The Pokemon Company dropped a new trailer for Pokemon Sword and Shield earlier this week. Along with revealing new rival characters, the video gave us our first look at a brand-new Pokemon named Obstagoon, which immediately drew comparisons to Kiss singer Gene Simmons. Now the rockstar has shared his thoughts on the monster.

In a statement to Newsweek, Simmons said he was flattered by the new Pokemon. “Pokemon has been a part of our household for decades, ever since our kids first discovered them,” Simmons said. “And to see Pokemon pay homage to Kiss, is flattering.”

Obstagoon

Obstagoon is a new, region-exclusive evolution of Galarian Linoone. The entire Galarian Zigzagoon line has drawn comparisons to Kiss due to their black and white fur and star patterns around their eyes, which resembles the makeup the band wears while performing.

Zigzagoon and Linoone aren’t the only Pokemon receiving Galarian forms in Sword and Shield; The Pokemon Company also revealed the amazing Galarian Weezing, which has smokestacks that resemble top hats and mustache-like gas clouds around its faces. We also got a glimpse at a new hamster-like Pokemon named Morpeko, which can change between “full belly” and “hangry” forms.

Pokemon Sword and Shield launch for Nintendo Switch on November 15. You can check out all the new Gen 8 Pokemon revealed so far in our gallery. For more on the titles, be sure to read our Pokemon Sword and Shield release date and pre-order guide.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/kiss-singer-reacts-to-new-pokemon-lookalike/1100-6468996/

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, the latest FromSoftware game, has sold 3.8 million units as of June 2019, just over three months on the market. The worldwide figure is sell-in, not sell-through, so that figure is numbers sold to retailers. Still, it’s a big number for Activision, which published the game.

Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad noted the figure on Twitter, and noted for comparison that the Dark Souls series as a whole has shipped 25 million copies as of June. Most of those sales came after the release of Dark Souls 3, which both sold well for itself and boosted the brand as the older games released PC versions.

Sekiro had a strong debut, hitting the second-best selling game of March in the US NPDs despite only being out for about a week. It maintained steady sales afterwards, appearing in both the April and May charts.

Sekiro is a spiritual successor to From’s other games, with a similarly tough timing-based battle system. GameSpot’s Sekiro eview praised its exhilarating combat and intricate environments.

“The orchestration of intense one-on-one boss encounters that truly test your mettle, and slower-paced stealth sections that let you take on battles at your own pace, is masterful,” Tamoor Hussain wrote. “More so than in previous games, From Software has honed in on the inherent tension found in the challenging nature of its games, and uses it to incredible effect. Sekiro marries the developer’s unique brand of gameplay with stealth action to deliver an experience that is as challenging as it is gratifying.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/sekiro-shadows-die-twice-sales-reach-almost-4-mill/1100-6468995/

Following a pair of mass shootings in the United States, the public eye has turned toward violent video games as a possible contributor. Seemingly in response, the retail giant Walmart has reportedly begun removing signage promoting violent video games from its stores.

Vice reports that a company memo titled “Immediate Action: Remove Signing and Displays Referencing Violence” was distributed to Walmart stores. The notice tells store managers to find any displays that “contain violent images or aggressive behavior” and remove them from the sales floor. It specifically mentions demos of violent games on PlayStation or Xbox, “combat style or third-person shooter games,” violent movies, and hunting videos in the sporting goods section. The policy does not appear to restrict the sale of violent games or other media, just their promotion.

Walmart is an especially symbolic location for this to take place. One of the two mass shootings from the weekend, in El Paso, Texas, took place inside a Walmart store. Plus, as critics have pointed out, Walmart itself sells actual guns in its stores, and despite pressure from gun control activists, the company has announced no change in its policy.

Following the two tragedies in El Paso on August 3 and Dayton, Ohio on August 4, President Donald Trump gave a brief address in which he suggested, in part, that violent video games contribute to a culture of violence.

“We must stop the glorification of violence in our society,” Trump said. “This includes the gruesome and grisly video games that are now commonplace. It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence. We must stop or substantially reduce this, and it has to begin immediately.”

One of the shooters did reportedly reference the Call of Duty series in his manifesto, which largely centered on targeting Latinx people. Critics say the president and others are attempting to shift the conversation toward video games and away from gun control, which has had renewed calls from across the political spectrum following the shootings.

In response to the president’s statement, the ESA told GameSpot, “Numerous scientific studies have established that there is no causal connection between video games and violence. More than 165 million Americans enjoy video games, and billions of people play video games worldwide. Yet other societies, where video games are played as avidly, do not contend with the tragic levels of violence that occur in the US.”

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/walmart-reportedly-removing-violent-video-game-sig/1100-6468992/