Month: November 2020

After a 20-year legal dispute, magician and spoon-bending illusionist Uri Geller has given Nintendo permission to once again use Kadabra on Pokemon cards. The self-proclaimed psychic’s dispute with Nintendo began in 2000 when he sued the company, alleging that his name and signature spoon-bending act had been stolen and used in the creation of a Pokemon that vilified him.

“I want to tell the world before the start of the holiday season that I have nothing whatsoever to do with these violent characters,” Geller said in November 2000. Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokemon character. Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image.”

As Screen Rant noted, Geller may have had a super effective case at the time as Kadabra’s Japanese name–which can be written as Yungerer, Yungeller, and Yun Geller–had a passing resemblance to his own name. Kadabra is also a Psychic-type Pokemon that is always seen clutching a spoon in every form of media that it appears in, possibly indicating at more references to the magician.

Two decades later, Geller has changed his mind and now appears to be a big fan of Kadabra. “I am truly sorry for what I did 20 years ago,” Geller tweeted.

Why the change of heart? Geller explained to The Gamer that Pokemon fans had continually messaged him and asked him to once again give Nintendo — which jointly owns The Pokemon Company alongside GameFreak and Creatures–permission to use Kadabra in the Pokemon card game after 17 years. While Kadabra hasn’t received a new card since 2003, its pre and post-evolutionary forms Abra and Alakazam have continued to appear in the game.

Geller said that his request was “picked up by two Nintendo representatives” although it’s not known yet if Kadabra will return to the card game now that it has the magician’s blessing to do so.

One amateur game developer has decided to give two of the most notoriously terrible Legend of Zelda games a second chance, remaking Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon for a new audience, as reported by Eurogamer.

Originally developed by Animation Magic and released on the CD-i console in 1993, Faces of Evil and Wand of Gamelon are considered to be the worst Legend of Zelda games in the entire series thanks to the frustrating gameplay and unintentionally terrifying animated cutscenes which eventually became bizarre memes.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could make a game,” the remake’s developer Dopply said in an FAQ. “It started as a joke between friends, but then I wanted to see if I could actually pull it off. I’ve flirted with game making for a while but never finished something. This was my chance to do that (well, over the course of four years, I guess). Over time, remastered versions of these notorious titles was something I wanted for myself as well.”

Dopply’s remakes now feature a widescreen mode, remastered gameplay to make the experience less aggravating, subtitles, upgraded sprites, and unlockables. Why would anyone want to spend hundreds of hours over four years remaking two of the worst video games of all time? Out of genuine love for the games and the few design aspects that they actually got right, such as the detailed worlds that players could explore and the excellent soundtracks.

“If you give them non-horrific control schemes and decent performance, they’re fine. As a connoisseur of bad and weird games, I’ve most definitely played worse,” Dopply said.

Nintendo is usually quick to respond when it finds out about any fan remakes of its games, sending out cease and desist letters to protect its intellectual property. The Big House, known for its Smash Bros. tournaments, found this out the hard way when an online tournament for GameCube classic Super Smash Bros. Melee was hit with a legal letter from Nintendo of America over the organizers plan to use the homebrew “Slippi” mod to enable an internet connection for the GameCube-exclusive title.

Dopply might also receive a cease and desist letter from Nintendo if it decides to acknowledge any ownership over the two Legend of Zelda games that aren’t considered to be part of the official series.

It’s GameStops turn to get the spotlight, and they’re shining this Black Friday thanks to their crazy Pre-Owned deals. The first is on games, where you can buy four games prices $14.99 or less for only $30 total. That’s only $7.50 per game, and considering almost all Xbox One and PS4 games fall in the sale bracket, it’s tough to beat. The next deal is on controllers, and is much simpler. Pre-Owned Xbox One and PS4 controllers are $30. That’s a steal, specially for PC gamers who might want a new controller for their gaming machine.

GameStop Pre-Owned Black Friday Deals

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After nearly 20 years, illusionist and magician Uri Geller has given Nintendo permission to once again use Kadabra on Pokemon cards.

Geller, who is perhaps most well-known for his ability to bend spoons with his mind, sued Nintendo in 2000 and asked that Kadabra no longer be allowed to be put on Pokemon cards due to the similarity of Kadabra’s spoon and Japanese name to himself.

In Japan, Kadabra is written in certain variations that include Yungerer and Yungeller, which are both similar sounding to Geller.

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Now, almost 20 years after Kadabra’s last appearance on a Pokemon card in 2003, he has changed his mind.

“I am truly sorry for what I did 20 years ago,” Geller wrote on Twitter. “Kids and grownups I am releasing the ban. It’s now all up to #Nintendo to bring my #kadabra #pokemon card back. It will probably be one of the rarest cards now! Much energy and love to all!”

Speaking to TheGamer, Geller expanded on his decision, saying that “due to the tremendous volume of emails I am still getting begging me to allow Nintendo to bring back Kadabra/Yungeller, I sent […] a letter to the chairman of Nintendo giving them permission to relaunch the Uri Geller Kadabra/Yungeller worldwide.”

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Geller also said that his letter was received by “two Nintendo representatives,” so now it appears to be in Nintendo’s hands to bring back Kadabra to the Pokemon Trading Card Game.

Considering Kadabra evolves from Abra and to Alakazam, working around the lack of this Pokemon was tricky. In the past, The Pokemon Trading Card Game has given Abra the ability to skip Kadabra and evolve right into Alakazam and has offered a premium Alakazam card that needs no prior evolutions.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Over the past few days, rumors have circulated around the gaming industry that Marvel’s Avengers sold well below Square Enix’s expectations, which led to a disappointing financial quarter for the publisher. Now, an official transcript of a Square Enix investor briefing confirms that the game underperformed, which resulted in the publisher’s HD Games division posting an overall loss.

“The HD Games sub-segment posted an operating loss as initial sales of Marvel’s Avengers were lower than we had expected and unable to completely offset the amortization of the game’s development costs,” a portion of the briefing reads. “In the second half of the fiscal year, we hope to make up for slow initial sales by offering ample additional content to grow our sales.”

In a Q&A, one investor estimated the operating loss of the HD Games division in Q2 of this year as around 7 billion yen, which is roughly $67 million. The company attributed the game’s slow sales in part to marketing delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. When asked about the volatility of the HD Games division, Square Enix replied that it considers the totality of its Digital Entertainment segment rather than the HD Games division in isolation by using stable income from MMOs and mobile games to offset potential losses of big-budget games like Avengers.

Marvel’s Avengers will soon receive new DLC that will add Kate Bishop to the game, with Clint Barton coming in 2021. Perhaps that will spur some sales that will help Square Enix offset the game’s development costs. A recent update to the game added an AI ping system to make guiding your companions easier. A full next-gen upgrade for Marvel’s Avengers is coming next year for free as well.

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Microsoft Flight Simulator will get VR support on December 22, 2020, and a substantial UK World Update will be ready on January 26, 2021.

Revealed during an official Microsoft Flight Simulator developer Q&A on Twitch, VR will be added in the free Sim Update 2 for all the big VR headsets, including those from Oculus and Valve. Furthermore, the VR experience will include both the gameplay and menus, offering a smooth and immersive experience throughout.

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World Update 3, on the other hand, will create a more accurate rendition of the UK using new data and aerial images for England, Scotland, and Wales. There will also be 50-60 new points of interest, including new landmarks and procedural buildings, and improvements to certain existing airports like Land’s End, Liverpool EGGP and Manchester Baron. There will be new challenges and a new flight as well.

Improvements to the Northern Ireland region is part of Asobo’s plan, but it may not be ready for World Update 3.

The UK World Update follows similar ones for Japan and the U.S., and will further improve the already impressive map of the world that players can fly around. Additionally, Asobo said it will be returning to the U.S. in future world updates, and will improve Hawaii, Alaska, and others.

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In our Microsoft Flight Simulator review, in which we gave it a 10/10, we said that it “is legitimately incredible. It’s difficult to fully describe how amazing it feels to jump into a plane and have the freedom to fly to and from literally any place in the entire world. The base game’s 20 included aircraft feel like more than enough for even hardcore aviation enthusiasts, and the ability to adjust the assists to tailor the experience to whatever skill level you desire makes it suitable for anyone looking to fly the friendly skies from the comfort of their home.”

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Tons of Black Friday sales have come to an end, but with Cyber Monday just around the corner, other deals are already cropping up.

Right now you can knock $70 off the price of the 44mm Apple Watch Series 5 on Amazon. While this was more heavily discounted as part of the Black Friday sale, $70 is still a respectable discount, so jump in now if you’ve been meaning to get a new smartwatch that works seamlessly with other Apple products.

For more savings, check out our Black Friday and Cyber Monday Deals mega-post, which gathers the best discounts from the biggest retailers across the internet.

Apple Watch Series 5 Early Cyber Monday Deal

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Brian Barnett writes wiki guides, deals posts, features, and much more for IGN. You can get your fix of Brian’s antics on Twitter (@Ribnax).