Lego’s New Pokemon Sets Battle Each Other, and the Loser Actually Faints

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Toys, Video Games,

Leave one of Lego's new Pokemon alone on your desk for long enough and it falls asleep. Snoring included.

That detail tells you most of what's different about the Lego Pokemon Smart Play line, which goes on sale August 1 with sets running from $15 up to $120. Lego's Smart Brick tech showed up earlier this year in a Star Wars collection, and that line was fun in a specific way: you built a scene and acted it out, more director than participant. The Pokemon version does something else entirely. It borrows from the video games.

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How Xbox Destroyed Game Pass - The Best Deal in Gaming (Video)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Video Games, Videos,

Microsoft spent more than $80 billion buying video game studios, and the Xbox division now runs at roughly a 3% profit margin. Park that money in a high yield savings account and you would have done better. That is the punchline everybody reaches for, and the conclusion they draw from it is that Game Pass was the mistake. I think they have it backwards.

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The People Making Xbox Games Reportedly Hate Game Pass

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Editorial, Microsoft, Video Games,

Xbox Game Pass has always had one obvious pitch: pay a monthly fee, and a giant library of games, including brand-new ones on day one, is just there. For players, that is close to a miracle. For the people who actually make those games, it may be closer to a slow-motion disaster.

According to a new report, that tension is not a rumor floating around the internet anymore. It is coming from inside the house. Xbox studio leadership reportedly detests Game Pass, and the reason is deceptively simple: they think it is teaching an entire generation of players that a $70 game should feel free.

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Bethesda Just Dropped Big News on Fallout, Elder Scrolls 6, and Starfield All at Once

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Corporate News, Microsoft, Video Games,

For years, getting Bethesda to say anything concrete about its games has felt like pulling teeth. Today the studio opened up all at once, with a sprawling note about the future of Fallout, Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls, and there is genuinely a lot in here worth caring about.

Start with the headline that will get Fallout fans out of their chairs: Obsidian, the studio behind the beloved Fallout: New Vegas, is officially returning to the series with its own spin-off game!

That isn't the only Fallout news, either. Bethesda confirmed Fallout 5 is now in pre-production, and that full remakes of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas are on the way, though nobody is putting dates on any of it yet.

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Asha Sharma’s XBOX Reset is Devastating (Video)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Video Games, Videos,

Eight days. That's how long it took Xbox to go from holding what I thought was its best showcase in a decade to shutting down a studio it had just used to headline it. Microsoft announced a brand new Hellblade on that stage, and barely a week later Ninja Theory, the team behind Senua, was told it's over. You don't do that unless something in the foundation is cracking.

Here's the number behind the chaos: Microsoft has poured more than $20 billion into Xbox over the last five years, and annual revenue still dropped by nearly half a billion dollars. Satya Nadella said the quiet part out loud when he described the operation as "subsidizing entertainment." He also pointed out that there's more monetization of Xbox games happening on YouTube than at Microsoft. Sit with that: creators earn more from Xbox games than Xbox does. That's a structural problem, not a rough quarter.

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Asha Sharma Just Hit Reset on Xbox (Video)

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Microsoft, Video Games, Videos,

Microsoft spent $69 billion buying Activision Blizzard, but Xbox still found itself in one of the strangest positions in gaming. Hardware revenue was falling, the brand identity was getting blurrier, and longtime fans were starting to wonder whether Microsoft even wanted to be in the console business anymore.

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Holiday Top Tech with Best Buy: Nintendo Switch!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Toys, Video Games,

Best Buy has looked through all the recent hardware gadget releases, and the company has put together it's Holiday Top Tech list for 2017, which will be rolling out soon. While we wait for the full list to drop, Best Buy has tasked me with revealing one of the hot items that you'll find on the list - the Nintendo Switch!

If you've somehow missed the phenomenon that is the Nintendo Switch, it's the first console in history that is both a complete home console with high-definition graphics while simultaneously being a completely portable console that allows you to play your game library on the go. The Nintendo Switch launched back on March 3rd, and since then, it's been difficult to find in stock both online and in stores up until about a month ago.

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Unboxing Live 189: Destiny The Taken King Legendary Edition PS4

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Video Games, Videocasts,

This is a look at the Destiny The Taken King legendary edition, which comes with the limited edition white PS4 which has a bunch of Destiny artwork all over it. The Limited Edition bundle includes a 500GB PlayStation 4, a white DualShock 4 controller, a physical copy of Destiny: The Taken King Collector's Edition, and a bunch of Destiny goodies as well.

You can get the Destiny The Taken King legendary edition now.

Don't forget to subscribe to Gear Live's YouTube channel--also, we are giving away awesome perks for our Patreon backers - thanks for your support!

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Unboxing Live 186: Wolf Link Amiibo + Zelda Twilight Princess HD

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Features, Video Games, Videocasts,

Nintendo sent me an early copy of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD bundle, which includes the exclusive Wolf Link amiibo. In this episode, I open up the Twilight Princess bundle, and give you an up-close look at the unique Wolf Link amiibo figure. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD is a Wii U remake of the Nintendo GameCube and Wii game, Twilight Princess. It's the second remaster of a Zelda title on the Wii U, following The Wind Waker HD.

Twilight Princess HD features reworked graphics with primarily new textures, giving the game a cleaner look and feel. The original had just a 480p resolution on both the GameCube and Wii, Twilight Princess HD instead has a 1080p resolution, resulting in additional clarity, especially for faraway objects and precise aiming. Most textures in the game are touched up with added details, with notable examples including Link's hair, Zant's armor, and several background textures.

You can get the Twilight Princess Wolf Link bundle now.

Don't forget to subscribe to Gear Live's YouTube channel--also, we are giving away awesome perks for our Patreon backers - thanks for your support!

Click to continue reading Unboxing Live 186: Wolf Link Amiibo + Zelda Twilight Princess HD

2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Xbox One Gears of War bundle

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Home Entertainment, Microsoft, Video Games, Kids, Techies, Teens, Under $500,

Microsoft has a bunch of solid deals on Xbox One bundles this year, and we think the Gears of War bundle provides the most value for the dollar making it our pick in our 2015 Holiday Gift Guide. Buying an Xbox One also nets you access to the large back catalogue of Xbox 360 backwards compatible games as well, making it an even better upgrade for Xbox 360 owners.

The bundle includes an Xbox One with 500GB storage, full-game digital download of Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, newly updated Xbox One black wireless controller with a 3.5mm headset jack so you can plug in any compatible headset, 14-day trial of Xbox Live Gold, AC Power Cable, and an HDMI Cable. You also get access to the Xbox 360 Gears of War collection if you play the game before the end of the year!

Oh, and if you wanna splurge on this one, skip the Gears of War bundle and go for the Xbox One Elite bundle instead.

You can pick up the Xbox One Gears of War bundle now. 

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