PHOTO OPS Archives

The Pokémon Company Is Putting On Its Detective Pikachu Hat & Investigating ‘Palword’

January 25, 2024

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Source: CHRIS DELMAS / Getty / Palworld
The Pokémon Company has seen enough and is looking into the viral game Palworld.
2023 ended with a huge gaming scam with The Day Before. Could we be on the verge of seeing a popular video game being exposed for stealing early in 2024?
Since the arrival of Palworld and its meteoric rise, many have been keeping their eyes peeled and ears opened, wondering if The Pokémon Company would have anything to say about the obvious Pokémon-“inspired” survival game.
Thursday night, The Pokémon Company broke their silence on the matter. In a statement, the game studio says it will investigate Palworld and “take appropriate measures” if it finds anything that looks like the game infringes on its intellectual property.

Since launching in early access on Friday, Jan. 19, numerous claims of plagiarism have been lobbied at the game, specifically regarding the design of the Pals, the creatures players can capture, collect, and battle.
While the game is clearly a riff or parody on Pokémon, other gameplay designs like crafting, arming your characters, and Pals with guns, as well as base-building, put the game in the same breath as other survival titles like Valheim and Ark.
Still, that didn’t stop loyal fans of Pokémon from contacting The Pokémon Company. Like loss prevention at your favorite clothing store that allows thieves to steal so they can build a case, they are watching and seemingly letting Palworld do the same.
The statement reads in full:
We have received many inquiries regarding another company’s game released in January 2024. We have not granted any permission for the use of Pokémon intellectual property or assets in that game. We intend to investigate and take appropriate measures to address any acts that infringe on intellectual property rights related to the Pokémon. We will continue to cherish and nurture each and every Pokémon and its world, and work to bring the world together through Pokémon in the future.
Nintendo has already shut down a Pokémon mod introduced into the PC version of the game, and the creator of the mod announced that the company notorious for coming after people for “abusing” its intellectual property did hit him up.

Speaking with Stephen Totilo of Game File, former head of The Pokémon Company’s legal team from 2008 to 2020, Don McGowan, shared his thoughts on Palworld, saying, “This looks like the usual ripoff nonsense that I would see a thousand times a year when I was Chief Legal Officer of Pokémon,” he said. “I’m just surprised it got this far.”
Palworld Is DOING NUMBERS
Despite all that, Palworld is doing insane numbers that titles like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 have done, but just in a matter of days.
On its official account, the game celebrated the milestone of selling over 8 million copies in less than six days, and that could be even more thanks to all the hoopla surrounding the game.
The game is also available on Xbox Game Pass, and we have no clue how many subscribers are playing it there, and that could also be in the millions.

We want to see how this plays out and if The Pokémon Company’s investigation exposes some bad faith acting on Palworld’s developer Pocketpair’s part.
Until then, the video game streets are talking. You can see those reactions below.

3. Howling

5. So unserious, lol

X Users React To Lame Article Explaining What The Swag Surf Is After Taylor Swift Butchered The Dance

djfrosty

January 24, 2024

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Source: Jamie Squire / Getty
Did we lose another recipe? X users believe the Swag Surf has been gentrified after Taylor Swift and co’s flavorless attempt at the dance.
The world’s most famous Chiefs fan, Taylor Swift (insert sarcasm), has become a fixture of NFL Sunday conversations. Usually, most of the conversation is about cameras constantly cutting to Swift and her friends to see the ridiculously popular singer’s reactions to whatever her beau, Travis Kelce, does something on the field.
That continued to be the case during the Chiefs NFL Wild Card matchup with the Miami Dolphins this past weekend. Swift once again went viral for her custom Nike puffer jacket to battle the extreme cold and her flavorless attempt at doing the Swag surf.
A clip shared on the Sunday Night Football official account on X, formerly Twitter, showed the “Bad Blood” singer butchering the dance made famous by Fast Life Yungstaz for their song “Swag Surfin.”

The jokes were immediate, and so were the fears that melanin-deficient publications and websites would somehow credit Taylor Swift for the song’s popularity, and as expected, that happened.
Black Twitter, yes, we are still calling it that was up in arms after Sporting News dropped an article with the headline:
“What is Swag Surfin? Everything to know about Chiefs’ viral dance celebration as Taylor Swift, Donna Kelce participate.”

The article literally broke down the dance and eventually had to be updated with the dance originating in Atlanta.

Even Plies chimed in on the matter.
“I Luv Seeing Taylor Swift & The Kansas City Chiefs Rock Out To “Swag Surfing” On Sundays. But Media Let’s Stop Acting Like They Created It! Let’s Give Props To F.L.Y, Atlanta & The HBCU Community For Birthing The Phenomenon!!” the rapper said in a post on X.

Not one lie detected in Plies post.
We are sure Taylor Swift meant no harm, but boy, did they try it.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.

2. He definitely tried it

James Carville & Others Believe Donald Trump Has Syphilis After Photo of Red Rashes On His Right Hand Goes Viral

djfrosty

January 18, 2024

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Source: CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / Getty / Donald Trump
Disgraced former president Donald Trump, who is currently trying to weasel his insurrection leading behind back into the White House and always falsely claims to be a picture of good health. A recent flick has many wondering if the wannabe “healthy” dictator is burning with a venereal disease.A photo of Orange Mussolini, aka Donald Trump, leaving Trump Tower in New York City and waving to “supporters” went viral yesterday, not because folks love to see him but for the noticeably large red scabs or splotches on his fingers on his right hand.
After The Daily Mail noticed the marks and The Drudge Report picked up the story, Bill Clinton’s former advisor, legendary Democratic strategist, and slayer of Republicans, James Carville, had his own opinion.
In a YouTube video, Carville said he believed the “hand cuts” were signs the twice-impeached president could be suffering from syphilis.
“They don’t look like cuts to me,” Carville explained. “They look like sores. And I’ve asked a number of M.D.s what medical condition manifests itself through hand sores, and the answer is immediate and unanimous.”
“Secondary syphilis,” he continued. “I think there’s a good chance this man has the clap.”

Carville, who never misses an opportunity to drag Trump or any of his supporters, did admit he didn’t know anything about the photo, saying it’s “probably a Fleet Street rag” and noting it could have been doctored.
Trump has yet to comment on people thinking he is burning on his X, formerly Twitter knockoff for far-right clowns, Truth Social, but he did repost a video of himself claiming, “I actually feel better now than I did 30 years ago!”
Yeah, sure.
Other Opinions On Trump’s “Red Rashes”
Again, we are not definitively saying Trump has syphilis; one doctor gave his opinion on what could be behind the known germaphobe’s red rashes on his hand.
Per The Palm Beach Post:
“Rashes on the hands can be caused by a variety of factors, ranging from infections to inflammatory conditions to external exposures,” Zeichner said.
The professor suggested the marks could have come from dryness and overwashing. Trump, an avowed germaphobe, has just spent several days in Arctic conditions traveling around Iowa and speaking in public for the presidential caucuses.
Zeichner also says the rashes could have come from Trump’s penchant for golfing.
Anyway, that didn’t stop the jokes from coming in and #SyphilisDon from trending on Elon Musk’s crappy platform.
You can see those reactions in the gallery below.

3. We are sure Trump wasn’t happy about this.

Latest Trailer For ‘Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth’ Teases Epic Showdown With Sephiroth & Other Major Story Changes

djfrosty

January 16, 2024

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Source: Square Enix / Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth
We already knew Final Fantasy VII Remake was not just a rehash of the original game with a fresh coat of next-gen paint but a complete reimagining of what many consider the greatest RPG ever made. When Rebirth arrives, you can expect the same and then some.
A new trailer for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth is here to excite us for a game we already can’t wait to play. The two-disc JRPG is upon us, and it will remix the beats from the original game that were engrained in our brains and, at the same, add some new twists to the story.
The usual suspects like Cloud Strife, Aerith, Cid, Red XIII, Barrett, Tifa, Cait Sith, plus Yuffie and Vincent are all back and are teaming up to save the world from Sephiroth.
In the original game, Yuffie and Vincent were optional characters, but in Rebirth, they will be a part of the primary team. The new trailer teases the big showdown with the legendary soldier turned wannabe destroyer of humanity.
It also teases possible changes to the original, like possibly confirming that Zack survived the epic battle and his being essential to Rebirth’s story.
Will There Be A Major Death In Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth?
Also, Aerith could be alive this time (spoiler alert); she died in the US version of the original game, much to players’ chagrin.
But, we still could be getting a significant death, and many believe it will be fan favorite Tifa who bites the dust this time around because of particular clips possibly showing her dying.
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Again, we don’t know if this is the case, but we know producer Yoshinori Kitase is not afraid to have us clutch our pearls and be in our feels while playing his games.
By heading here, you can peep our interview with Kitase ahead of Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Hit the gallery below for more screenshots from Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth, which arrives exclusively on PlayStation 5 on Feb. 26.

1. Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth