Author: Trafficblast

Pokemon Go December Events Include New Gen 5 Pokemon, Team Rocket Special Research, And More

Pokemon Go‘s big December Community Day takes place this weekend, but that isn’t the only event on the horizon for the hit mobile game. Niantic has now outlined a handful of other events that are happening this month, and they include a new Special Research quest, a special Raid weekend, and more.

First, Niantic is rolling out new Team Rocket-focused Special Research questline called A Challenging Development. This questline will be available until the end of December and will give players another chance to confront Team Rocket leader Giovanni. If you can defeat him this month, you’ll be able to rescue Shadow Zapdos.

On top of that, you’ll have a chance to hatch different kinds of Pokemon from eggs this month beginning Monday, December 16. The following day, the Gen 5 Legendary Virizion will make its debut in the game. You’ll be able to encounter the Legendary Pokemon in five-star Raids until January 7.

Virizion isn’t the only Legendary Pokemon you’ll have a chance to catch this month. Ho-oh and Lugia will also return for a special Raid weekend. From December 20-23, you’ll be able to encounter the two Legendary Pokemon again in five-star Raids.

Finally, Niantic is closing out the month with Pokemon Go’s annual holiday event, which runs from December 24 to January 1. During that time, you’ll be able to encounter Pichu, Pikachu, Raichu, and Stantler wearing holiday outfits in the wild and Raids. Ice-type Pokemon like Sneasel, Delibird, and the debuting Cubchoo will also appear more frequently in the wild. You’ll also have a chance to catch another new Gen 5 Pokemon, Cryogonal, when you use Glacial Lures during the event, and shiny versions of Snover and holiday Stantler will be available as well.

On top of that, Niantic is offering different bonuses each day of Pokemon Go’s holiday 2019 event. You can read more details on the official Pokemon Go website.

In the meantime, Pokemon Go’s December Community Day takes place this weekend. Unlike typical Community Days, this month’s event takes place on two days–December 14 and 15–and brings back all of the featured Pokemon from previous Community Days. You can read more in our Pokemon Go December Community Day guide.

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Netflix Reveals How Many People Have Watched The Irishman

Netflix has announced how many people have watched Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. The streaming network said on Twitter that some 26.4 million accounts globally viewed the very long movie within its first seven days. Anyone who watches 70 percent of a movie is counted as viewer.

Netflix programming boss Ted Sarandos said during a speaking event this week that he expects The Irishman to climb to 40 million views over its first 28 days, according to Variety. The movie came to Netflix on November 27 following a limited run in theatres.

By Netflix’s latest count, the streamer has 60.6 million paying subscribers in the US and 158.3 million worldwide.

Sarandos said the viewership achievement for The Irishman is especially notable because the movie is so long–it clocks in at around 3.5 hours. “People still choose a relationship with a film… They sit down to watch a three-and-a-half-hour movie,” he said.

Sarandos added that people are praising Netflix for funding The Irishman, which reportedly had a $175 million budget, but he doesn’t see the movie as much of a risk. “Betting that Martin Scorsese is going to make a great mob movie with Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and Al Pacino doesn’t seem like a long shot,” he said.

Netflix does not release viewership numbers for all of its shows, so comparisons are difficult. The company did, however, previously share that the Sandra Bullock movie Bird Box was seen by 45 million accounts globally in its first week and 80 million over its first four weeks.

GameSpot’s review of The Irishman scored it a 9/10. “It feels like a career summation, a mature and dignified work that could only be made by an older filmmaker able to look back on his life and his work. And while Frank Sheeran is left as an old man filled only with shame and regret, Scorsese proves that his powers as a filmmaker remain at full strength,” reviewer Dan Auty said.

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Win A Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Xbox One Bundle*

If you’ve been waiting to get a chance to play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, now is a great opportunity to do so. In Fallen Order, you’ll play as Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis as he trains to become a full-fledged Jedi to restore the ancient order.

If you’ve been waiting to get a chance to play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, now is a great opportunity to do so. In Fallen Order, you’ll play as Jedi Padawan Cal Kestis as he trains to become a full-fledged Jedi to restore the ancient order.

In this giveaway, two lucky readers will take home not only an Xbox One digital copy of Respawn Entertainment’s Star Wars game, but also a console, an Xbox wireless controller, and a one month trial of Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Live Gold. Additionally, both Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order bundles give you one month of EA Access.

Here’s what you can win in this giveaway:

To enter this giveaway, read the official rules, accept the terms and conditions and then fill out the form below. You can also follow us on social media to increase your chances of scoring a bundle.

If you don’t see this form in your mobile device please click here.

On December 30, we will sort through the entries and reach out to the two winners of the bundles. So be sure to keep an eye out for an email from CBS Interactive at the end of this year.

What’s the first Star Wars game you remember playing? Head down to the comments section and let us know the name of the game and what system it was on.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Patch Makes A Welcome Lightsaber Change

A new update for Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is coming on December 11. In addition to a new Photo Mode, the update makes a small but welcome change to how your lightsaber can look. The change involves understanding a certain plot point, so be aware this post contains some spoilers down below.

Mild spoilers for Jedi Fallen Order follow below.

After completing a certain amount of the story, you’re required to equip a switch given to you by Cere to your lightsaber following a story event. This throws off the symmetry when you’re using a double-bladed lightsaber, and players have complained about this for a while.

With the new update, players can simply remove the switch from the lightsaber customization menu. It’s a small but welcome change that gives players more control of how they look.

The December 11 patch also improves the stability of Fallen Order by reducing the number of crash scenarios that players could encounter. The update also fixes collision issues in the caves and temple on Zeffo, so Cal shouldn’t get stuck in the geometry as often. There waa also an issue with the game that could cause Cal to fall out of the world on Kashyyyk, and this has been fixed.

You can see the full patch notes below, as posted by developer Respawn on Reddit.

Jedi Fallen Order December 11 Patch Notes

New Features

  • A Photo Mode has been added and can be accessed from within the game by pressing L3 and R3 at the same time.

  • Implemented a toggle that will allow you to remove a specific part of Cal’s lightsaber from within the customization menu.

Bug Fixes

  • We’ve made a pass of the game in an effort to reduce the number of crashes you should encounter. The end result of this is now a more stable game.

  • Fixed collision issues across several planets in the game

    • Collision within the caves and temple on Zeffo have been improved, reducing clipping issues and lowering the possibility of Cal becoming stuck.

    • Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause Cal to become stuck in a floating state below the train on Bracca.

    • We identified a few areas on Kashyyyk where Cal could fall out of the world, this will no longer happen.

    • We’ve fixed some collision on Dathomir, preventing Cal from falling through the ground.

    • Collision on Illum has also been improved, making sure that Cal doesn’t become stuck.

    • During a fight with the Second Sister, it was possible for her to get stuck in a door. She has been freed.

    • Bogano has had its collision improved, preventing Cal from becoming stuck on world geometry.

    • In some rare cases, Cal was floating while on Kashyyyk. He has since been grounded.

  • BD-1’s ability to slice panels was sometimes not working as intended, preventing you from progressing. This has been fixed and should no longer occur.

  • A mural scan on Bogano wasn’t working properly, this should now be fixed.

  • The train on Bracca could get stuck in a state where grates would fall off too early, preventing progress. We’ve fixed this so that Cal can continue climbing.

  • On rare occasions Bounty Hunters would stop hunting Cal, we’ve now re-enabled their trackers, so be careful.

  • For some players, BD-1 had gotten left behind on Bogano, preventing further progression. This should now be fixed.

  • The chest count on some planets was not working as intended, this has been fixed.

  • On rare occasions Greeze would refuse to open the ship doors and expose Cal to the sunlight on Dathomir. We’ve fixed this so that the story can continue.

  • Fixed an issue that prevented Holomap areas and gates from not working properly on Dathomir, Kashyyyk and Bogano.

  • An issue would sometimes occur that would cause the Holomap tutorial on Bogano to remain on-screen. This has been resolved and it should no longer occur.

  • An elevator on Zeffo could lead to Cal getting stuck in an infinite loop, our maintenance crews have fixed this particular elevator.

  • A dropship on Zeffo wasn’t showing up as intended, preventing the player from progressing further. We’ve ensured all landing zones are clear for arrival and this should no longer occur.

  • PC players were having issues selecting difficulty with the mouse, this should now be resolved.

  • We’ve fixed an issue where Cal could avoid enemies on Zeffo, to the extent that gameplay events wouldn’t trigger, halting progression to the story.

  • On rare occasions cinematics on Dathomir get stuck in an error state, preventing progress. This has been fixed.

  • Fixed an issue that would cause world loading issues on Kashyyyk for players with double jump. We’ve optimised the level to ensure loading completes properly.

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Netflix Says 26 Million People Watched Scorsese’s The Irishman

Update: According to a report from Variety, Netflix says that The Irishman was watched by 26 million people in its first week. Netflix CCO Ted Sarandos says those viewers reached “at least 70% completion” of the 209-minute movie.

Netflix also told Variety that it expects that viewer count to reach 40 million within its first 28 days of availability, with the same 70% completion. Neither Variety nor any other third party has been able to independently verify Netflix’s numbers. The Irishman was released on November 27 on Netflix following a theatrical run.

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Star Trek Returns to Animation: Exclusive First Look

Star Trek has not ventured into the world of animation since the original Animated Series, which ran from 1973-1974 and featured the voices of William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and most of the original show’s cast as they revived their characters for new adventures aboard the USS Enterprise. In the years since, there has been talk here or there about new animated ventures for the franchise, but that talk never really went anywhere. Until now…

Debuting this week as part of CBS All Access’ latest round of Short Treks are two animated shorts, “The Girl Who Made the Stars” and “Ephraim and Dot.” The latter was directed by Academy Award-winning composer Michael Giacchino, who has scored all three modern Trek movies. Both segments debut on the streamer on Thursday, December 12, and we’ve got some exclusive images from the shorts. Check them out in the gallery below:

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