from the hands-on portion of the company’s event following the showcase. Bethesda will provide more information about the game, and news on a potential beta, in just a couple of months during its fan-oriented QuakeCon event. This includes details on the support it intends to provide for both eSports leagues and tournaments down the road.

Quake Champions doesn’t have a release date yet, but more information will be revealed over the next few months.

Injustice 2

Mortal Kombat X is highly regarded in the eSports realm, and developer Netherrealm Studios is planning to repeat that success with, Injustice 2—a fighting game that features DC Comics characters expected to release next year.

The superhero-laden brawler, which iconic characters like Superman, Batman and The Flash, will be built with eSports in mind, so players can compete on a tournament based level and utilize their skills to become better with particular characters.

Injustice 2 will release next year for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Electronic Arts

Electronic Arts revealed its master plan for eSports going forward, for both its mainstream sports titles and shooters like Battlefield 1 and Titanfall 2. The company revealed a new structure with a trio of forthcoming event types for each of these games, including Challenger events, Premier events and EA Major events.

“EA is no stranger to the power of elite competition,” said the company’s chief competition officer Peter Moore during the company’s press conference on Sunday. “But the spectacle of eSports barely scratches the surface of competition. It’s a select few that become pro gamers, that’s why EA is embracing a new approach to competitive gaming, we want to make stars of all of our players.”

Community members will be able to host and run their own tournaments, and partners will also have the opportunity to partake in large-scale live events as well, although Moore didn’t detail any sort of schedule as of yet regarding how that would be set up. He did note, though, that there would be room for “partners from inside and outside of the gaming world.”

The company also debuted the first bout from this set-up with the Madden Championship Series, which took place during EA Play over the course of earlier this week and it turned out to be a very big draw through Twitch streaming. Although specific details as to what EA has planned next haven’t been given yet, we can expect Titanfall 2 and Battlefield 1 to appeal toward pro gamers when they release this fall.

Call of Duty

Although Activision doesn’t have a booth on the E3 show floor this year, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare is certainly making its presence felt, with a huge banner adorning the building outside the LA Convention Center. Furthermore, its recent gameplay trailer, showcased during Sony’s pre-E3 press conference Monday night, stirred up plenty of buzz.

Activision already has ambitious eSports plans in motion with its Call of Duty: World League, which has been in full swing since earlier this year. The championship round will take place during the company’s recently announced Call of Duty XP event, and more details on Infinite Warfare’s multiplayer are expected at that time as well.

It’s very likely that Activision will continue pushing forward with its Call of Duty-oriented eSports events, even with the slightly negative response given to its initial Infinite Warfare trailer. World League has gotten over quite well with its community, and Infinite Warfare has some promising features that should make multiplayer interesting from hereon in.

We’ll know just what Activision is up to in a few months’ time, when XP takes place. For now, Infinite Warfare is certainly picking up speed at E3, even without Activision’s presence.

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[a]listdaily Weekly: E3 Tech, Millennial Madness And Carousel Ads

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This week on [a]listdaily weekly, virtual reality takes over E3, Millennials want to take it personal, beware the horrors of ad fraud and wheeeee! Carousel ads.

Whoo Whoo! All aboard the hype train! Yes, E3 is a thrill and a treat for all who come to this expo of marketing expos. And if you don’t already have tickets, don’t worry—you can always come on down and press your face against the cold, hard glass outside. It’s totally sold out. This year, mobile games stepped aside as brands toted fancy new games with virtual and augmented reality. For the first time, E3 Live offers a limited amount of non-industry ticket holders to witness the event from home, which you can . . . oh yeah. That sold out, too. 

Boom. American venture capitalist, Mary Meeker, just dropped her internet trends report and Since millennials value self-expression and diversity, and they make up 27 percent of the U.S. population, brands must shift in order to reach these consumers where they are. Meeker notes that 48 percent of millennials prefer to be contacted via the internet or social media. Which basically means brands can stop using the Yellow Pages, smoke signals, and carrier pigeons. On the other hand, Gen X still prefers telephone or electronic messaging as their primary choice of communication.

GASP! Ad fraud is big business. According to a report from Forensiq, 34 percent of the mobile inventory overall—which includes banners, interstitial, and video ads—is at risk of fraud. That may sound grim, but for the sake of perspective, it could be worse. Millions of venom-spitting reptilian overlords who cannot be killed could theoretically land on Earth and destroy us, but they haven’t, so there’s that.

Whee! Carousel ads seem to be the new display ads—only better—because they’re in-stream and engageable, gettin’ all . . . swipe-y and stuff. Swipe left, swipe right . . . It’s like Tinder, but nobody tries to kiss you.

How ‘Pokémon GO’ Is Taking On The Real World Gaming

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On the second morning of the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Nintendo’s Treehouse livestream gathered together key developers involved with Pokémon GO—an upcoming augmented reality mobile game that lets players explore real world locations to find, battle and capture Pokémon. The panel of speakers included Tsunekazu Ishihara, president and CEO of The Pokémon Company; Junichi Masuda, composer, designer, producer and programmer at Game Freak; Tatsuo Nomura, Niantic’s senior product manager; and Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo.

Four companies partnered together to make Pokémon GO a reality, and the game is currently undergoing real world field testing in Japan, US, New Zealand and Australia. Ishihara stated that he was very excited about the enthusiastic support for the game, evidenced by how many people signed up for field testing. Not bad for a game that got its start in 2013 as an April Fools’ Day joke done in collaboration with Google, called The Pokémon Challenge.

Nomura was one of the key people behind the April Fools’ Day project. He was a part of the Google Maps team in 2013, and now he’s at Niantic working on the real thing. He met with Ishihara and Niantic’s CEO John Hanke after The Pokémon Challenge was shown, and they all agreed that this was a great opportunity to bring Pokémon into the real world using the augmented reality technology used in games such as Ingress. Nomura went on to state that, with the current field testing, there are currently tens of thousands of players trying the game now, averaging about “30 pokéball throws per second.”

The game uses real world maps and location data on your phone to catch Pokémon. Players will have to explore the world and go to key locations to find specific kinds of Pokémon. For example, water Pokémon are found by the shore or bodies of water, while grass Pokémon are hidden among tall grass. Google mapping technology is being used to spread the Pokémon out, so players will have to explore past their local neighborhoods to find them all.

Ishihara noted that, because it’s the 20th anniversary of Pokémon, the testers will predominantly find the original types of Pokémon from the 1996 Red and Blue games. Featuring the original Pokémon has both a nostalgic appeal for longtime fans and sense of newness for more recent ones. More Pokémon will be added in the future.

Pokemon Go capture

Masuda did a live demonstration of capturing a Pokémon in front of an audience. Users will be able to control the spin and throw strength of the pokéball in an effort to pull off a successful capture. Additionally, throws must be timed according to a circular on-screen meter.

Of course, the developers don’t necessarily players staring at their phones while walking around. Nomura stated that Niantic wants players to take in the world around them, and not just stare at a screen. Helping to make the experience more convenient is a peripheral called Pokémon GO Plus, which Miyamoto wore a on his jacket lapel. It ties in with Pokémon GO and looks like a teardrop shaped pokéball pin that can also be placed on a wrist band. The device connects to smartphones via Bluetooth and essentially allows people to play Pokémon GO without having to look at their smartphones. The device will flash a green light and vibrate when there’s a Pokémon nearby. Capturing the Pokémon is a matter of pressing the button, which will flash a rainbow color if successful and red if not. Ishihara believes that the Pokémon GO Plus will become a must-have device when playing the game.

Then came the big question from fans: when will Pokémon GO finally come out of testing? Miyamoto surprised the everyone by responding, announcing that it will launch for both iOS and Android devices at the end of July, but did not give a specific day. However, the Pokémon GO Plus accessory—which will retail for $34.99—will not be ready at launch. Eventually, there may be connectivity between Pokémon GO and the upcoming Sun and Moon games for 3DS, and major events for fans to participate in.

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