Author: Trafficblast

Every Pokemon card collector will know that the rarest cards can fetch a small fortune, and sometimes they even get lost in the mail. But what’s unusual about the latest card to have the community abuzz is that it is from a set barely two weeks old, and yet has already fetched a sum of over $10,000 on eBay.

Hidden Fates is the latest expansion in the Pokemon Trading Card Game, but this one is special. The main set is relatively small at just 68 cards, compared to the couple of hundred we’d see in most other expansions. However, Hidden Fates has a ‘Shiny Vault,’ a 94 card subset of Shiny Pokemon which is sending collectors into a frenzy. Hidden Fates isn’t sold like other Pokemon cards, either, as you won’t find single booster packs on sale in your local gaming store. Instead the set is being released in a number of boxed products, such as the Mewtwo and Mew Pin Collection packs, and the upcoming Elite Trainer Box featuring legendary bird trio Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno as a special Tag Team card.

The holy grail of Hidden Fates is Charizard-GX, a reprint from Sun & Moon Burning Shadows, but this time Charizard is shiny, in black and red instead of its usual orange. It’s the most sought-after card in the set by a long way, and the average copy is going for upwards of $400. But that’s not the limit on how much this card can sell for. An eBay seller has not only pulled a Shiny Charizard from a Hidden Fates pack, but they have had the card assessed by professional grading company Beckett, who returned the card with the legendary ‘black label’, meaning the card is pristine.

Bidding ended at a whopping $10,100, which isn’t the most a Pokemon card has sold for, but considering this set has just come out it’s a pretty crazy figure. Hidden Fates is already hard to find in the wild, with collectors buying dozens of boxes at a time, which has only increased the hype for the set amongst fans. There are more Hidden Fates products on the way, so you’re still in with a chance to pull that Shiny Charizard for yourself, but if you’re one of the lucky few to have caught the fiery lizard, you could be sitting on a small fortune.

We recently spoke to legendary Pokemon card artist Mitsuhiro Arita—whose art features in Hidden Fates—about the inspiration and hidden stories behind each card. And if you’d like to know more about how Pokemon cards are made, we had the chance to take a firsthand look at Creatures, Inc in Tokyo, Japan.

Pokemon hype will only continue to grow over the coming weeks, as the next installments in the video game series, Pokemon Sword & Shield, arrive on Nintendo Switch later this year. Be sure to keep an eye on GameSpot.com for all the biggest Pokemon news.

European video game age-rating organisation, PEGI, has responded to complaints filed by some after watching the NBA 2K20 MyTeam trailer released last week. The video is largely focused on the various mini-games players have access to as a means of winning in-game rewards, featuring standard casino games such as slot machines and prize wheels. NBA 2K20 is rated E for Everyone in the US and PEGI-3 in Europe.

The fact it can be legally bought by children led Reddit user Anime-NoireChan to e-mail PEGI directly. They shared the board’s reply, which Eurogamer has since verified.

The full PEGI statement says, “We have seen the announcement trailer of NBA 2K20 and noticed the controversy it has caused. We feel it is important to carefully explain when certain content is triggering the gambling descriptor in the PEGI system, but also to show when it does not at this moment.

“A video game gets the gambling content descriptor if it contains moving images that encourage and/or teach the use of games of chance that are played/carried out as a traditional means of gambling.

“We use a help text to clarify this in more detail: This refers to types of betting or gambling for money that is normally played/carried out in casinos, gambling halls, racetracks. This does not cover games where betting or gambling is simply part of the general storyline. The game must actually teach the player how to gamble or bet and/or encourage the player to want to gamble or bet for money in real life.

“For example, this will include games that teach the player how to play card games that are usually played for money or how to play the odds in horse racing.

“It is important to stress that the controversial imagery played a central role in the trailer, but it may not necessarily do so in the game, which has not yet been released.

“At this point in time, PEGI can only comment on the trailer that has been made publicly available.

“The trailer includes imagery that is generally known from casinos (wheel of fortune, slot machines). Using this sort of mechanic to select an item, or character, or action by chance is not the same as teaching how to gamble for money in a casino. These differences currently prevent us from applying the gambling descriptor. But we are very aware that it may get too close for comfort for some people, and that is part of an internal discussion that PEGI is having for the moment. The games industry is evolving constantly (and rapidly in recent years). As a rating organisation, we need to ensure that these developments are reflected in our classification criteria. We do not base our decisions on the content of a single trailer, but we will properly assess how the rating system (and the video games industry in general) should address these concerns.”

Although PEGI isn’t applying the gambling rating to NBA 2K20 just yet, the statement suggests it may do so after seeing the final game. If it does apply the descriptor, NBA 2K20 would lose its PEGI-3 rating in Europe. It would be interesting to see if the ESRB follows suit in the US.

NBA 2K20 launches on September 6 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. Check out our NBA 2K20 pre-order guide for all the info on pre-order bonuses and what’s included in the Digital Deluxe and Legend editions. You can also download a free demo for NBA 2K20 right now.

Rey’s switchblade saber is just the latest in a long line of strange lightsaber designs. Here’s a look at the most memorable blades in Star Wars history.

Don’t expect “Let It Go 2.0” when Frozen 2 hits theaters later in 2019. Star Idina Menzel describes the new songs in the upcoming sequel to be “apples and oranges” when compared with the 2013 film.

“The music is exquisite. I’m really proud of it. I really think that it tells beautiful stories and develops the story in an extraordinary way,” she told IGN at D23 Expo 2019. “It’s not about the comparison. It’s really apples and oranges. I love the music in the movie, that I sing and that I don’t sing, and I think it will really resonate with people.”

The D23 panel debuted a new song for Elsa (Menzel), which sees her grappling with whether or not to pursue a mysterious singing voice that is calling out to her. The lyrics include lines like: “Are you here to distract me so I make a big mistake? Or are you someone out there who’s a little bit like me, who knows deep down I’m not where I’m meant to be? Every day’s a little harder as I feel my power grow. Don’t you know there’s a part of me that longs to go into the unknown?”

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Dungeons & Dragon’s newest adventure, Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, is just a few weeks away. We here at IGN have been eager to explore more of Faerun’s most dangerous city – and, of course, the infernal planes it leads to – since it was first revealed a D&D Live 2019.

We invited Dungeons & Dragons Game Designer Kate Welch and D&D artist Tyler Jacobson (who did the cover art for Avernus) to show myself, Casey DeFreitas and Brandin Tyrrel what it takes to survive a trip to Avernus. Kate leads us on a quest from Baldur’s Gate and into the top level of the Nine Hells – though whether we make it back or not remains to be seen!

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Future DLC for Remedy Entertainment’s Control may have been inadvertently revealed after a YouTuber used the game’s debug tool on PC to discover a hidden mission reference.

Discovered by YouTuber ManFightDragon and first reported by PC Gamer, the evidence seems to be a mission name that’s absent from the main game, but possibly focuses on a side character.

For those unfamiliar, a debug tool allows a developer to test various parts of a game before release. Oftentimes, to save time or money, a developer might just put an unused asset somewhere the player can’t find it. ManFightDragon managed to use Control’s debug tool to find a possible reference to DLC, which you can see at the 5:20 mark in their YouTube video.

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Labor Day is upon us, and while you are relaxing today, why not browse some of the absolute best Labor Day sales we could find on the internet. Below is a list of just that: the absolute best deals that we could find, that we thought you’d be interested in. As always with special offers and holiday deals, make sure to act fast as stock tends to run out quickly.

Preorder Final Fantasy VII Remake for $49.95 ($10 off) at Amazon

The reunion is nearly upon us, but if you want to save some money before it gets here, you can preorder your copy of FF7 for $10 off right now, over at Amazon.

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Between all the broadcast, cable, and streaming networks, there’s more TV than ever before, and with several new streaming platforms launching in the next few months alone, you’ll soon have hundreds of new and returning shows competing for your attention (not to mention your subscription dollars) between now and December.

That’s why, all September long, IGN is once again spotlighting some of the best upcoming TV series of the new season with a TV-centric IGN First, featuring exclusive trailer debuts, image reveals, episode sneak peeks, and interviews with your favorite stars and creators. We’ll have an exclusive preview of a new or returning show almost every day, and while we can’t fit in every show we love (there are only so many days in the month, after all), we think the shows we’ve selected will be worth your valuable time and attention when they premiere in the coming months.

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