For more than 25 years, developer Game Freak has found a way to reinvent the Pokémon franchise for each new generation of gamers. Both brand-new Pokémon trainers and seasoned Pokémon masters are captivated by these cute (and sometimes scary) little monsters. Maybe it’s the drive to catch ’em all that keeps players coming back. Or … Read more
Japan’s once-mighty Yakuza, notorious figures in organised crime, has seemingly fallen on hard times. Tokyo police recently arrested a high-ranking member of the Takinogawa gang, part of the country’s second-largest yakuza syndicate, the Sumiyoshi-kai. His crime? Stealing Pokémon cards. Yakuza, the Japanese equivalent of gangsters or mafiosos, was once a powerful force in organized crime. … Read more
A popular video game developed by a Japanese studio has set off an unexpected cloud-computing race between Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding, as the two Chinese tech giants rush to draw players to their respective servers. Palworld, an open-world survival game developed by Pocketpair that lets players catch and raise creatures known as Pals … Read more
Pocketpair We have our first hit video game of 2024, and it’s a shocker. The eccentric Palworld, an early access game available now on PC and Xbox Game Pass, is smashing Steam records as developer Pocketpair sells millions of copies. That’s thanks in large part thanks to its bizarre elevator pitch, which is succinctly described … Read more
Netflix’s recent Pokémon Concierge anime demonstrates the varied appeal of the long-running franchise. The first game came out almost 28 years ago, with the animated series hitting the airwaves the following year. Most media in the franchise focuses on watching or guiding the iconic creatures as they fight. We all love seeing Pikachu launch lightning at Venusaur, but sometimes, we’d … Read more
