Vote: What Are the Best Pokemon That Aren’t In Sword & Shield?

Last week, we launched a FaceOff pitting every Pokemon not in Sword and Shield which haven’t been confirmed for the expansion pass coming later this year, against each other. We asked you, “Which Pokemon do you want most in Sword and Shield?” After many, many one-on-one, randomized matches between 392 Pokemon, we have your most (and least) wanted Pokemon for Sword and Shield ranked below.

In short, everyone loves Dragon-type Pokemon, Starters from all generations, and a few strong, iconic Pokemon primarily from Gen 1.

Conversely, people wouldn’t care to see many fish, bugs, and rodent Pokemon every again. Who woulda’ thought?

See the top 10 most wanted Pokemon (and 10 least wanted Pokemon) below! At the very bottom of this article, check out the full list of 392 ranked by you.

Are the results surprising to you? Let us know in the comments below.

The 10 Most Wanted Pokemon

While the FaceOff pitted individual Pokemon against Pokemon, we decided to group the Top 10 by evolutionary lines to give you a broader look at the favorites, because many of the same evolutionary lines made it so high up the ladder. For an unadulterated Top 25 Most Wanted Pokemon list, click through the slide show.

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10. Blaziken (and Torchic and Combusken)
From adorable bird to firey badass, it’s no surprise to see this starter evolutionary line from Gen 3 kicks off this top 10 list.

9. Salamence (and Bagon and Shelgon)
There’s nothing more inspiring than seeing this rock-headed creature finally grow wings. Salamence is an incredibly powerful Dragon-type Pokemon that saw a lot of favoritism in competitive Pokemon during its prime.

8. Sceptile (and Treecko and Grovyle)
Treecko will glare at any foe that dares to glare at it, according to its Alpha Sapphire/Omega Ruby Pokedex entry. So it makes sense that it didn’t back down during these FaceOffs.

7. Swampert (and Mudkip and Marshtomp)
This line of spikey-cheeked mudfish was voted the favorite starter evolutionary line of Gen 3. It seems people still like Mudkips.

6. Feraligatr (and Totodile and Croconaw)
Feraligatr is the final evolution of a beloved Gen 2 starter. It doesn’t deviate much when it comes to design, but what you get makes sense, looks great, and maintains that signature huge jaw.

5. Aerodactyl
One of two Gen 1 Fossil Pokemon in the top 25, Aerodactyl boasts an 85% win rate.

4. Scyther (and Scizor)
Undeniably the most popular Bug-type Pokemon, Scyther and its evolution, Scizor, were both ranked in the top ten.

3. Typhlosion (and Cyndaquil and Quilava)
This evolutionary line basically just gets bigger and more fiery, what’s not to love? It’s also the most liked second generation starter, while Meganium got completely, dare I say, burned – only reaching number 37 in the ranking.

2. Alakazam (and Abra and Kadabra)
Some would say these Pokemon just get more spoons and they’d be correct.

1. Dragonite (and Dragonair and Dratini)
Dragons are the best. Is there really anything more to say here?

The 10 Least-Wanted Pokemon

You love to hate them. Below are the 10 least wanted Pokemon not currently in Sword and Shield. For the full Least 25 Most Wanted Pokemon list, click through the slide show.

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10. Gulpin
While there may be something charming about the simplicity of its design (green little blob), the fact that it’s entire body is basically its stomach just doesn’t sit right.

9. Volbeat (and Illumise)
Introduced in Gen 3, Volbeat and Illumise are weird humanoid looking Bug-type Pokemon that can light up, and performed equally poorly.

8. Kricketot
Kricketot looks kind of like Volbeat, but less fashionable, thus its lower win-rate.

7. Patrat (and Watchog)
These Gen 5 equivalents to Rattata are just as useless, but also less popular. Just imagine how disturbing it would be to have one as a partner because it would always be watching.

6. Comfey
It’s a Lei. It’s more creepy than comfey and it’s categorized as a posy picker because, according to its Ultra Moon Dex entry, it picks flowers and sticks them to its body with fluids it produces. Gross and not very welcoming.

5. Foongus
It’s head has a Poke Ball pattern which makes it look like it broke out in a fandom based infection or, worse, like a Poke Ball became its own form.

4. Wormadam (and Burmy)
Take one look at a naked Burmy and you’ll see why this Bug-type Pokemon is so unpopular. Mothim, Burmy’s male evolution, didn’t fare too well either, but its 49% win rate is downright impressive when compared to its pre-evolution and female counterpart, Wormadam.

3. Alomomola
Though inspired by the ridiculous yet beloved Mola Mola fish, Alomomola is just not ridiculous enough to raise its popularity.

2. Bruxish
Though its Dazzling ability made it seem useful, it turns out not all that glitters is viable. This is a just another dumb fish, but this one has creepy teeth.

1. Luvdisc
No love for Luvdisc. It’s a fish, it’s a heart, it just wants to be loved. But apparently that was too much to ask.

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For more information on how we (or you, rather) chose the winners and losers above, check out an explanation on FaceOffs.

What Is a FaceOff?

As the name suggests, in a FaceOff we’ll have one pokemon face off against another and it will be up to you to choose the winner. In this case, you’re looking at two Pokemon and picking which one you’d prefer to be in the Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion.

It’s possible to see the same Pokemon multiple times, especially if you keep clicking through the FaceOff. There are over 390 Pokemon here that get randomly paired up each time you pick a winner.

How do I know when I’ve clicked through everything?

There isn’t a surefire way to know that you’ve seen all the Pokemon included because they are matched up randomly. And, because there are so many combinations. Maybe you want to play until you get to choose Cyndaquil or maybe you just want Sandygast and Palossand to lose every time you see them. Keep clicking through pairs until you feel like you’ve adequately fought for your favorite Mons. We’ll let math take care of the rest.

Which Pokemon have you included?

The Pokemon you see in this FaceOff are based on a process of elimination.

We’ve included all the Pokemon that are not included in the Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield base games or already confirmed/hinted at for the Pokemon Sword and Shield Expansion Pass. Please note that in instances where we’ve already seen a Pokemon that has an evolutionary line we’ve excluded the other Pokemon in said line. This means that Bulbasaur and Ivysaur are not in this FaceOff because we’ve already seen images of Gigantamax Venasaur.

How is this tracked?

Every time you select a winner from a pair we get that information as a “point” in favor of that Pokemon. When we’re done tracking this information the Pokemon with the most points will be ranked from most to least, leaving us with a tidy list of Most Wanted Pokemon.

This means you can keep clicking through for as long as you want, giving your favorite Pokemon a better chance of winning. And you can return to this FaceOff as many times as you want, while it remains live.

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For more on Pokemon Sword and Shield, be sure to check out our wiki guide. There, you can find everything you need to know about both Expansions including a working list of the Pokemon being added to Sword and Shield, all the legendaries, how to get Galarian Slowpoke, and much more.

New Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie Images

With the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog movie expected to rake in over $40 million in its upcoming Presidents’ Day Weekend debut, we’ve got a couple dozen images to share with you from the film.

Here you’ll see Sonic racing to save the world while Dr. Robotnik schemes to steal his speed powers. You’ll also see Sonic team with James Marsden’s Sheriff, Tom, and Tom’s wife, Maddie while, separately, Robotnik berates Neal McDonough’s Major Bennington. Check it out!

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Sonic the Hedgehog: The Movie stars James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Neal McDonough, Adam Pally, and Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik.

Ben Schwartz voices the CGI Sonic, which was redesigned by the filmmakers last year after fans reacted negatively to the way the character looked in the initial teaser trailer. The film was then delayed from its original November 8 release date, to February 14, 2020.

Meanwhile, in the Japanese trailer for the film, fans caught a glimpse of Baby Sonic sprinting through the Green Hill Zone! While adorable though, Baby Sonic didn’t catch fire like Baby Yoda did. Maybe once the movie comes out…

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Final Fantasy 7: How to Stop Square Enix From Canceling Your Pre-Order

If you pre-ordered Final Fantasy 7 Remake or the collector’s edition directly from Square Enix, you’ll need to reconfirm your order or else Square Enix will cancel it.

Square Enix announced the news in a statement on its official Facebook page. The company said that because of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake delay, it has instituted a new policy that requires customers who pre-ordered Final Fantasy 7 Remake directly from Square Enix to confirm their orders.

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“Due to the release change to April 10th, you must opt-in by February 28 for your order to not be cancelled,” Square Enix writes. “To confirm your order please check for an email from Square Enix on this topic, and then click the link in the email to be taken to a web page to opt-in.”

If you previously pre-ordered any version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake from the Square Enix Store, you’ll have until the end of February to keep your order. Otherwise, Square Enix will automatically cancel your order and the company says it “will not be able to reinstate your pre-order based on limited quantities available.”

Orders from other retailers should be unaffected.

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Anyone who pre-ordered a version of Final Fantasy 7 Remake from the Square Enix store should search their inboxes from an email and follow the instructions to keep their pre-orders. While this is inconvenient, there shouldn’t be any problems so long as you opt-in.

Final Fantasy 7 Remake was delayed from March 3 to April 10, 2020. It was one of two delays Square Enix announced, the other being Marvel’s Avengers which was pushed back to September 4.

While the delays are unfortunate, both games will still be released this year. Check out IGN’s full list of the biggest games of 2020 as well as our Final Fantasy 7 Remake preview for more coverage.

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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

Fortnite Streamer Uses Winnings to Pay Off Mom’s College Debt

The mother of a pro Fortnite streamer received a “late Christmas present” recently, in a touching moment of charity and familial love in the video game space, according to The Loadout via PCGamesN.

Aydan Conrad, who sports a follower count of 1.4 million people on Twitch, called his mother during a recent stream to inform her that he had paid off her student loans using the profit from his streaming career.

Before he revealed his deed, Conrad’s mother replied in typical motherly fashion, saying she didn’t need anything.

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“I don’t need anything, Aydan – you’ve done enough for me,” Conrad’s mother says, spurring him to smile on-stream.

“Well, it’s too late, mom,” Conrad replied. “All your school loans are already paid for.”

Conrad’s mother seems to pause before responding: ““No they’re not. You can’t… you can’t… It’s not a federal loan. I don’t think you can touch that.”

Conrad respons that he’s already talked to someone named Lina (who presumably was able to make the payment happen), to which his mother can only respond with “what?!” and bursts into tears.

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After a few moments, Conrad tells his mother that he was able to make the payment because of his followers on Twitch and his Fortnite career.

“It’s not me, it’s all the people that are watching my stream right now, they made it possible,” he tells her.

“Awww, I love them,” his mom says. “Everybody hit !sub and !prime.”

If you want to watch the moment in action, here’s two clips from Ayden Conrad’s stream.

According to The Loadout, Conrad’s Fortnite career has net him about $160,000 in prizes. Numbers aren’t available for how much Conrad earns from his streaming, but with 1.4 million followers, it can’t be chump change either.

Daily Deals: Last of Us 2 Collector’s Edition Preorder, The Legend of Zelda Manga, RTX 2080 Ti and More

Today’s spotlight deals are two coveted Collector’s Edition bundles that came back in stock: Cyberpunk 2077 and The Last of Us Part 2. Score some great deals on Harry Potter fully illustrated hardcover books, the lowest price we’ve seen on an ASUS STRIX RTX 2080 Ti video card, and a new crazy good deal on a Google Pixel 3a smartphone.

Back in Stock: Last of Us Part II Collector’s Edition

lastofus2ceLast of Us Part 2 is the other huge release for 2020 and the Collector’s Edition is back in stock for a limited time at Gamestop. The Collector’s Edition includes a steelbook case, 48-page mini artbook by Dark Horse, and some DLC. The Collector’s Edition includes the game with steelbook case, a 12″ Ellie statue, Ellie’s bracelet, lithograph art print and thank you ltter, stickers, pins, 48-page mini artbook by Dark Horse, DLC, and more.

Harry Potter The Illustrated Edition Hardcover Books 1-3 for $45.28 Total on Amazon

There’s currently a buy 2 get 1 free promotion on select books at Amazon and these three Harry Potter books qualify. That averages out to about $15 per book (normally around $22 per book). These are the coveted hardcover editions will full-color illustrations.

The Legend of Zelda Manga Box Set for $42

zelda

Do you need some extra Zelda in your life? This 10-piece epic is just the thing for you. Take a look at The Legend of Zelda in a new light thanks to this manga collection.

Get the Seagate Firecuda SSHD 2TB for $59.99

firecuda

The Firecuda is one of the best SSHD you will find. Bridging the gap between a slow HDD and a fast SSD, this is the perfect device for the game hoarder who wants to have dozens of installed games, without ever deleting them.

Google Pixel 3a or 3a XL Smartphone with Bonus $100 Amazon Gift Card From $349

Take $50 off the original price of the Pixel 3a and get a bonus $100 Amazon gift card. Since the Amazon gift card is as good as cash, you’re basically getting this phone for only $249. The price is worth it for the camera alone; the camera image quality easily outclasses any other phone in its price range and actually stacks up very well against the flagship phones from Apple and Samsung. In fact, it’s about as good as the Google Pixel 4, which costs 3x the price. Of course the other specs aren’t shabby at all, and since it’s a Google phone it is always one the first phones to take advantage of the latest Android updates.

ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2080 TI for $999.99

The RTX 2080 Ti is the fast video card out there and probably the only one that can consistently drive games at 60fps or more at 4K resolution. The ASUS STRIX brand of video cards are widely regarded as the cream of the crop because the beefy cooling system allows the card to run cool and very quiet despite the factory overclock. This is the first time we’ve seen this card go for under $1K.

Grab a Razer DeathAdder at Best Buy for $25

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One of the most well regarded gaming mice on the market is now at a dirt cheap price. If you need an upgrade, or a replacement, this is the deal for you.

Philips Norelco Nose Hair Trimmer 3000 for $6.99

No one likes unsightly nose hairs. You know where they’ve been, you know what they’ve touched, and you know that although they are a vital part of your personal air filtration system, you don’t want them sticking out of your nose. This nose hair trimmer does a bang up job of preventing those nose hairs from overstepping their territory. It was never that expensive at $11, but today it just went down to $7.

$15 Off Apple AirPods Pro, Now $234.98

The price of the AirPods Pro is back down to what we saw on Black Friday. These are truly wireless AirPods with built-in active noise cancellation and despite that that they actually have longer play time on a single charge than the vanilla AirPods. Other features include three sets of silicone tips for customized fit, a sweat and water resistant outer shell, and a wireless charging case that can provide an additional 24 hours of battery life.

Newest Apple AirPods 2 Wireless Earphones for $129

It’s a bitter fight to the end to get Apple to drop prices on their very popular Apple Airpods. Today, the AirPods have dropped 20% off down to $129, which is the lowest price that we saw on Black Friday. These are truly wireless earphones with no cord connecting the two ear pieces. It also includes a charging case.

Nintendo Switch Lite for $179.99

This is the best and only deal for the Switch Lite right now. Compared to the Nintendo Switch, you’ll save $100 in cold, hard-earned cash and have access to the same library. You lose out on a couple of things, like the ability to dock, detachable controls, a slightly smaller screen, HD rumble, and the little IR camera that most people never use.

Oculus Quest VR Headset with Vader Immortal for $399 (Compatible with Half-Life: Alyx)

Oculus Quest will support Half-Life: Alyx, however you’ll need an Oculus Link cable to connect it to a PC. Many generic USB Type C Gen 1 or Gen 2 cables will work like this $18 cable right here. The Oculus Quest has been one of the hottest selling gaming peripherals over the holidays and it’s sold out practically everywhere. Although you can get it from Oculus directly, it ships out at in March. Amazon is the only vendor with an earlier ship date. For a limited time, purchase an Oculus Quest and you’ll get all three episodes of the Vader Immortal VR game.

There are many reasons why the Quest is the best VR headset to get right now. It’s completely untethered with no external sensors to set up, it’s powerful enough to play games like Beat Saber (the best VR game of 2019), Vader Immortal, and Pistol Whip, and it’s far less expensive than all the other newer generation VR headsets that have been released. The Oculus Link software which allows you to connect the Quest to a PC using a Type C cable and use it like a regular VR headset powered by your gaming PC.

More Deals From Today:

  • Eneloop Rechargeable AA Batteries 16-Pack for $29.87 with Amazon Subscribe & Save
  • $10 Off Family Meal at Panda Express (use code “SCOREBIG“)
  • Oculus Lunar New Year Sale at the Oculus Store
  • Steam Lunar New Year Sale at Steam
  • Various Samsung QLED TVs on Amazon
  • AmazonBasics Sports and Fitness Gear on Amazon
  • Bose QuietComfort 3 II Noise Cancelling Headphones $220 at Google (use code “EFIKVQ“)
  • Insignia Xbox One X Charging Station (2 Batteries Included) for $9.99 at Best Buy
  • EVOO Gaming 15″ Core i7 GTX 1660 Ti Laptop for $849 at Walmart
  • Alienware m15 Core i7 GTX 1660 Ti Laptop for $1150 at Dell (use code “AFF600OFFAW“)
  • 1 Month Free Trial to Commercial Free CBS All-Access (use code “JANUARY“)
  • Star Wars The Black Series Enfys Nest and Swoop Bike for $19.87 at Walmart
  • Meguair’s Last Touch Spray Detailer 1-Gallon for $17.84 with Amazon Subscribe & Save
  • Amazon Web Services Certification Bundle $12.75 at Stack Social (code “LEARN75“)
  • $200 Southwest Gift Card for $175 at BJ’s

Video Game Deals:

  • Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (PS4 or Xbox) for $29.99 on Amazon
  • Animal Crossing: New Horizons (Switch) + $10 Best Buy Credit for $59.99
  • Death Squared (Switch) for $1.49 at Nintendo eShop
  • Injustice 2: Legendary Edition (Xbox) for $15.17 on Amazon
  • Man of Medan (PS4 or Xbox) for $19.89 on Amazon
  • Our World is Ended (Switch) for $19.99 at Gamestop
  • Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration (PS4) for $8.99 at PSN
  • Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (PS4 or Xbox) for $39.99 on Amazon
  • The Mystery of Woolley Island (Switch) for $0.12 at Nintendo eShop
  • The Outer Worlds (Xbox) for $34.66 on Amazon
  • The Witcher 3 Game of the Year Edition (PC) for $14.99 at GOG
  • Enter the Gungeon (PC) Free with Twitch Prime Membership

More Deals for January:

  • Binge The Mandalorian with Disney Plus Free Trial
  • 1 Year of PS Plus Membership for $39.99 at Newegg (use code “EMCDGFE43“)
  • Anker USB C to HDMI Adapter for $11.99 on Amazon (use code “ANKERADPT“)
  • Anker USB C to Ethernet Adapter for $11.99 on Amazon (use code “ANKERADPT“)
  • Anker USB C to SD Card Reader for $8.99 on Amazon (use code “ANKERADPT2“)
  • All Half-Life Games Are Free at Steam
  • Anker Powerline II 3ft Lightning Cable for $6.79 on Amazon
  • ASUS ROG STRIX GeForce GTX 1080 Ti Video Card for $999.99 at Newegg
  • Sony WH-1000XM3 Noise Cancelling Headphones $230 at Google (use code “TQZIRQ“)
  • Google Home for $44.97 at Gamestop
  • WD Blue 1TB NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive for $99.99 on Amazon
  • Taotronics Wireless Sport Headphones for $9.99 on Amazon (use code “SFESJZYA“)
  • Anker GaN Tech Power Delivery USB C Charger for $21.99 on Amazon
  • Godzilla The Showa-Era Films Criteria Collection on Blu-ray for $109.99 on Amazon
  • Modvel Memory Foam Seat Cushion for $14.99 on Amazon (use code “9103MO“)
  • Samsung Galaxy Fit and Galaxy Buds Both for $149.99 at Samsung
  • Homall Racing-Style Gaming Chair for $88.33 on Amazon
  • Sid Meier’s Civilizations: A New Dawn Board Game for $22.29 on Amazon
  • Buy 2 Get 1 Free on Preowned Games at Gamestop
  • Xbox One X Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Bundle for $349.99 on Amazon
  • Xbox One X Gears 5 Limited Edition Bundle for $349.99 on Amazon
  • Xbox One X NBA 2K20 Limited Edition Bundle for $349.99 on Amazon
  • Dell XPS 13 Touch 4K i5 Laptop for $849.99 at Dell (use code “LTXPS133AFF“)
  • Microsoft Surface Pro 7 10th Gen i5 Iris Plus with Keyboard for $800 at Costco
  • PS4 Slim with God of War, Last of Us, Horizon Zero Dawn for $249.99 at Best Buy
  • Buy 2 Get 1 Free on Select Video Games on Amazon
  • EVOO 14″ Intel Celeron N Windows Laptop for $179 at Walmart
  • EVOO 11.6″ Dual-Core Windows Laptop for $89 at Walmart
  • 20% off Sale at Nike (use code “ALLYOU“)
  • Kingston DataTraveler 32GB USB 3.0 Flash Drive for $3.99 on Amazon
  • 65″ Hisense 65H6570F 4K Smart HDTV for $349.99 at Best Buy
  • LEGO Technic Compact Crawler Crane (920 Piece) for $79.99 on Amazon
  • 55″ Vizio M-Series Quantum 4K HDR QLED Smart HDTV for $358 at Walmart
  • Blue Microphone Yeti with Ghost Recon: Breakpoint for $99.99 at Best Buy
  • 20% off Thousands of Used: Like New Items at Amazon Warehouse
  • Aukey 10,000mAh USB PD Power Bank for $20.99 on Amazon (use code “5UST2ZYM“)
  • HTC Vive Pro Complete Kit for $1063.62 on Amazon
  • Samsung 32″ Curved 1080p Gaming Monitor for $149.99 at Walmart
  • Sony XBR75X900F 75″ 4K HDR Smart HDTV for $1698 on Amazon
  • Dell UltraSharp U2717D 27″ 2560×1440 IPS Monitor for $269.99 at Dell
  • Buy 1 Dozen Donuts, Get Another 1 Dozen Free at Krispy Kreme
  • Netgear Nighthawk AC1750 WiFi Router for $63.88 on Amazon
  • LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Express 801-Piece Set for $63.99 on Amazon
  • God of War Nendoroid for $19.99 on Amazon
  • eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Robot Vacuum Cleaner for $169 on Amazon
  • Sony PS4 DualShock Controller in Black for $39.99 at Walmart
  • Sony PS4 DualShock Controller in Glacier White for $39.99 at Walmart
  • Sony PS4 DualShock Controller in Green Cambo for $39.99 at Walmart
  • HP 25MX 25″ 1080p 144Hz 1ms FreeSync Gaming Monitor for $154.99 at Walmart
  • 1 Month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate for $1 (New Customers) at Microsoft
  • Philips Sonicare Essence Rechargeable Electric Toothbrush for $19.95 on Amazon
  • Ultimate Ears WONDERBOOM Portable Bluetooth Speaker for $39.99 at Best Buy
  • Anker PowerWave Qi Wireless Charger for $11.99 on Amazon (use code “AKA25241“)
  • LEGO Overwatch D.Va and Reinhardt for $23.99 on Amazon
  • LEGO Overwatch Watchpoint: Gibraltar for $58.99 on Amazon
  • SNES Classic Edition for $69.99 at Nintendo
  • NES Classic Edition for $49.99 at Nintendo
  • SecretLabs TITAN 2020 Series Gaming Chair for $374 at SecretLabs
  • $50 Nintendo eShop Gift Card for $45 at Costco
  • Beats Studio3 Noise Cancelling Wireless Headphones for $184.99 at Best Buy
  • Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 Collectors Edition Blu-ray $198 on Amazon
  • TurboTax Deluxe + State 2019 for $39.88 on Amazon
  • TurboTax Premier + State 2019 for $54.99 on Amazon
  • Rick and Morty Seasons 1-3 on Blu-ray for $33.33 on Amazon

New Mulan Character Posters

Disney’s live-action Mulan remake, which arrives in theaters March 27, now has six new character posters — including Yifei Liu’s Mulan and Jet Li’s Emperor — ready for perusing.

Below you’ll also see Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Yoson An as Cheng Honghui, and Gong Li and Jason Scott Lee as villains Xianniang and Böri Khan. Plus, some official images from the film itself!

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Mulan isn’t the only live action remake Disney has on the way. Be sure to click through every upcoming Disney live action movie below.

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Make sure you also check out the official Mulan trailer, which gives us new live-action spins on the animated classic – including recreated specific scenes and music!

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Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.

Dr. Kawashima Is A Jerk And His Brain Training Makes Me Feel Stupid

There was a moment I had while playing Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training for Nintendo Switch, which is currently only available in Australia and Europe. I had just finished my daily set of three exams to calculate my “Brain Age,” the metric used to assess how strong and flexible your mind is. The lower the score the better, and 20 is the absolute best you can get. Anyway, the disembodied head of Dr. Kawashima popped up on the screen to deliver my result–it was 27! Wow! What a great score. I had some issues with one of the tests, but I had set a couple of new records the others, so I was feeling pretty happy with myself. But that emotion didn’t last very long.

“Oh dear!” the head lamented, “I miscalculated your Brain Age”. He threw up a new number: 59. “Your Brain Age is a little underwhelming.” I could’ve snapped the Joy-Cons off my Switch then and there.

Dr. Kawashima, or at least this polygonal version of him, is an insensitive jerk. He pulls dumb stuff like that, he’s visibly disappointed when he’s telling me that I can do better, and the only time he’s encouraging or visibly pleased (at which point he’s freaking ecstatic) is when I make a really significant improvement on something. Improving incrementally? Maintaining a superb result day after day? Nothing. Maybe just a “good for you” if I’m lucky. I have Asian parents, so I’m used to this level of support. But when it’s coming from a video game, from a cartridge I can easily rip out and never look at again, this low level of encouragement and high level of trolling really discourages me from wanting to keep going with it. Especially when I’m mostly doing math anyway.

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I’m disappointed because I know Nintendo knows how to motivate me to keep coming back. Their video games are often very morish. I’ve been playing Ring Fit Adventure pretty consistently over the past few months, and a big part of the reason I’ve (surprisingly) kept coming back to it is because of the consistent positive reinforcement and the feeling that you’re only ever making progress, not losing it. Ring Fit Adventure only ever has helpful advice and encouragement for me, and every session I have is positive. There’s never any judgment if I’m having an off day, and I always feel welcomed back. Brain Training shows me my dips on a graph and makes me sad.

Am I just upset because I’m starting to realise that I’m actually stupid? Eh, maybe a little. But believe me, I would happily just own it and keep on working at if it wasn’t for the other frustrating issue: the occasional, but hugely detrimental, issues with handwriting detection.

The first Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training came out for the Nintendo DS, and it made a huge deal about how you held the dual-screen console sideways like a book and wrote your answers with the console’s included stylus. It had a pretty great version of Sudoku, and I played a lot of Sudoku on that thing (Sudoku was really big back then). My Brain Age was also much better than it is now. Now that Brain Training is on the Switch, it comes with its own stylus and requires you to hold your Switch sideways as well. It’s still very novel, but because of the reliance on this kind of handwritten input in a number of minigames, you’re likely to run into a lot of issues depending on how you write certain letters and numbers.

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The DS version of Brain Training had these issues too, but for some reason it feels far more egregious on the Switch. Maybe it’s the new fat Switch stylus versus the more precise and pointy DS one. Maybe it’s some change in how the software translates strokes, or the ways certain activities are designed. Maybe it’s all exactly the same and just a factor of my growing impatience as I get older and grumpier. I’m pretty sure I don’t have terrible handwriting–my letters are usually bold and clear, maybe even a little cartoony, and the game can detect what I’m writing 98% of the time. But if I find myself getting caught in that 2% trying to get it to recognise a “5” or a “Y,” I’ll be screaming, because my results, progress, and my self-esteem are on the line.

Here’s an example: There’s an exam in Dr. Kawashima’s Brain Training for Switch where you get two minutes to memorise the placement of 25 numbers on a 5×5 grid, and then two minutes to recall them. The catch is, you only get one guess for each square, so if you guess wrong, you lose that opportunity for a point. The last time I took this test, the game had real trouble interpreting how I wrote the numbers “5” and “9,” so as soon as I would finish writing something like “25,” I could see that the game interpreted it as 18 for whatever weird reason, and I wouldn’t have a chance to hit the erase button in the split second before it buzzed and basically told me, “No, that’s wrong. The number that’s supposed to go here is 25.”

There’s a similar, slightly more gracious exam with the same kind of memory test, but you’re trying to remember and write down all the four-letter words the game showed on a previous screen. You don’t get locked out at all here, but when the game keeps misinterpreting the letter you’re trying to write for another one? Well, your mind gets preoccupied with constantly erasing and rewriting the letter in the hopes that it will catch, and your focus is pulled away from all those words you were trying to juggle in your head. It can be infuriating.

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The daily exercises that game has you do to prepare for these exams are mostly free from these issues. I can multitask and make an avatar jump hurdles while picking out the highest number in a lineup, no problem. I can mimic hand shapes and do finger calculations (which are tracked with the right Joy-Con’s IR sensor, a pretty neat feature) faster than you can blink. I can sight-read music and play it on the touchscreen piano perfectly (because I’ve had years of training, but nevermind that). And when I perform all these tasks, I get that satisfying brain-squeezing sensation that makes me feel like I’m working my mind and getting smarter probably.

But when it comes to calculating your Brain Age, the game throws a whole different set of activities at you, most of which are specific to the examination mode and largely involve writing letters and numbers. That’s when things get disastrous and Kawashima thinks I have rocks in my head. That’s when he starts trolling me and telling me how disappointed he is. Brain Training’s handwriting detection is not perfect. And it needs to be perfect if I want to feel like my mistakes are on me.

I have fond memories of the original Brain Training for Nintendo DS, and after how taken I was with Ring Fit Adventure, I was eager to hop back on Nintendo’s weird lifestyle software train and ride it anywhere it would go. But Brain Training for Switch is pushing me away. Hopefully, now that we’re in the age of software updates and user telemetry, the writing detection is something that Nintendo can improve over time. And maybe Tipp and whatever the sentient Ring from Ring Fit Adventure is called can give Dr. Kawashima a few pointers on how to talk to players, too.

Sudoku is still pretty good though.

Overwatch, Call of Duty, and All Other Activision Esports to Broadcast Exclusively on YouTube

Activision Blizzard has announced an Esports streaming exclusivity deal with YouTube, making it the official partner for live broadcasts of all Activision Esport leagues and events.

The new multi-year deal will bring Esport broadcasts of games like Overwatch, Call of Duty, and Hearthstone exclusively to YouTube. The new deal will be kicked off with the start of the Call of Duty League season, which officially began today.

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“This is an exciting year for Activision Blizzard Esports as we head into the inaugural season of Call of Duty League and our first ever season of homestands for Overwatch League all around the world,” said Pete Vlastelica, CEO of Activision Blizzard Esports. ““It’s our mission to deliver high-quality competitive entertainment that our fans can follow globally, live or on-demand, and to celebrate our players as the superstars that they are.”

Activision’s new partnership with YouTube will give it exclusive streaming rights to some of the biggest Esport franchises around — Overwatch League and the Call of Duty League.

“Both the Overwatch League and Call of Duty League are the quintessential examples of world class Esports content,” said Ryan Wyatt, Head of YouTube Gaming. ” I couldn’t be more excited for Activision Blizzard to choose YouTube as its exclusive home for the digital live streaming of both leagues.”

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All broadcast’s can be viewed by visiting each league’s official YouTube channel. Further, in addition to livestreams, fans will also be able to check out archived streams and other special content.

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Andrew Smith is a freelance contributor with IGN. Follow him on Twitter @_andrewtsmith