After a reexamination ordered by the US Patent and Trade Office director John A. Squires last November, the USPTO has revoked a patent granted to Nintendo for a game mechanic involving “summoning a character and letting it fighter another.” In a patent I described as “incredibly vague,” it seems the…
Initially announced on January 31st, 2020, Niantic announced it would begin testing new types of events during February 2020 – Pokémon Spotlight Hour and Mystery Bonus Hour. After testing and user feedback, Niantic combined both events into one and announced what Pokémon and bonuses would be featured in advance. The…
Nintendo’s popular yet short-lived social networking mobile app, Miitomo, launched in the US 10 years ago today on March 31st, 2016. Notable for being Nintendo’s first-ever mobile game, Miitomo is widely considered an unofficial spinoff of Nintendo’s Tomodachi franchise. It took plenty of inspiration from the quirky social sim series,…
A new report from GameBiz, translated by Automaton, has confirmed that the Saudi Arabian investment firm Electronic Gaming Development Company has acquired a 5.03% stake in Capcom recently. In a report given to the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, the EGDC stated the reason for its recent acquisition of stock was…
Raid Hour (also referred to as Legendary Raid Hour) started as an experiment in March 2019. Initially called Legendary Lunch Hour, Niantic set aside one hour on Wednesdays for Trainers to find 5-Star (Legendary) Raids easier by increasing the appearance rates. After further testing, Raid Hour was renamed and rescheduled…
Pokémon GO’s Season of Memories in Motion is focused on celebrating the game’s 10th anniversary (or, at least leading up to the big day, as the season shall end a month before the game’s actual anniversary). One of this season’s features is Daily Discoveries, where different events and/or perks will…
During the Pokémon GO’s Season of Max Out (Tuesday, September 3rd, 2024 to Tuesday, December 3rd, 2024), Dynamax and Gigantamax Pokémon were added to the game. This mechanic is part of Pokémon’s Generation VIII (Pokémon Sword and Shield) where Pokémon transform into “giant” versions of themselves or even new larger…
Starting in January 2018, Community Day is a monthly event in Pokémon GO that shines the spotlight on a particular Pokémon. For one day each month, a specific Pokémon will have its spawn rate increased during a block of hours. Also, the Shiny appearance rate for the starring Pokémon will…
Hideki Kamiya, director of the original Resident Evil 2, has said he wishes the latest game in the series had a mode that toned down its scares. Clovers Inc., Kamiya’s game studio, posted a clip on X of the team enjoying Requiem. “I’ve been saying for forever they should make…
This year’s Game Developers Choice Awards 2026 has presented us all with quite the lineup of winners, many of which will come as no surprise. Not only have they graced multiple consoles, but the buzz surrounding them (including here at Nintendo Wire) has been present since well before their releases….
In a new interview published by Game Informer today, Donkey Kong Bananza producer, Kenta Motokura, and programmer, Tatsuya Kurihara, were asked a series of questions about the creation of Bananza following a panel at GDC this year. While the entire discussion is filled with a lot of interesting tidbits about…
On the official Japanese website for Pokémon Pokopia, developer Game Freak has issued a statement indicating it is aware of a number of bugs currently plaguing the game. While a patch isn’t available just yet, there are a handful of improvements planned for the immediate future with some other ones…
On social media last night, publisher Square Enix announced that new sales milestones have been reached for both the Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default series. Proving that traditional JRPGs are hardly dead, Octopath Traveler has moved over 7 million copies between its three games. Available across all platforms, the series…
Raid Battles made the jump from Pokémon’s Generation VIII (Sword and Shield) to Generation IX (Scarlet and Violet). While similar, the big difference this time around is the Terastal phenomenon, where Pokémon’s type can change to one of the 18 different types available in-game. Not to mention, Pokémon will receive…
As a fan of old point-and-click adventure titles, it often feels as if designers have completely moved on from that interconnected puzzle box style of game making. There’s still Cyan Worlds making Myst-like adventures, not to mention remaking Myst a hundred times, but I can count the number of similar…
