Welcome to another exciting installment of CoolGames Inc, where each week, myself and my dear friend Griffin McElroy take your one-line video game pitches and gently massage them until we find one worthy of our creative powers.
In this week’s episode, we delve into the dark truths behind Pokéball metaphysics, reminisce about the time Jonathan Blow DDoSed GameFAQs and explore the untapped concept of ‘social permadeath.’ Justin McElroy guest stars.

Links to subscribe to CoolGames, Inc. in iTunes, your podcast player of choice or to download an MP3 are all a click away, tucked inside the buttons below today’s episode.

Theme song: “Social Science" by Maxo

Want your game idea to be featured on a future episode of CoolGames Inc? The best bet is to follow us on Twitter: I’m on there as @babylonian and Griffin is @griffinmcelroy. Once a week, we’ll put out a request for your pitches! Stay vigilant!
Before we go: a huge thanks to everyone who shared our first episode and left us a review on iTunes! Our launch week was a doozy, and the response was overwhelming and flattering. Thanks again for listening, and we’ll be back next week with another!

@griffinmcelroy you get home to make dinner but you bought hammers and not the chicken your partner wanted.
— Aaron J. Amendola (@ImAaronJ) February 3, 2016

Rocksteady’s latest will be Windows PC-only on Steam Batman: Arkham Knight is no longer coming to Linux and Mac platforms, according to an announcement posted to Steam. Feral Interactive’s port of the game, which was bound for Mac OS X, SteamOS and Ubuntu, has been canceled.
“We are very sorry to confirm that Batman: Arkham Knight will no longer be coming to Mac and Linux," reads an update posted to the game’s Steam forums. "If you have pre-ordered Batman: Arkham Knight for Mac or Linux, please apply for a refund via Steam."
Feral Interactive, which ported Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City to Mac, originally announced the non-Windows PC versions of Arkham Knight almost a year ago. The publisher delayed its Linux and Mac versions to spring 2016 in October — the same day the Windows PC version of Arkham Knight returned to Steam after being pulled from sale by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

DRAGONFORCE! DRAGONFORCE! DRAGONFORCE! DRAGONFORCE!
Links to subscribe to Minimap in iTunes, your podcast player of choice or to download an MP3 are all a click away, tucked inside the buttons below today’s episode.

Here’s what we’re covering in your daily audio tour through the world of video games, related technologies and pop culture like comics, movies and TV.
THE BIG STORIES

Hitman explains its ‘season’ structure, offers exclusive missions to PS4
Peter Molyneux launches Godus spinoff, Godus Wars, in Early Access
Nintendo reveals the most popular amiibo of 2015
Dust 514 closing down in favor of new shooter in the Eve Online world
Overwatch beta returns next week
Batman: Arkham Knight Linux and Mac ports canceled
Guitar Hero’s hardest song ever makes a comeback

THE BEST OF THE REST

The game industry of South Africa
Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak review
New Dark Souls 3 footage shows off a quick-stepping thief

BECOME A MINIMAPPER
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“Through the Fire and Flames" by Dragonforce on iTunes.

Level-5 finally launched its Japanese monster hit Yo-Kai Watch on Nintendo 3DS stateside in November, but that was only phase one of its overseas debut.
The company has partnered with Hasbro to invade several other consumer industries with the Pokémon-like characters —€” none more fitting, however, than the lucrative smartwatch market.
Smartwatches have technically been around for decades; we’ve detailed their long, storied history on Polygon in the past. But it’s only in the last few years that companies have capitalized on the technology, making a play at broader consumer appreciation.
Yet there lies one major problem with devices like the Apple Watch and Samsung Gear: they’re still largely under the purview of technophiles and hardcore gadgetry snobs. It’s not entirely the fault of these products; their cost-to-functionality ratio isn’t great, but it’s also that they’re stereotyped by an unwelcoming society, which often has trouble taking smartwatches seriously.
It seems unlikely that the Yo-Kai Watch, then, can properly address these issues. As the central device in its video game (and anime, and action figure, and manga, and …) namesake, the Watch is meant for one thing: to make kids want to buy it. That means it’s big and cutesy, not sleek and elegant.
But in my time with the Yo-Kai Watch — wearing it around, testing out its features, taking it through the ringer —€” I discovered that maybe elegance is played out. Maybe what the public really wants out of something as high-concept as a high-tech wristwatch is the most ridiculous take on that concept as possible.
In that case, the Yo-Kai Watch fits the bill.

First off, gander at the hunk of plastic: It’s not attractive. It’s dishwater gray with an uncomfortable rubber wristband that’s as wide as the watch face. The sole burst of color is on said face, a mismatched quartet of purple, pink, green and blue spun out like a Yin and Yang symbol.
And that’s all there is to the face, those colors. There’s no screen like the average smartwatch; the Yo-Kai Watch doesn’t even offer touch controls. And it doesn’t have any functioning hands, either. Instead, it mocks the idea that you’d use this thing to tell time. There are hands painted on there, but they don’t move.
The basic function of a watch, dumb or smart, is to tell time. The Yo-Kai Watch doesn’t do that, either. This might be the best thing about it.
When you touch the Watch, something special happens
Because really, who in 2016 needs a dedicated time-telling device? Odds are good you have a smartphone. Odds are better that you stare at said smartphone for the majority of your waking hours. And it’s implausible that your phone doesn’t tell you what time it is in several different countries at any given moment.
Hasbro and Level-5 know this. To differentiate their product, they’ve taken the basic idea of a watch and abstracted it to its simplest components. The Yo-Kai Watch is a simulacrum of a once-precious thing. It is abstract art, a postmodern marvel.
It’s still really ugly though. That’s a fact.

So the Yo-Kai Watch doesn’t tell time. What does it do? Instead of inviting finger presses on its face, the Watch actually discourages you from touching it. Get too hands on and this puppy makes a lot of sound.
The Apple Watch, Samsung Gear and every other smartwatch has some basic apps: a pedometer, a music player, a calculator, maybe some games you’ll actually want to check out. These are all embedded in the device as digital downloads. The Yo-Kai Watch ignores the virtual space and instead embraces the real world by making its applications physical.
A set of medals with different yo-kai characters on them are available to purchase separately from the device, although the Watch comes with two medals packed in. They’re pretty freaking adorable at first blush; they’re brightly, distinctly colored with different yo-kai featured on each one. There’s a helpful arrow pointing in the direction you’re supposed to insert the medal into the Watch; there’s nothing left to chance here.
The Yo-Kai Watch’s face is covered by a plastic hood which lifts up, allowing you to slide in a medal. Once you do, something … special happens.
Here’s the thing: Maybe you’re a shy, private person, and you don’t like to call attention to yourself. If that describes you, well, you shouldn’t bother with the Yo-Kai Watch in any sense because that gigantic contraption will make you stick out like a sore thumb anywhere. But you especially shouldn’t try using the medals in a public setting, because that’s when this thing goes off the rails.
Depending on which medal you put in, the Yo-Kai Watch will serenade you with a relevant song based on its character trait or class or whatever the Yo-Kai Watch version of Pokemon types are called. There’s no volume setting; the medal will activate a sound at full blast, every single time you touch it. Sometimes even when you don’t touch it.
The Yo-Kai Watch gets why you even still wear watches
Look at it like this: If you’re going to wear a gigantic watch on your delicate wrist, as I have done for several hours now, you might as well go balls to the wall with it. A watch is a status symbol —€” like, why do they cost so much money? Duh. Who needs to tell time so often as to warrant a watch on their wrist? No, you’re just wearing one to show off. This is a safe space. You can admit it.
The Yo-Kai Watch, like the Apple Watch or Samsung Gear S2 or whatever else, takes that idea and makes it the most ludicrous thing possible. Which is great, because at its core the smartwatch as a gadget is totally ludicrous in the era of smartphones.
When other people go to inspect your wrist as a way of assessing your character, they’re going to see this gigantic piece of incessantly chattering plastic on your wrist, weighing you down, and they’re going to think one thing: Dude has cajones.
Even so, if someone could explain to me how to get the Yo-Kai Watch to quiet down, that would be super appreciated.

Another thing: The Yo-Kai Watch, as you can probably guess just from looking at it, is heavy. But life is a game of survival, right? Hasbro and Level-5 are aware of this, and recognize that the weak-wristed aren’t going to cut it in this world. In that sense, they’re here to help you out by giving you a phenomenal workout. Wearing the Yo-Kai Watch for even a few hours, and especially in public, will not only strengthen you emotionally — you’ll have to quickly learn to steel yourself against the strange looks you’ll constantly get — but physically, too.
It’s most impressive when you consider that the characters who wear the Watch in the 3DS game are 10-years-old. They are deceptively strong children. And they have to consistently lift their arms to point the thing around looking for wild yo-kai, too; if anything, wearing the Yo-Kai Watch increased my respect for both them and the franchise as a whole.
The Yo-Kai Watch in its real world iteration does not locate yo-kai (as it does in the game and show), or really do all that much. Those medals you can plug in that make it whine incessantly can also be used in far more agreeable ways with the Yo-Kai Land mobile app, so even those have a better application.
But as a smartwatch, there’s something really, really wonderful about the Yo-Kai Watch. It takes the genre and strips it to its most basic components: it’s loud, absurd and no one will ever doubt your self-worth ever again. This is smartwatch as satire and I love it.

Logitech this morning took the wraps off their latest gaming keyboard, the G810 Orion Spectrum, an RGB mechanical that seems to nail the sweet spot between aesthetic and features.
The best part is that the Orion Spectrum is one of three mechanical keyboards that will, beginning Feb. 8, come with a copy of Ubisoft’s upcoming living world shooter Tom Clancy’s The Division.
The Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum and Logitech G910 Orion Spark game bundles are expected to be available in the U.S. beginning Feb. 8 for a suggested retail price of $159.99 and $179.99 respectively. The Logitech G410 Atlas Spectrum, Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum and Logitech G910 Orion Spark game bundles are expected to be available in Europe beginning Feb. 8 for a suggested retail price of €159, €189 and €199 respectively. It appears the Atlas Spectrum deal is only in Europe.
As part of the promotion, Logitech is also updating its Arx control applet and created a custom lighting profile for The Division, which is due out on March 8.

I had a chance to go hands on with the Logitech G810 Orion Spectrum at a recent event in New York City.
Like the Atlas Spectrum and Orion Spark, the Orion Spectrum uses Logitech’s Romer-G mechanical switches and includes robust lighting options.
Where the Orion Spark felt a bit too over the top in its presentation, and the tenkeyless Atlas Spectrum felt a bit too stripped down, the Orion Spectrum seems to have found the perfect mix of performance, features and sleek design.
The full-sized board has almost no logos or badging, just the recently redesigned G logo in the top left corner of the board. While there are no dedicated macro keys, the function keys can be used to serve as macros. The board also has physical controls for media, including a roller for volume. The board’s solid base lacks the pinging I found so annoying in the Atlas Spectrum.
We’ll have a full review of the keyboard later this month, but make sure to check out our reviews of the Atlas Spectrum and Orion Spark in our mechanical keyboard guide if you’re considering picking one up for the copy of The Division.

Watch in 60 fps on YouTube | Subscribe to Polygon on YouTube
Recently, we got a chance to go hands-on with Nintendo’s upcoming HD remaster of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess HD, a faithful recreation of the GameCube-slash-Wii iteration of the Zelda series, lovingly crafted by Funky Barn developer Tantalus Media.
Purists might be wondering why in the above footage Link appears right-handed, or indeed why the entire game appears flipped — that’s one of the side effects of playing in the game’s new Hero Mode. Essentially, Hero Mode makes the game a great deal more challenging, forcing Link to take double damage and removing all heart drops from the game, all while flipping the entire game world as it appeared in the Wii version ten years ago. (For players wanting a version complete with legible Hylian script and the true left-handed Link, simply choose Normal Mode when starting a new game.)
Above, watch as we reclaim Epona, explore Ordon Village, herd some goats and rescue Sera’s cat. Twilight Princess HD will be released in North America on March 4 for $59.99.

Watch in 60 fps on YouTube | Subscribe to Polygon on YouTube
Above, watch us play Fire Emblem Fates from the very beginning, including the opening cutscenes, character customization, tactical strategy gameplay and more.

The channel’s first original mobile release Cartoon Network Studios has launched OK K.O.! Lakewood Turbo Plaza — its first original mobile game — for iOS and Android devices, the network announced today. Indie studio Double Stallion co-developed the title based on a concept by Steven Universe producer Ian Jones-Quartey and collaborator Toby Jones, storyboard director on Regular Show.
OK K.O.! Lakewood Turbo Plaza wears those influences proudly, combining the fantastical fights of Steven Universe with the offbeat humor of Regular Show. Cartoon Network, however, is dedicated to expanding the free mobile title (which has no microtransactions) into a game franchise, not an animated one.
Along with today’s launch, the company will host a game jam based upon Lakewood Turbo Plaza and its cast of superhero fighters. From Feb. 12-14, 200 indie designers will convene in Portland, Oregon to create prototypes of future games in the series. Cartoon Network stated in a press release that these builds will “inform future iterations of the property," with the winning team’s design becoming a full-fledged game.
While Cartoon Network is emphasizing its latest IP as a game first, Lakewood Turbo Plaza is also the subject of a series of animated shorts. These videos are animated by various studios, which Cartoon Network hosts on its website for viewing. You can watch the first of these shorts above.
Several of the cable channel’s animated series have translated to the gaming space in the past. We named Steven Universe: Attack the Light one of the best games for new iOS users, for example, and Adventure Time recently received its first virtual reality title.

Will explore her family’s past and future Family memories and a haunted past are the main themes that author Claudia Gray will explore in her upcoming novel, Star Wars: Bloodline.
Gray told USA Today that the events in the novel take place years before The Force Awakens and follow Leia’s transition from princess to general.
Leia will be a senator in Bloodline, and a large portion of the book will focus on helping the new generation of senators and lawmakers remember the importance of the Rebellion and the devastation the Empire caused. Gray said the book would take place decades after the fall of Darth Vader, at the height of a peaceful New Republic.
Gray also confirmed that Leia’s family would play a large part in the book and in the development of the senator. The author said that while the novel isn’t just about Leia as a mother or sister, there would be disastrous developments from within her own family. It’s a theme, Gray said, that would have “pretty far-reaching repercussions for several characters."
Star Wars: Bloodline is a direct follow-up to Star Wars: Aftermath, written by Chuck Wendig. Aftermath was released last year before The Force Awakens.
Bloodline will be released May 3, and an excerpt of the novel can be read on USA Today’s website. For more Star Wars reading material, check out this list Polygon put together of everything available right now.

“I’m making this show as you’re watching it." Louis CK released his new television series, Horace and Pete, with no fanfare because he wanted viewers to experience it without knowing anything about it beforehand, he said on his website today.
The comedian pulled a Beyoncé last Saturday, springing Horace and Pete on the world out of nowhere while his FX series, Louie, is on an extended hiatus. CK is selling episodes of the series exclusively through his website, and released the 67-minute pilot episode Jan. 30.
"As a writer, there’s always a weird that as you unfold the story and reveal the characters and the tone, you always know that the audience will never get the benefit of seeing it the way you wrote it because they always know so much before they watch it," CK said today. "And as a TV watcher I’m always delighted when I can see a thing without knowing anything about it because of the promotion. So making this show and just posting it out of the blue gave me the rare opportunity to give you that experience of discovery."
The way CK is making Horace and Pete also plays into his release plan. The series is filmed as a multi-camera sitcom, and CK said it’s intended to have a "live feeling."
"So I’m making this show as you’re watching it," he said.

CK also touched on the pricing of Horace and Pete, which, at $5 for the pilot, is higher than the standard $3-per-episode pricing for most TV shows. He said today that he is "producing, directing, writing, distributing and financing" Horace and Pete by himself, and noted that the show is "fucking expensive" to make. Its cast includes well-known actors such as Alan Alda, Steve Buscemi, Edie Falco and Jessica Lange.
"Horace and Pete is a full on TV production with four broadcast cameras, two beautiful sets and a state of the art control room and a very talented and skilled crew and a hall-of-fame cast," CK explained. "Basically this is a hand-made, one guy paid for it version of a thing that is usually made by a giant corporation."
The pilot of Horace and Pete will remain at $5, while the second episode — which is being made right now and will be released the morning of Saturday, Feb. 6 — will cost $2. The rest of the episodes will go for $3 each. In keeping with the bootstrap feel of the show, CK did not provide a release schedule or details on how many episodes he plans to produce.