Top Story
Fans call Pokémon Sword & Shield Expansion Pass DLC exploitation
Many Pokémon fans were outraged when Game Freak revealed that Pokémon Sword & Shield would not include the entire Pokédex, and now they are fuming about the upcoming expansions too.
Game Freak added a bunch of new Pokémon native to the Galar region but claimed that including the entire Pokédex was ‘too difficult’ and that they had to trim it down. They also said they would not be adding the entire Pokédex to Sword & Shield.
Isle of Armor and Crown Tundra are coming in 2020
Now they are adding hundreds of old-school pokémon, which has led fans to speculate that Game Freak trimmed the Pokédex so they could sell the missing pokémon as DLC. Fans enraged by the realities of business decided to grill Game Freak co-founder and head of development Junichi Masuda on Twitter.
His response: “It’s a public holiday today and it’s my birthday, can you let me relax?” Truly villainous. The expansion passes for Sword & Shield – which are exclusive to each version – cost $29.99 and will add two new regions, new stories, new Pokémon and hundreds of old fan favorites.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
Which of these titles did NOT launch alongside the PlayStation 2 in the US?
- Orphen: Scion of Sorcery
- Street Fighter EX 3
- Fantavision
- FIFA 2001
The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today’s issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.
News Bits
Legends of Runeterra Beta opens soon
Riot Games has pulled a switcheroonie on us, and the Legends of Runeterra beta will be open rather than closed and start on January 24th. If you were invited to the beta you can start one day earlier, and you can still get in if you register right now – Riot will even throw in an exclusive guardian! The open beta is exclusively for PC, but the full game will launch later this year for both PC and mobile.
Mario & Luigi trademark filed in Argentina sparking fresh RPG rumours
Could Mario and Luigi be heading out on new adventures soon? Not impossible, judging by a trademark Nintendo recently filed in Argentina. Developer AlphaDream was closed in October last year, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Nintendo has given up on the series. The latest entry was Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey, which was released for Nintendo 3DS in 2018.
Daily Fact
The never-ending crusade against virtual dongs cost LEGO a tidy sum
What’s the first thing you think about when you hear LEGO? Is it, by any chance, giant multicolored phalluses? Developer NetDevil certainly had to deal with a lot of knobbly bits after launching the LEGO Universe MMO in October 2010. The family-friendly game was quickly buried under an avalanche of plastic peckers that forced the studio to go on a literal rod-blocking crusade.
The wiener invasion was of such girth that it positively engorged the developer’s moderation costs, forcing them to review and approve every single piece of user generated content. They eventually managed to partially automate the search for blocky bits, but the poor schmucks in charge of schlong hunting remained the most expensive part of the whole operation.
The game eventually lost the war of attrition against the never-ending deluge of trouser snakes, and LEGO Universe was shut down in January 2012 due to poor profitability. The wieners had won.
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