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  This Taco Bell PlayStation Vita Contest Seems A Little Weird [UPDATE]

  Taco Bell is giving PlayStation Vitas to customers every 15 minutes — except when it isn’t. Over the past few weeks, the fast food chain has been running a promotional contest for Sony’s upcoming handheld system. Customers can take codes found on the “Taco Bell $5 Buck Box” and enter them in a submission form…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 10, 2012
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  Hate The New Silent Hill 2 Audio Tracks? Turn ‘Em Off

  We reported late last year that Silent Hill 2 was getting an HD makeover. As a fan of that game, I see myself as a bit of a purist and snob. Honestly, I think it comes with the territory. So I kinda scoffed at the idea of someone re-dubbing the entire game for it’s re-release…

  By Chris Person Published February 10, 2012
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  The Arkh Project is Creating a Game For “Queer People of Color” (And Everyone Else) [UPDATE]

  There’s been article after article about how gaming culture (and perhaps all of nerd culture) is typically and fundamentally a straight, white, cis-male dominated scene. However you look at it, it’s hard to deny the fact that the character landscape in video games is a little monochromatic. This is where The Arkh Project comes in.…

  By Nick Vannucci Published February 10, 2012
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  Don’t Worry, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare Won’t Shoot Away All the Story

  In the previous developer diary about Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, the creative triumvirate of the Remedy dev studio said that they’re making this new Xbox Live game with more of an action focus in mind. But they’re back again to assuage any fears you might have about the minimization of the moody narrative that won…

  By Evan Narcisse Published February 10, 2012
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  The Makers of Rock Band Just Rickroll’d Us All

  We’re no strangers… to love… You know the rules, and so do I! Aah, Rick Astley. His tune “Never Gonna Give You Up” is one of the most enduringly hilarious pieces of music composed in the latter half of the 20th century. Usually, when you hear it, it means you’ve been Rickroll’d. But starting next…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published February 10, 2012
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  Star Trek Video Game Beams Down to the Surface in Early 2013

  That shiny new Star Trek game based off of J.J. Abrams’ reboot of the sci-fi classic will be finally going into warp drive next year. Today it was announced that Namco Bandai—best known for Pac-Man, SoulCalibur and Tekken games—will be publishing the action/adventure game and that it’ll be out in the first quarter of 2013,…

  By Evan Narcisse Published February 10, 2012
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  Valve: It’s ‘Probable’ That Hackers Obtained Old Steam Transaction Data

  Valve CEO Gabe Newell said today in a statement to Steam users that as a result of a hack last November, it is “probable” that hackers have obtained a backup file with information on Steam transactions performed between 2004 and 2008. The compromised material includes user names, email addresses, encrypted billing addresses, and encrypted credit…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 10, 2012
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  New Unofficial Call of Duty Elite Slogan is Just an Activision Joke [UPDATE]

  Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg jokingly announced a new slogan for Call of Duty: Elite today: Call of Duty Elite: It’s not a douche move. That’s as of some time in September when a guy who was rallying people back in the spring to boycott the world’s first subscription service for Call of Duty changed his…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 10, 2012
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  Kickstarter Stands To Make A Lot Of Money Off Double Fine’s Success

  Crowdfunding website Kickstarter takes a 5% cut on successfully funded projects, which is a nice chunk of change on Tim Schafer’s point-and-click adventure game. The project has made almost $1.4 million so far, putting $70,000 in Kickstarter’s pocket. [Kickstarter]

  By Jason Schreier Published February 10, 2012
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  Concept Artist Behind Fallout 3, Skyrim Has Died

  I played something like 130 hours of Fallout 3. I adored many things about it — and, admittedly, hated a few others — but my absolute favorite part was exploring the world. The entire history of this never-quite-was version of Washington, DC could be read in its architecture, its artifacts, and its people. The game…

  By Kate Cox Published February 10, 2012
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  Why Won’t My Parents Play Video Games With Me?

  Why won’t my father game with me? It’s a question I am sure is echoed within the gaming community in varying forms: why won’t my mother play with me, why won’t my parents game with me? Variations on the same heartrending sentiment that to some like myself serve as an overwhelming source of sadness as…

  Brittany Vincent Published February 10, 2012
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  This Konami Building Seems To Be On Fire [UPDATE]

  Multiple Japanese Twitter users have posted pictures of what appears to be a fire in a Konami office. [UPDATE] A Konami spokesperson told Kotaku that its Japanese headquarters were not involved in any kind of fire. It and Konami employees working there all are fine—if a bit confused by this attention. Twitter user @wataru_hrt has…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 10, 2012
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  Syndicate Does Dark and Terrible Things to Poor Rosario Dawson

  On the left we have Rosario Dawson, in my opinion one of the most attractive actors working today. On the right, a soulless husk with eyes that have seen such horrors… such horrors. A creepy vessel used to transport Dawson’s voice into EA’s Syndicate. She looks worse than Cox. Dawson, star of Sin City, Men…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2012
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  Get Your First Look at Mass Effect’s New Female Shepard in Action

  In this new trailer for the fast-approaching Mass Effect 3, we get to see a lot of old scenes played out by a very new face. This is your first in-game look at the new default female Commander Shepard, fresh off the public auction block and replacing the old standard model. On the plus side?…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 10, 2012
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  Much Like a Zombie, The Walking Dead is Back From a Brief Hiatus

  It’s been over two months since the mid-season finale of The Walking Dead, and while some folks may still be recovering from November’s traumatic barn massacre, most viewers are ready to dive right back in to the undead bloodbath. Picking up right where it left off, upcoming episodes deal with the aftermath of what happened…

  Sponsored post Published February 10, 2012
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  Watch the Precious (?) Enhancements of Street Fighter x Tekken‘s Gem System

  Street Fighter x Tekken‘s Gem System has been quite a controversy in the fighting game community. There are those who feel it makes the game too easy, that it will, in fact, break the game itself. After playing through SFxT‘s tutorial and pumping in a couple of hours into versus mode, I think that Capcom…

  By Elyas Gorogo-Baker Published February 10, 2012
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  Which Controller Do True Fighting Game Fans Prefer?

  Commenter Zyker loves his fighting games, but hates the Xbox 360 controller. He wants to know the weapon of choice of true fighting game fans, so we’re asking you folks. Speak Up on Kotaku Round One, Fight! I’ve been thinking about Skullgirls lately. This lead my thoughts to my old Guilty Gear love and my…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2012
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  Super Mario Bros. Can Enhance Your Morning Commute

  While New York’s subway is only slightly less scary than the pipes under the Mushroom Kingdom, both underground tunnels are much improved by the addition of Super Mario Bros. composer Koji Kondo’s infectious beats. In this video, shot on Manhattan’s uptown R-train, guitarist Gypsy Joe Trane entertains bored commuters by serenading them with songs from…

  By Jason Schreier Published February 10, 2012
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Take my hand and I’ll guide you to an official forum where Kotaku readers can discuss video games to their hearts’ content, with nary a demonic cherub in sight. Pan1da7 is responsible for today’s ICOnic TAYpic. You might be responsible for the next! Want to see your own TAYpic atop a future forum post? Monkey…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2012
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  And Now For Our Biggest Changes Yet: The Kotaku… Network

  One month ago, we promised you change. We promised you the kind of change that wouldn’t betray our roots as a site built on a passion for writing and reporting about video games. We simply wanted to make this site better than ever. Get ready. Everything before today was prelude to our biggest transformation yet,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 10, 2012