Did you get a chance to play the demo? What did you think?

This week on Watch. Chat. Play!, we’re talking about Hype. How it is used, how it effects gaming,  and what in our own lives we have experienced as it pertains to hype.

Have you made any purchases or watched any movies recently because there was so much marketing that it made you need to go see it? How did that work out? Did the quality meet the hype built around it?

Niantic’s free App has taken the world by storm. People are coming together in local parks and downtown locations like never before. The Pokémon themed, augmented reality game has become a driving force for local clean-up projects, exercise events, and an overall sense of unity among its player base. Which sounds like a great thing! And it would be. If they weren’t constantly having obscenities screamed at them, eggs thrown at them, and getting harassed by drunk people. I know all of this, because I interviewed some of the community last night, and was yelled at 10 seconds into the first interview. See for yourself.

Sometimes I forget what year it is, because I feel like in 2016, we should have evolved beyond racism, hate, or derogatory slurs against a peaceful group of people. Except none of that is true. Which was made perfectly clear when myself and two friends, were screamed at while we had literally just started playing ‘Pokémon GO’. And reminded again when I was only 10 seconds into my first interview and heard someone scream, “F**k ‘Pokémon!” while driving past.

So I began reaching out to local Pokémon GO trainers via their various Facebook pages, asking what kinds of things they had experienced and whether or not they felt safe. Jordan Jeffries, a local trainer out of Ohio, told me about his concerns for the game.

“I really don’t feel safe alone,” said Jeffries. “Also there [was a] situation where a biker was offering drugs and trying to ask for drugs at the same time. Not in any case do I feel safe when drugs are by.”

Jeffries went on to say that whenever he heads out, he makes sure to have one or more people go with him, just for the sake of safety. But he wasn’t the only one, by far. You might have heard of the group of robbers using Lures to draw Pokémon GO players to a stop, and then attack them. But several local police department have issued safety tips for players. A couple stand outs were:

-Slow moving vehicles paralleling a person on foot (Following you as you walk), might be a sign it is a get-away car. If you get the sense you are being followed or set-up for a robbery, head to a lighted area with people around.

-Know where your kids are going when playing with the app, and set limits on where they can go.

-Do not try sneaking around police stations, fire stations or public safety vehicles. Your attempts to capture a Pokémon could be considered suspicious activity.

The main thing is to obviously stay safe. It isn’t worth risking your safety over a free game. Or any game for that matter. Safety or not, it just seems that most Pokémon trainers are just frustrated and disappointed in the people yelling at them.

“We were downtown and a guy stopped at a red light yelled ‘get a f**king life.’” said, Kellee Carbaugh, a local trainer.

“I’ve only ever had someone cussing at the group,” Landon Cooper told me. “And hey, if that’s what makes these people feel complete, then I feel sorry for them.”

While it is disappointing to say the very least, I am please to say that the community seems unified in protecting one another, and not giving up on having a good time.

Have you had any of these issue while playing Pokémon GO? Would any of this keep you from playing? Let us know!

So this week, we are bringing you 5 episodes of Watch. Chat. Play! to make up for our two week hiatus. We’ll Kick things off with the Sony conference, since we had the most to say about that one, and every day following will be another episode covering Microsoft, Nintendo, and everything else.

We hope you like it and are looking forward to hearing what you were stoked about!

As a guy that has been gaming for the past 20+ years, the retail dynamic of gaming has not changed all that much. A company launches a game on whatever date they decide. And then legions of nerds have their mom drive them to whatever video game retailer is nearest to them for purchase. Today, however, is a little differently. You can head out right now (in North America anyway) to whatever store sells video games, and grab your copy of Overwatch. Except depending on where you live in the world, the servers may not be live the second you insert your copy of the game.

Why exactly would they do this? Well, this article is an opinion piece, rooted in a lot of retail sales experience and even more gaming experience. I think this is both Activision Blizzard, and a few retail companies attempting to step away from the Midnight Launch culture that has been established but declining in recent years.

I remember how excited I was for the launch of Battlefield 3. I had loved the battlefield franchise, but had always picked the game up whenever I got the chance. Battlefield 3 marked the first time I was so into a game that I set out at midnight to grab the game from GameStop. Over 100 gamer’s were in cluster’s both smashed within the small store and outside of it, playing games, skateboarding, and listening to music. It was a blast to be around my nerd kin and to share the enthusiasm that a AAA title could provide us. But that was years ago.

The years since have sparked a drastic decline in the midnight launch culture. People will grab the game this weekend, or whenever they get the chance. More common, gamer’s will buy it digitally and have the game downloaded weeks in advance. And to be honest, that last bit is the biggest cause of the decline. No one wants to go out to a midnight launch, drive however long it takes to get home, AND THEN start the install of the game, and download of whatever sized day one patch update they are sure to have. I have had so many conversations with people saying they stopped going to midnight, because even if they get home 15 minutes later, it isn’t worth them staying up until 2am just to go through the tutorial of the game. And I can’t blame them.

So why again is this Overwatch thing a big deal? Why would I say it may change the dynamic of Retail gaming distribution? Is say that because companies will only invest in a successful idea that has been proven true by someone willing to take the risk. Midnight launch culture is dwindling, there isn’t a question about that. The question is, how do companies fix that? I think Activision Blizzard is taking a step forward in reshaping the way companies do business. If Overwatch becomes more successful than any of the recent midnight launches for Doom, Homefront: Revolution, Uncharted 4, and others, why wouldn’t they pursue this more fully with their AAA titles later in the year?

It has been awhile since a company has may me interested in something they are doing. Sure, news breaks and people make announcements, but rarely do I see a decision that might switch-up their business model. Regardless of what you think about retail gaming verses digital gaming, it’s always interesting to see the different techniques companies use to move their product.

Overwatch launches at 7pm today in my region and I for one am excited to not have to wait until 12:01am to play the thing. Some of us have work in the morning. Feel free to checkout the AA staff opinions and experiences of Overwatch while you’re out running digital errands.

For me, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End marks the end of a journey I have been on for the better part of a decade, which is why the title may have more of an impact for me than anyone else. It also stands as the reason I didn’t second guess buying the Collector’s Edition of the game. If this be my last ride with Nathan Drake, may no stone go unturned, treasure left unfound, bad guy left unshot, and witty pun uncracked.

I definitely look forward to the journey that lay ahead, and I genuinely plan to Platinum this game to ensure I’ve experienced every part available to me. Good luck out there, and I hope to see you in the multiplayer!