A demo version of Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon, Nintendo’s upcoming monster-battling role-playing games, unintentionally revealed dozens of new creatures, forms, and evolutions ahead of the planned November launch of the two games — and data miners are quickly spreading word of their discoveries.
Upon disassembling the demo versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon, hackers discovered that the games’ data contained 3D models and images featuring dozens of previously unannounced Pokémon characters, including the final evolved forms of the games’ starter Pokémon. Be warned: This article and the video linked above contain spoilers for the upcoming retail versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon.
Launching worldwide next month, Pokémon Sun and Moon are the latest entries in Nintendo’s long-running monster-collecting RPG series. Pokémon Sun and Moon shift the franchise to a tropical setting, and introduces an array of regional Pokémon variants alongside critters never before seen in previous Pokémon games.
Pokémon Sun and Moon‘s alternate “Alolan” forms of returning Pokémon have garnered a great degree of discussion among fans in recent months. Data miners have discovered that 3D models of many Alolan creatures are hidden within the new demo, including reimagined versions of first-generation Pokémon like Diglett, Dugtrio, Persian, and the Geodude family.
Fans may be disappointed to find that Nintendo has limited plans for its Alolan creature subset, however. Based on data mined so far, it seems unlikely that the final versions of Pokémon Sun and Moon will feature Alolan variants of Pokémon creatures from generations beyond the series’ initial Game Boy releases.
The demo additionally outed the existence of eight ultra beasts, which feature designs that contrast sharply with existing Pokémon creatures. Currently, it’s unknown what role ultra beasts will have in Pokémon Sun and Moon‘s storyline.
Pokémon Sun and Moon will launch at retail, as well as digitally via the Nintendo 3DS eShop, on November 18.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.