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  Tuesday Watch This, Play This

  Watch! A Portal space core goes on an important mission. Watch! Nintendo software and hardware as designed by 30,000 dominoes. Play! Fahey is addicted to Ski Safari on his iPhone. Watch! Prepare yourself for the robot apocalypse.

  By Tina Amini Published May 8, 2012
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  Some Things in Starhawk Just Never Get Old

  Space-Western strategy-shooter Starhawk launches for the PS3 today. We’ve had glimpses of space dogfights, shooting, and careful battle tactics before. But in all the chaos of space war, some things are just cooler than others. Some really big guns just have that screen presence that makes you cackle out loud every time. Some targeted weapons…

  By Kate Cox Published May 8, 2012
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  A Guy Tried to Get His Girlfriend to Play A Video Game. Here’s Why It Didn’t Work.

  So you’re lucky. Your significant other wants to sit down and play a game. And not just any game, either. The title that’s piqued interest is Just Cause 2, Avalanche Studio’s stunt-tastic open-world shooter. But Reddit user rfry11 found his lady love stymied by what he says are poor design choices and bad tutorials that…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012
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  Is Dragon Age III The Game EA Just Delayed?

  It’s time to solve a mystery, or at least come up with a viable theory. Yesterday, executives at mega-publisher Electronic Arts announce a bunch of financial numbers. They also say that they’ve delayed a “key game” from fiscal year 13 to fiscal year 14, which, for those who prefer to speak English, means they’ve delayed…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 8, 2012
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome to Hades! Um, I mean… welcome to Kotaku’s official forum, known affectionately as Talk Amongst Yourselves. This is the place where we gather on a daily basis to discuss all things video game and existential. Want to talk about new games, old games, games that aren’t even out yet? Knock yourselves out! Angry Impoverished…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012
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  Can Diablo III Really Bring Back That Old Diablo Magic?

  Everyone has a Diablo story. Mine is pretty straightforward. When Diablo II came out in June of 2000, I plopped down on a computer chair in the attic and camped up there for months, ganging up with Internet friends to defeat Mephisto over and over again in hopes that he’d drop something gold and that…

  By Jason Schreier Published May 8, 2012
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  Rumor: Microsoft Prepping “Kinect Play Fit” Exercise Tracking and Heart-Rate Monitor

  The Verge is reporting today that Microsoft will be adding new functionality to the Xbox 360 that tracks users’ physical activity across multiple Kinect games. The report also says that there will be a sensor accessory—codenamed Joule—that will track your heart rate while playing. Stats on your activity, measured against various fitness goals, will live…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012
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  Rockstar Games’ Social Club Just Got a Lot More Social

  In preparation for next week’s release of Max Payne 3 and the launch of the Crews system, Rockstar Games has given its Social Club site a complete overhaul, complete with user profiles, a new friends system, and integration with Facebook and Twitter. In short, this time it’s social. I never really put much thought into…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 8, 2012
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  Cave Johnson Demands That You Get Portal 2’s Level Creator Today

  Today’s the day when the amount of teleporting happening on computers anywhere will start increasing exponentially. Or in the words of Cave Johnson, “You should be designing test chambers, right now and at all times, or by God I will fire you.” The Perpetual Testing Initiative DLC that lets players create and share their own…

  By Evan Narcisse Published May 8, 2012
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  This 12-Inch Replica of Star Wars Arcade Actually Works, Unlike Luke

  This amazing 1/6 replica of Atari’s Star Wars Arcade cabinet features a real working control yoke, glowing coin slots, and a fully playable emulated version of the original game. The 1/6 replica of Luke has no soul. You might have seen this all over the place last week. I did not, so the fact that…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 8, 2012
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  This Isn’t Gun Porn. It’s LEGO Gun Porn You Can Make.

  As a kid, I’d often snap LEGO bricks together and make crude pistols. They didn’t shoot anything, so for added realism, I would go “bang bang”. Like I said, crude. If I’d seen Jack Streat‘s LEGO gun creations, my head would’ve explode. Heck, seeing them as an adult is doing just that—ka-boom! The 17 year-old…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Dance For Me My Pretties! (Two Hours with The Idolm@ster 2)

  Among hardcore Japanese otaku (geeks) there are few games more popular than those of The Idolm@ster series. The premise is simple. As a music producer, it is your job to take a group of recently debuted teenage “idols” and turn them into Japan’s most popular popstars. Or to look at it another way, it’s a…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published May 8, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Capsule Toys are Cool. This is Not.

  We have Gree and DeNA, two huge social gaming companies, to thank for the massive growth in Japan’s social gaming industry. But their business models use a method called “complete gacha”; it is currently being called unfair, and it may be regulated by the Japan’s Consumer Affair Agency. With the chance of not just the…

  By Toshitaka Tachibana Published May 8, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Watch the Slavery Documentary that Apparently Pissed Off China

  News network Al Jazeera is closing its Beijing bureau, because Chinese authorities are refusing to renew an Al Jazeera correspondent’s press credentials and visa, or even approve another journalist, the networked stated today. The reason? According to China-based website ShanghaiIst, it is apparently related to a documentary Al Jazeera did last fall on slave labor.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012
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  Inside Japan’s Adults-Only Cosplay Event

  Are you addicted to cosplay? Adult cosplay? If so, does Japan have an event for you. Over the weekend, “Cosholic” steamrolled Tokyo. The event is 18 years-old-and-up for good reason. The cosplayers on hand specialize in “erotic cosplay”. Some of them are former adult film actresses. Some of them still are. Some of them aren’t…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Music Minigames (and Not Much More)

  The Idolm@ster series is (in)famous for giving gamers the ability to create and manage their own teenage female popstar group. But what exactly does that entail? Well, besides a lot of talking and dialogue trees, The Idolm@ster 2 is mostly a collection of music mini-games combined with light RPG elements. You 1) do lessons to…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published May 8, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Girls with Fangs Take a Bite Out of Japan

  For years, fang-like “yaeba” have been considered cute in Japan. Whether it’s video games, anime, or manga, characters with “yaeba” (snaggletooth) are a mainstay. The look is considered so cute that some girls are apparently getting their teeth capped with fake fangs. And now, there’s the inevitable pop girl with snaggletooth singers, created by a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Brand New PlayStation Vita Game Gets a Crazy Short Teaser

  Soul Sacrifice is an upcoming brand new PS Vita game, and details about it first hit last month. But today, Sony teased the game’s upcoming reveal (full reveal, rather) on May 10. It clocks in at just over 36 seconds. As previously mentioned, the game features a wizard protagonist, who wields mind power and a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Is This the Worst Video Game Laugh Ever? Maybe!

  You thought Tidus from Final Fantasy X had an awful laugh? Have you heard the original Japanese version? CAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAWCAW In comparison, the English version is actually easy on the ears! The ten-minute remix version, though, is still utterly bonkers. Final Fantasy X was released way back in 2001. A remastered version is headed to the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Treasure These Miniature Plastic Heroines

  Last weekend, the Treasure Festa was held in Tokyo, bringing a, excuse the pun, treasure trove of plastic statues. The figurines included upcoming pieces as well as second-hand and limited edition ones. Japanese website Akiba Hobby was on hand to check out the festivities. In the gallery above, have a glimpse at some of the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 8, 2012