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  Can Rift‘s Player-Versus-Player Revamp Save it From the Oncoming Storm?

  Trion World’s MMO rift has done well enough for itself, but with Tera underway and The Secret World and Guild Wars 2 looming, they’ve got to be feeling some heat. Can the newly-revamped three-faction Conquest system keep folks playing? I’m not quite sure. I mean, Rift is a solid game with plenty of character options…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Pirate Uses “150 IQ” To Shoot Himself In The Foot

  Selling pirated software or software that allows one to pirate is illegal. But that didn’t stop one man from doing so anyways. A Japanese man with a self-proclaimed “150 IQ” was arrested for misusing his astounding intellect for piracy. According to reports, in April, 29 year-old Yuuichi Shimizu was arrested and charged with selling modded…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  If You Swallow an SD Card with Illicit Photos, the Cops Will Know

  Earlier this month, a 55 year-old junior high school teacher allegedly took pictures up a young woman’s skirt at an anime shop in Osaka’s geek district, Den Den Town. The teacher, Manabu Wakita, admitted that he was following a 20-something woman around, but “absolutely” denied that he took illicit photos of her with a small-sized…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Images of this Skyscraper City Will Blow Your Friggin’ Mind

  To say Hong Kong is crowded is an understatement. Over seven million people are squeezed into just 1,108 square kilometers. And boy, in some places it’s a tight squeeze. As website China Smack pointed out, the city has 6,588 high-rise buildings, which is more than New York’s 5,818. Hong Kong truly is a “skyscraper city”.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Doorknob Licking Girls Invade Tokyo Bookstores

  Last fall, a series of photos featuring girls licking doorknobs took the internet by storm. This year, the photographers behind the pics are hoping they do the same in bookstores. The “Doorknob Shojo” or “Doorknob Girl” pictures were recently published in a new photo book. Japanese website Akiba Blog picked it up at bookshops in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Yakuza 5 Plot Sounds Epic, But There Will Still Be Porn Stars

  With the announcement that Yakuza 5 will feature 5 main characters in 5 major cities across Japan, and a new game engine to upgrade the outdated look of the series, Sega has released a teaser site and revealed the back story of the new chapter. Back Story: 2010. The feud between the two yakuza clans,…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Foreign Languages Kill Your Video Game Bullsh*t Detectors

  There’s an image floating around online. It’s rumored to be a “major specifications” sheet for the PlayStation 4. Personally, I don’t buy it. The PlayStation 4 is coming. It’s inevitable. Kotaku first broke that the console is codenamed Orbis. This “major specifications” sheet, however, certainly can be disputed. However in Japan, websites and blogs are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Creepy Jerk Arrested for Illicit Photos. He Tried To Blame Video Games.

  In years past, video games have been scapegoats. Need something to blame social problems on? Blame video games. This is changing, sure, but that doesn’t mean people still don’t try to do it. Heck, even suspected criminals do. On April 30, a 38 year-old Osaka City bureaucrat was arrested for taking upskirt photos of a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  One of Japan’s Greatest Directors Brings Steel Battalion to Life

  Mamoru Oshii, the creative force behind the Ghost in the Shell anime, recently helmed a live-action TV spot for Kinect game Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor. This is it. The result will look familiar to those who saw Oshii’s 2001 live-action flick Avalon Yes, this is a nice spot. Needs more basset hound, though. Check out…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  A Love of Japanese Vending Machines

  While some Japanese vending machines are under fire for offering sexy good times, the vast, vast majority of vending machines offer only beverages. Good times, though! You can buy either cold or hot canned drinks. I’ve always been fascinated about being able to buy a can of hot coffee. It’s truly marvelous. And sometimes you…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Guild 01 Sequel, Guild 02, Features Ant-Sized Tanks And Monsters Every Friday

  Guild 01, the collection of 4 different games by 4 different directors from Level-5 for the 3DS, which will be hitting the stores in Japan on the 31st of this month, already has a sequel in the works. Guild 02 does not have a release date yet, but already it’s looking to be as outlandish…

  By Toshi Nakamura Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Nine Nerd Belongings That Freak Japanese Ladies Out

  If you are a nerd, be proud. But also beware that some people in Japan might not be totally cool with your otaku (geek) lifestyle—even fellow geeks. There are otaku belongings, let’s call them lifestyle products, that make some recoil. Everyone has his or her own boundaries! Japanese website Sugoren ran a list of nine…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now!

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 24, 2012
• Culture

  What is This, Video Games or a Fashion Show?

  Jace Wallace is a concept artist currently employed by Electronic Arts. Some of his more recent works include The Sims 3. But don’t let that put you off what you’re about to see. Because what you’re about to see is some beautiful art. You can see a lot more stuff at Jace’s personal site To…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Another Enormous, Expensive Metal Gear Figure

  Though it was unveiled last month at an event in Hong Kong, it was tough to get an idea of the scale of threeA’s Metal Gear Ray figure until now. And boy, it’s just as big and ridiculously excessive as the company’s Metal Gear Rex was That “small” figure underneath it is Square Enix’s Cyborg…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Designing a Better Face for Mass Effect’s Tali

  There comes a point in Mass Effect 3 where, your actions permitting, you get to see what Tali looks like under her mask. To say it’s a crushing disappointment is to take the piss Rather than stew in her own rage and/or send hostile emails to BioWare employees, Finnish artist K4ll0 decided to set things…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  The Soviets Are Making Their Own Fallout, and it Looks Great

  Novy Soyuz is an upcoming game from Best Way, the Ukranian devs behind the excellent strategy series Men at War. It’s basically Fallout, only set in the USSR. The story – translated by Reddit user Dreamercz, since the game’s page isn’t in English – is that the Cuban Missile Crisis doesn’t end so peacefully, and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Now THIS is How You Celebrate a Game’s Anniversary

  It’s been really disappointing in the last few years watching companies like Nintendo do so little to really commemorate significant anniversaries in the life of beloved game franchises. Mario got a tiny little extras disc while Zelda got even less. Capcom, though, seem to know what long-time fans are looking for with their anniversaries, that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Relax, The Xbox 360 Probably Isn’t Going to be Banned

  International Trade Commission judge David Shaw has recommended that the import and sale of Xbox 360 consoles in the US be halted immediately. Sounds drastic, I know, but maybe it’s not as bad as it sounds. Speaking with GI.biz, patent expert Florian Mueller says “I’ve never seen an ITC judge make any other recommendation than…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012
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  Leaked Copernicus Screens Look Like a Futuristic World of Warcraft

  Most likely spilled by a disgruntled current/former employee of developer 38 Studios, which isn’t exactly having the best time of it at the moment, a Kingdoms of Amalur fansite has what sure look like the first screens from Copernicus, the codename for 38’s upcoming MMO. While we recently got to see a trailer for the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 24, 2012