Games

Apple’s free app of the week: Super Sharp

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Super Sharp. This means that for the next 7 days you’ll be able to pick up the popular puzzler from hit developer 1Button SARL, for both iPhone and iPad, for free—a solid savings of $2.

Super Sharp is the epitome of the pick-up-and-play puzzle genre. There are no characters or qwerty storylines. Players simply use their fingers to cut through platforms, ropes and obstacles and they attempt to make their way through 120 physics-based stages.

Read this if you just switched Apple ID to download Pokémon Go

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 13, 2016

In less than a week, Pokémon Go has become the biggest mobile game in the US history, however, the app is currently limited to App Stores in the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Germany.

Eager to get their hands on some pokémon, some of the tech-savvier international users have resorted to switching their Apple ID in order to download the game only to find their Apple Music libraries wiped as a result, reports The Telegraph.

In terms of daily active users, Pokémon GO is the biggest mobile game in US history

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 3, 2017

The runaway success of Nintendo's Pokémon GO continues to take the Internet by storm, with a new Survey Monkey study indicating that in terms of daily active users the augmented-reality title has officially become the biggest mobile game in the United States's history, just a week following its launch on iOS and Android. After initially launching in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, Pokémon GO is now available on the German App Store ahead of its expected launch across Europe.

First Pokémon GO update squashes bugs, no longer requires full Google Account access

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 12, 2016

Nearly a week following its official launch in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, Nintendo's incredibly successful Pokémon GO on Tuesday received its first update on the App Store. The freemium app was bumped to version 1.0.1, bringing out much-needed bug fixes whilst resolving an issue which caused the app to crash after attempting to catch any discovered pokémon. More importantly, full Google Account access is no longer needed for those who use this sign-in option.

Pokémon GO is a free download from the App Store.

Scrambled: a new fun anagram puzzle game for all ages

Anthony Bouchard ∙ July 12, 2016

If you’re looking for the next fun word game that you can play to challenge your intellect and pass the time, then you should really give a new App Store game dubbed Scrambled a try.

Scrambled includes three game modes, all of which allow people of all ages to sit back and relax, all while doing their best to recognize words out of a bunch of scrambled letters; these are better known as anagrams.

The runaway success of Pokémon GO highlights safety issues of augmented-reality gaming

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 11, 2016

The runaway success of Pokémon GO is undeniable. In a few short days since its debut last week, the freemium title has become the top free app on the US App Store and the most downloaded and highest-grossing app in the countries where it is available. It sent Nintendo shares up 25 percent, adding $7.5 billion to the company's market capitalization. Furthermore, the game is about to surpass Twitter among Android users in the United States in terms of daily active users.

But there's a darker side to its success as widespread media coverage combined with pent-up interest and the power of the Nintendo and Pokémon brands in some cases seem to be resulting in a string of thefts, burglaries and even car accidents and other injuries.

Nintendo shares post massive gains following Pokémon GO launch

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated August 2, 2017

Since releasing its augmented-reality game Pokémon GO five days ago on the App Store in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, Nintendo stock has jumped 25 percent, gaining a cool $7.5 billion and posting a record since it began trading in Tokyo in 1983, Reuters reported Monday.

Buno, Folioscope, Instaread, and other apps to check out this weekend

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

It's the weekend again, and you know what that means: it's time for another edition of our Apps of the Week post. For those who aren't familiar with the column, this is where we put together a small list of apps and games that we think are worth checking out, and we think we've really made some awesome selections this week.

Apple’s free app of the week: Loopimal

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the app Loopimal by Yatatoy. This means that for the next 7 days, you'll be able to pick up the critically acclaimed children's title for both iPhone and iPad for free—a solid savings of $3.

Loopimal is essentially a building kit of handcrafted animations and sounds that teaches kids about music. The graphics are both sharp and charming, and the rhythmic/melodic content makes for endless possibilities of creations and compositions.

Pokémon GO launches on US App Store

Christian Zibreg ∙ July 6, 2016

Following a period of field-testing in the United States, Nintendo's augmented-reality game Pokémon GO should become available shortly on App Stores in select countries, including the United States and Japan. A Pokémon Company spokesperson told a Wall Street Journal reporter to “please wait for a while” for formal launch of the game.

Update: Pokémon GO is now available in the US App Store.

The download is already live on the New Zealand and Australian App Stores and is expected to launch later today on the Japanese and US App Stores.

Pokémon GO is Nintendo's second iOS game after Miitomo, an odd title designed as “a friendly conversation starter” and based on Nintendo's lucrative Mii universe.

Nintendo considering developing physical controllers for mobile devices

Cody Lee ∙ Updated May 11, 2018

Nintendo plans to push further into development for smart devices, and is exploring the idea of hardware, the company said during its annual shareholders meeting. Polygon passes along comments made by Nintendo's GM of entertainment planning and development during the meeting, in which he said the game-maker is considering building physical controllers for smartphones and tablets.

tvOS 10 preview: all-new Remote app with Siri voice control, tilt gaming & more

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated June 11, 2018

A software replacement for the physical remote that came in the box with your fourth-generation Apple TV, Apple's entirely overhauled Remote application provides you with the full range of Siri Remote features complete with touch navigation, tilt-based control in games and voice input via Siri.

And in making tedious text entry on tvOS even easier than before, the new app lets you summon the keyboard right from the Lock screen of your iPhone by pressing a notification that automatically gets pushed every time you select a text field on the Apple TV.