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Pokémon Go Plus review

Nintendo's Pokémon Go Plus helps you catch 'em all without getting hit by a bus

Pokemon Go Plus
Pokémon Go Plus
MSRP $34.99
“The Pokémon Go Plus is a great way to keep playing without staring at your phone constantly”
Pros
  • Great way to hatch eggs and rack up stardust
  • Affordable
  • Easy to connect
  • Simple to use
  • Good for hardcore Go players
Cons
  • Need a screwdriver to swap between the clip and band
  • Unclear how long battery will last
  • Hard to see the LED outside
  • Disconnects randomly on Android

Pokémon Go was the mobile game everyone was playing this summer. Now? Not so much. Niantic Labs, the ex-Google team behind the game, has been slow to add highly requested features such as trading, player vs. player battles, and a more fleshed-out tracking system that would make Pokémon Go more robust. As such, usage has declined.

Still, the app is among the top-grossing apps on both Android and iOS, meaning fans are still putting a lot of money into it. Nintendo, which has a stake in The Pokémon Company (which licensed the game to Niantic), hopes to cater to that deeply invested community of fans with a nifty little wearable called the Pokémon Go Plus.

The Plus, a $35 wearable that lets you catch Pokémon and snag items from PokéStops with just the push of a button, allows players to engage with the game without staring at their phone. Some may argue that detracts from the Pokémon collecting experience, but more than a year after launch, the Plus is a genuinely useful tool, and your best bet to leveling up faster.

Putting it on

The Pokémon Go Plus is small, but thick. Wearing it is flashy, thanks to the iconic Pokéball design, so don’t expect to go unnoticed. You have two ways of wearing it — clip it to an article of clothing, or attach the nylon band to keep it on your wrist.

If you’re thinking of switching it up now and then, Nintendo has made that a little tough. You need a small screwdriver to remove the backplate and swap out the band for the clip and vice versa. And every time you want to swap, you’ll still need the screwdriver.

While making it easy to swap between the clip and the band would have been nice, it is almost a moot point. The Plus is clearly meant to be worn on your wrist: You’re more likely to spot the notification light and feel the vibrations from game alerts from your arm than your waist or shirt.

Setting it up

To set the device up, make sure your Bluetooth is on. Pair with your device, and then head straight into the Pokémon Go app. Tap the middle Pokéball, and go to Settings. Here, you’ll see an option to tap on Pokémon Go Plus. The app will begin searching for your Plus.

Wearing it is flashy, thanks to the iconic Pokéball design, so don’t expect to go unnoticed.

Once it appears, tap on it to sync. It should light up and notify you when you’re connected. Now, you’re free to put your phone in your pocket and keep playing. You’ll also see a pin on the main screen of the game that resembles the Plus — this lets you quickly connect and reconnect. It seems to connect faster on iOS.

You’ll need to master the LED notifications first. (Fair warning — it’s a little tough to see the lights on the Plus during the day.) Yellow means you’re near a Pokémon you have never caught; and green means you’re near one you have caught. A blue light signals that you’re near a PokéStop.

Once you tap it when you’re near a PokéStop, it will flash red if you’re out of range; white if your bag is full; and multiple-colors means items have been added to your bag.

When you try to catch a Pokémon, the LED will flash white up to three times — once for every time the Pokéball twitches. It will either be followed by a multi-colored flash to signal a successful capture, or a red one to indicate failure. Sometimes, the red may flash earlier, letting you know the Pokémon broke out of the ball.

Pokemon Go Plus
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends
Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

You can only have the Plus paired with one device at a time. When you want to swap it to another phone, press and hold the button for five seconds until you see a blue light. Then press it again for another five seconds. It should forget the old device.

It comes packed with a CR2032 cell watch battery, meaning it’s unclear how long it’s supposed to last.

Playing with the Plus

There are disadvantages to Pokémon hunting with the Plus. If a Pokémon breaks loose, you don’t get a second attempt. Once the light flashes red, the Pokémon is gone. Relying on the Plus’ light, rather than seeing the Pokémon, limits your ability to make spot judgements on which Pokémon to catch. The yellow light for Pokémon you haven’t seen before comes into play here, but once you’ve caught a high number of pocket monsters, there are some you definitely want more than others, but the green light offers no differentiation.

We don’t recommend using the Plus when you’re playing with others — otherwise you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. Often, the Plus will alert you of new Pokémon before the app informs others. If you press the button to catch a Pokémon and fail, your friends will most definitely call out what you missed out on — whether it’s an Arcanine or a Pikachu.

But playing with others, or even alone, is not what the Plus is really meant for — engaging the game’s endless grind; getting more stardust, hatching your eggs, and walking your buddy Pokémon. Turn on the wearable on whenever you’re heading out of the house and you’ll find yourself racking up candy and stardust easily.

Overall, the experience seems to be better on iOS than Android. We were able to leave the app, focus on other tasks in other apps, while still catching Pokémon with the tap of the button. That’s thanks to the app being able to run in the background without iOS killing it.

Android didn’t provide that luxury. You could only spend 15 or so minutes outside Pokémon Go without having the Plus disconnect from the game. You’re better off leaving the game on, but turn off the display. Sometimes the Plus would randomly disconnect from the phone, too, which never happened on iOS. Your mileage might vary depending on what Android smartphone you have.

Notifications on Android, particularly Android 7.0 Nougat, were far better. On iOS, you’ll be inundated with a flurry of messages every time you perform an action with the button. Thankfully you can turn these off. Android limits this to one that changes every time a new action takes place.

Head to the journal within the game to see what you caught, hatched, or received from PokéStops when playing with the Plus. It’d be neat if native notifications on Android and iOS showed details from the journal, rather than the uninformative “The Pokémon has fled.”

The display was one of the many reasons for battery drain thanks to Pokémon Go. The app works with the Plus when the screen is off, so you’ll definitely see an improvement in battery life, but it’s not enough to ditch the battery pack yet.

Our take

The Plus seems to have come at a good time, when players are struggling to stay interested and scale down the amount of time and energy they devote to the game. At the same time, it’s a big financial and emotional investment. Wearing a flashing Pokéball on your wrist advertises that you’re playing the game. If you want to play discreetly, you’re better off sticking with your phone.

Warranty information

The Pokémon Go Plus has a manufacturer’s warranty for 90 days, meaning you’re covered for the first 90 days from the date of purchase.

Is there a better alternative?

If you own an Apple Watch, you can also download an app that allows you to track your progress, see your “buddy” Pokémon, and even visit a Pokéstop without having to use your phone. There’s little reason to also use the Pokémon Go Plus in this case, though some say the Apple Watch app isn’t useful enough.

Should you buy it?

Even if you have no idea what you’re catching, the wonder is still there when you’re staring at the white lights, waiting for them to burst into multiple colors. The fact you may have just caught your thousandth Pidgey is beside the point.

If nothing else, die-hard players Pokémon Go players should consider buying the Plus because it makes the game much safer. You can keep an eye on the what’s in front of you, instead of looking down at your phone.

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NBA All-World aims to replicate Pokémon Go’s success starting today
A player walks around their neighborhood's map in NBA All-World.

Niantic launched NBA All-World, its basketball-themed, location-based mobile game, on iOS and Android today. Ahead of this release, Digital Trends attended a presentation to learn more about how the sports AR title works.
If you've played any of Niantic's games before, many elements of NBA All-World will feel quite familiar. The mobile game tracks players' location and encourages them to explore. While doing so, players will find Drop Zones that grant them new gear. Niantic says Drop Zones will often be placed near real-world counterparts, so players can find money near a bank or shoes near a shoe store. 
There will also be Player Encounters, where they can face off against current NBA athletes. Niantic tells Digital Trends that classic athletes aren't currently in the game, but feels that idea "is a good one." 

In Player Encounters, users face off against athletes in one of four minigames: 3-Point Shootout, Beat the Clock, Around the World, and First-to-Five. While they feature some impressive and realistic animation for a mobile game, Niantic says these minigames only use simple swipe controls because the studio wanted to make something that is easy to play while someone is walking around their neighborhood. If a user wins a Player Encounter, they can recruit that athlete to their team, customize them with items found at Drop Zones, and upgrade them by playing with them. Players can also challenge players they already recruited again to earn more currency. 
The title also includes "Rule the Court" neighborhood leaderboards, many of which are placed at real-world basketball courts, where players can compete for the highest score. Currently, there are no player-versus-player elements in NBA All-World, although Niantic understands players like competitive modes in their sports games and may add them in the future. In fact, many features are still in the pipeline for post-launch updates, including Niantic's trademark AR support. Early in the second quarter of 2023, Niantic plans on adding AR support to NBA All-World to enhance the loot drops from Drop Zones to make it look like they're happening in the real world.
One thing that will be in the game at launch is microtransactions, which Niantic says will be similar to the ones available in its other games and allow players to increase their athletes' stats with Offense, Defense, and Fitness boosts. 
Despite the undeniable success of Pokémon Go, Niantic has never been able to completely replicate its success with games like Harry Potter: Wizards Unite or Pikmin Bloom. However, the studio seems confident that basketball has the global mass appeal to make NBA All-World another massive hit for the company. The early footage we saw of the game does leave us optimistic for NBA All-World's prospects, but we'll ultimately have to wait and see if the game will make it past its rookie season. 
NBA All-World is available now for iOS and Android.

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Team Avatar from Avatar: The Last Airbender leaping through the air in Avatar: Generations key art.

Free-to-play Avatar: The Last Airbender mobile RPG Avatar: Generations has reemerged under a new publisher, as the game now has an early 2023 release window and is available for pre-registration on Android.
Avatar: Generations is a turned-based RPG like Marvel Strike Force or Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes that lets fans play through the stories of various Team Avatars. At launch, the focus is on Avatar: The Last Airbender's story, although the press release for this announcement teased that Avatar: Generations will eventually get updates that feature The Legend of Korra stories and characters, as well as never-before-seen Avatars. 
Avatar Generations - Official Gameplay Trailer - Coming Soon to Mobile!
As players progress through the game, they will collect various heroes and companions based on characters from the franchise, and then upgrade those characters and build a squad that's best fit to complete a given level. Those who pre-register for the game will receive hero Avatar Aang and companion Appa free of charge. Although it's not the AAA console game Avatar: The Last Airbender fans are yearning for, Avatar: Generations is shaping up to be the most thorough Avatar game yet. 
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Even though Embracer Group shut down Onoma, a mobile studio it acquired from Square Enix, it still seems interested in Avatar: Generations, likely due to its existing relationship with Nickelodeon and the fact that Avatar: The Last Airbender is a well-known IP. Avatar: Generations is developed by Navigator Games.
Avatar: Generations will launch on iOS and Android in early 2023.

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Marvel Snap’s Winterverse event introduces new cards, variants, and more
Marvel Snap art highlights Winterverse variants for Rogue, Ebony Maw, Patriot, and Rockslide.

The latest Marvel Snap update kicks off the Winterverse event, bringing many holiday-themed variants and brand-new cards to the mobile card game.
The two new cards coming to Marvel Snap this week are Darkhawk and Sentry. Darkhawk is a superhero who first emerged in the 1990s and has a techno-organic body with glider wings. In Marvel Snap, he's a 4-Cost, 1-Power Ongoing card that gives +2 Power for each card in the deck of your opponent.
Meanwhile, Sentry is a hero that was introduced in 2000 that has Superman-like abilities, but is connected to an evil entity called the Void that's just as powerful. In-game, that translates to Sentry being a 4-Cost On Reveal card with 8-Power that can't be played at the right location, as playing Sentry will cast a -8 power Void card there.
https://twitter.com/MARVELSNAP/status/1605269381176758272
We don't know if Sentry and Darkhawk are Series 3, Series 4, or Series 5 cards yet. It will take some time for Marvel Snap's meta to evolve and really prove whether or not Darkhawk and Sentry are all that useful, but they do both have interesting abilities. Regardless, keep an eye out for them in Collector's Reserves and in the Token Shop.
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