Sure, Japan got them first, but here in North America we get the pink and blue Wii remotes on a day perfect for spreading love through pleasantly colored video game accessories. The two new colors come packaged in Nintendo's unique protective sleeve, which brings to mind intimate toys while also serving as a reminder about safe sex, while the bundled Wii Motion Plus accessory is perfect for reminding your loved one that just swinging it around randomly is only fun until someone loses an eye.

The announcement didn't specifically mention price, but we can assume they'll be in line with the current Wii remote / Motion Plus bundles at $49.99, or $54.99 at GameStop. Where's the love, GameStop?

Naturally, Mario and Peach (despite that affair with Sonic) are No. 1 - even if CitizenGame completely blew it by confusing Pauline for Peach (in Mario canon - oh, God, I'm citing Mario canon in an NSFW post - they are distinct characters).

But who are the other four loving couples? Again, if you press play be prepared to get some frickin' porn. This is rated NSFW for footage of CJ and Denise getting it on in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and some Peach hentai at the end.

Update: Well, I guess the sex and the Peach boobie was enough to get the video pulled off of YouTube. I went over to CitizenGame's site and it's not hosted there either. Trust me, it was funny while it lasted.

Video Games Top 5 Most Romantic Couples [YouTube, thanks Danny]

After this week's big ghost baby reveal, I'm really looking forward to The Sims 3. But with these cloyingly sweet images comes an important public service announcement.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Players who have been desperately trying to login to Hello Kitty Online over the course of the past few months only to be frustrated by the Founder's Club only access restrictions will get some relief this weekend, as Sanrio throws open the servers for a four-day Valentine's Day celebration and stress test, starting on February 14th. Players will be able to participate in special Valentine's Day quests while testing out the revamped user interface and new (and sorely needed) chat filter, which keeps Hello Kitty and her friends from being solicited by Hello Sexual Predators.

To sign up for the test, head over to Sanrio Town and snag a free account.

Nothing says loving like a knife in the back, and that's what you're likely to get if you participate in Warhammer Online's Night of Murder event, which kicks off this Friday, February 6th and lasts through the 15th. The disciples of the god of murder need victims, and players will do quite nicely. Throughout the even assassins will roam the city streets, with players earning influence rewards for completing daily tasks and killing enemy targets that have been marked for death - including enemy player characters.

From the description of the event at the Warhammer Herald, players won't even know they've been marked, so if you see a large group of enemy players coming your way, odds are they don't want hugs, no matter how cuddly soft you may be.

Alexandria "Beavotron" Neonakis' romantic contributions for this year bring out the romantic, fun-loving side of Left 4 Dead's survivors and its undead, with adorably gory messages of adoration pun-worthy of proper Valentines.

Beavotron's previous Valentine's Day cards, including these excellent Team Fortress 2-inspired creations as well as ones based on Shadow of the Colossus and Katamari Damacy, are still available at her web site. Old, but not old to your new significant other. But we say show Beavotron how much you care about her bandwidth by grabbing 'em at the link below.

L4D Valentines: Survivors [Penny-Arcade Forums via Aeropause]

I'd always laughed at the warnings of razor blades in candy. But I guess that, yes, some people do hate children, or at least Pokemon, that much.

Woman Finds Razor Blade Inside Valentine's Day Candy [WFTV via GoNintendo]

5. Billy Lee and Marian - Double Dragon (Arcade)

This one could really go either way. At the beginning of the first Double Dragon, Billy Lee's girlfriend Marian is kidnapped by the Black Warriors, who want the secrets of the Sōsetsuken martial art in exchange for the girl. Billy and his brother Jimmy fight their way through four stages of enemies in order to secure Billy's woman, only to get into a fight at the very end for Marian's affection. If Billy wins it's a beautiful love story. If Jimmy wins she's either a flighty hussy or so terrified Jimmy will beat her up to that she has no choice but to go with him. Either way, not the best love story. Bah, like it matters anyway - Marian gets shot dead at the beginning of the second game. Bastards.

4. Dante and Trish - Devil May Cry Series (PS2)

If the best girl a man can find is one that reminds him of his mother, then Dante has certainly hit the jackpot. Created by the demon lord Mundus during the first game to resemble the devil hunter's mother Eva, Trish wound up developing feelings for Dante, helping him to defeat Mundus and ending up as his partner. While the fact that her feelings stem from being made in his mother's image is kind of creepy if you stop and think about it, there's no denying Trish and Dante were made for each other - well, at least she was.

3. Jackie Estacado and Jenny - The Darkness (Xbox 360, PS3)

This pair grew up together as orphans, and mob thug Jackie spent most of his life shielding the innocent and sweet Jenny from the horrors of the seedy underworld he moved about in. If I had to pick the single most emotionally charged moment in gaming from last year, it would be the moment Jackie Estacado and his girlfriend Jenny cease to be a couple, so to speak. I won't ruin for anyone who still hasn't played the game, but I got so f***king angry I stayed up the whole night to finish the game.

2.Tidus and Yuna - Final Fantasy X (PS2)

A summoner of Yevon destined to die, Yuna finds the man of her dreams in mismatched pants leg blitzball star Tidus. Unfortunately, over the course of Final Fantasy X we learn the Tidus is the man of the fayth's dreams as well, with the end of the game finding him fading away as he desperately tries to hold onto her. Their love was so strong that Squaresoft created the first direct sequel to a Final Fantasy game, Final Fantasy X-2, which features Yuna going all Charlie's Angels with Rikku and newcomer Paine in order to find her lost man. Do they reunite? Depends on how well you play the game.

1.Oswald and Gwendolyn - Odin Sphere (PS2)

A true example of the classical fantasy romance, the story of the Shadow Knight Oswald and the Valkyrie Gwendolyn, daughter of Demon Lord Odin, is one that could easily have been lifted directly from ancient mythology. Two confused souls who find love where they least expect it, culminating in Gwendolyn traveling to the netherworld to retrieve her love's soul from Queen Odette of Endelphia - pretty much the devil herself. The story in full is told through two separate chapters of the game, detailing first Gwendolyn's falling in love with Oswald and then turning the tables in the fourth chapter to show how Oswald likewise lost his heart. One of the most moving love stories I've encountered in a video game, and truly worth of the top spot.

And there you have it. Now I don't expect you to agree with my choices. Hearts are as varied as the stars in the sky and we all see love in a different light, so I'd expect you have your own personal favorite gaming love story. Feel free to post your own picks in the comments section. After all, caring is sharing! Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

If you're more of a World of Warcraft, Shadow of the Colossus or Katamari Damacy romantic type, those Valentines are still available.

Art [Nuts N' Beavers - thanks, Tobias!]

I'll be sure to give a full report of my adventure next week. In the meantime, is anyone else going to the Toronto show - (and that's not an invite, you'll have to supply your own date)? Or does anyone else have gaming-related plans for V-Day?

If sex doesn't sell games, then cookies just might. To promote Meteos Online a troop of girls in go-go boots barged in on the Famitsu offices and stuffed chocolate meteos (meteoses?) cookies in dude's faces. Hit the jump for exciting feeding pics! Brian Ashcraft

Think this guy is funny, check out the one below.

It's like he's getting a diploma or something.

Meteos Girls Visit Famitsu [Famitsu]

Awww, how cute, but shouldn't Perrin be thinking of chocolate covered IGN staffers, not roses? Brian Crecente

So yes, today is Valentine's Day! And here in Japan, there's a slightly different spin on the holiday. Women buy men chocolates. Men, we do nothing. Well, not nothing. We eat the chocolates.

But! Next month is White Day. What is White Day? Hohoho, I shall tell you! Sometime during within the last thirty years, marshmallow makers decided that they needed a holiday to sell marshmallows. And that holiday was March 14th, AKA White Day. Originally, men bought marshmallows for women who gave them chocolate. Today, no one buys marshmallows. Hell, do non-campers even eat them? But, the name stuck. So I hafta think of something to purchase for Mrs. Bashcraft next month. Marshmallows?

What you missed while you were sleeping:

• V-Day story to get you all in the mood. Well, not "the mood," but "the mood." Ah, fuck it. Just read it.
• When talking to Alex Ward, be careful what you say, because he's likely to cut nutso and cut you.
• Movie studio bitchfest about the Halo movie pricetag.
• Now, THIS is a stained-glass casemod

In case, you're keeping score. Today's DS din-din was not green. In fact, it was noteworthy for its lack of green. Remarkable, huh?

Okay! Hope you are feeling better. I'm off to bed. See ya in the morning.

Check out the cards by hitting the link. You'll find the DS, the Wii, Zelda, Metroid, and even Phoenix Wright themed cards, ready to communicate your love for you in ways that you just aren't capable of. Michael Fahey

Valentine's Day Cards for the Geeks in Your Life! [4 color rebellion via Newlaunches.com]

Microsoft is playing Cupid this year for lonely gamers who have no one to spend Valentine's Day with. Who does MS think your perfect match is? Why, The Xbox 360, of course! Xbox Live is offering some exciting Valentine's activities for the single gamer including last night's "Lost Planet All Nighter" and Wednesday's thrilling Viva Pinata trade off. The Xbox crew also have advice for the lovelorn in the form of some top ten lists and suggestions of some games that will take your mind off your lonely, miserable life and perhaps most disturbing, how to get your Pinatas to get biz-ay.

For those of you who actually have mates to spend the day with, there are nuggets of wisdom from the "GamerchiX Valentine's Survival Guide" and advice on how to get your girl to game. I am bit concerned, though, about TriXie, the Xbox.community editor who claims to have a crush on Dead Rising's Frank Ward. If you're going to have the hots for the main character a game that's an exclusive to your company's console, you might want to learn his name. Nothing turns a man off more than when you shout out another guy's name during a hot session of zombie extermination. Flynn De Marco

Let's Play on Valentine's Day [Xbox.com]

TriXie says Microsoft has a "hot" PR girl named Jen set up to play Perfect Dark Zero tonight from 6-8 EST. That gives you guys enough time to play PDZ searching for the mystery gamer and then you can still take your own V-Day sweetie out for dinner.

Your Valentine's Day Mystery Gamer [TriXie Tells All]

Japanese Valentine's Day is backwards. Unlike the Western holiday, men do not give women chocolates, but vice-versa. A month later, males return the favor by giving women chocolates on White Day. Check out Japundit's interesting article detailing the holiday. The kicker: nothing quite says romantic like online RPG Ragnarok chocolate (pictured above) or naughty anime (after the jump).

Akiba Valentine Girl [Akiba Blog]

The good Nintendorks at 4 Color Rebellion, whose Web site at time of press was down, put together some nice V-Day cards for you, as we mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, only one was salvageable in the heavy traffic massacre, and hosted by Waxy.org, king of bandwidth. Hurry up and print these things out before you wind up empty-handed!

Your more hardcore boyfriend, girlfriend, wife, husband, guild leader, or Hitomi statue may appreciate some of the offerings from Beavotron, which include beautiful renditions of Warcraft and Katamari faves — plus catchy lovey catchphrases!

You Complete Me [4CR with help from Waxy]
WoW, Katamari, Shadow of the Colossus V-Cards [Beavotron]