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  The Greatest Music Game Never Made?

  The music game boom is done and dusted (r.i.p.), but don’t tell Grant Woolard. In his head bangin’ head, it still lives on. And it’s totally awesome. Grant, who lives in Japan, is studying the shamisen, a traditional instrument similar to a banjo. To showcase his first composition, he created this truly wonderful video for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  This T-Shirt Will Give You Nightmares

  Eek! Schoolgirl anime K-On!‘s latest t-shirt looks more like some horrible moé monster, appearing in a dark dungeon in some Japanese role-playing game. In related K-On! news, the anime’s feature film was just nominated for a Japanese Academy Award. Do any of the producers dare wear this shirt to the ceremony? Does anyone at all…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Why’s the Konami Code So Damn Easy To Remember?

  If you grew up in the 1980s and played video games, you know the Konami Code. It’s very easy to remember. Kazuhisa Hashimoto, inventor of the Konami Code, said there’s a reason for that. The reason was that Hashimoto needed an easy code for extra power-ups he could remember and then input while testing Gradius,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Let’s Look at Robot Butts. Together.

  Robots are badass! You know that. I know that. Everybody knows that. But in basking in their awesomeness, we’ve forgotten something important: their backsides. Via Japanese webforum 2chan, a thread appeared devoted entirely to admiring robots and mecha from behind. Or admiring their behinds. Whichever. Most commenters seemed to agree that badass robots look pretty…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  The Nintendo PlayStation You Never Got To Play

  The first PlayStation 1 controllers looked silly. No wonder the world never got to use them. The world also never got to use this first PlayStation from 1991. A Sony produced SNES, it was the fruit of what was an unsuccessful failed Nintendo partnership. The other prototypes were Sony’s own original PlayStation designs for hardware…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Is this PS Vita Game Art Good? Or Just Horrid?

  I’m not trying to be mean here. There is good art. And there is bad art. The art for Samurai & Dragons is, well, yeah. Maybe this isn’t my thing! The in-game graphics look much better. You can check them out in this trailer from last Dec. The game is a dungeon crawler that uses…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Snakes on a Plane? No, Japanese Maids on a Train!

  In Japan, there are all types of otaku (“geeks”). There are anime otaku, video game otaku, and even train otaku. Otaku from all walks of life seem to like the same thing: maids So what happens when you combine a love of the country’s public transportation with its fascination with girls in frilly outfits? You…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Gauntlet Reimagined, Looks (Mostly) Badass

  Artist Dave Rapoza, whose amazing work we’ve featured before here on Kotaku, let us know over the weekend about a little competition his (and fellow artist Dan Warren’s) website, Crimson Daggers, was running. The object was to recreate the cover to arcade classic Gauntlet. The results are awesome. BLOODSPORT 3! GAUNTLET! [Crimson Daggers]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2012
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  Droids Have Feelings too, You Know. Even When They’re Not the Droids You’re Looking for.

  Don’t assume that, just because they’ve been built in a factory and programmed by man, that droids are just hunks of metal and wiring. They’re as much characters of the Star Wars universe as anyone else. More feelings [paperbeatsscissors, via Geek-Art]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2012
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  Headcrab? No, Headcat.

  In the Half-Life series, there are fictional alien parasitoids called “headcrabs”. In Katie’s house there is Headcrab Cat, aka Sophie. Headcrab Cat loves to perch on the head of Katie’s roommate and Gordon Freeman‘s doppelganger while he plays computer games. Hat Cat [YouTube]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Mass Effect Has Never Looked this Classy

  Don’t get me wrong. Mass Effect has its share of class. But, like most things, it could be classier. Enter artist Sean Donaldson. The painter did the game’s character in oils. The end result would not look out of place in a bookish study. And look at that Tali’Zorah—wow! If you think the portraits are…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  The Very Best In Cosplay: Meagan Marie

  Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be forgoing the regular “best of the last seven days” thing for Fancy Pants and instead focus on the work of the best in the business. And there could be no better way to start than with cosplay superstar Meagan Marie. Formerly of Game Informer, Marie is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2012
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  The Life-Sized Stormtrooper You Can Eat

  Over the years, Kotaku has posted so many cakes that the site is now jaded. It takes a lot to impress. It takes a life-sized Stormtrooper. Via BoingBoing comes this 6’4″ tall edible Stormtrooper. Oak Leaf Cakes made this large desert for the Arisia Science Fiction Convention in Boston. 6’4″? Isn’t that a little tall…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 16, 2012
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  Minecraft’s Developers Working On Three New Games That You Don’t Know About

  Mojang, custodians of Minecraft, are also working on a new game called Scrolls. Beyond that? The Swedish outfit is developing a further three games, all of them unannounced. Video game developers are always working on something new, all the time. The news here is that two of those games may, according to Mojang CEO Carl…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2012
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  The Vote on the Bill to Kill the Internet has Been Delayed

  According to a report on The Hill, over the weekend it was arranged that a planned vote on the Stop Online Piracy Act would not go ahead “unless there is consensus on the bill”. The concession was apparently granted when the bill’s sponsor, Judiciary Chairman Lamar Smith, agreed to ” drop a controversial provision that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2012
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  American Box Art Makes Kid Icarus Look Angrier Than He Should

  I…just…you know…sigh. Whatever. Stuff like this won’t stop anyone from buying Kid Icarus on 3DS. But stuff like this does make me wonder who the hell is getting paid to make pointless decisions like this. On the left, the Japanese box art for the upcoming Kid Icarus: Uprising. Note the childish smile because this is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 16, 2012
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  Shibuya, the Animated Version

  Tokyo hotspot Shibuya means a lot of things to a lot of different people. To me, it means nice sneakers and a Starbucks with a hell of a view. To artist Andrew Wilson, it means Mario crossing the street. Shibuya [Andrew Wilson]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 15, 2012
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  Alan Wake: Now With The Sweet Horde Mode You Never Asked For

  Yes, you read that right. Alan Wake now has a horde mode, and a rather good one at that. It seems that every game has one these days. However, is this something that Alan Wake fans want? I got to sit down with the new “Fight ’til Dawn” mode in Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, and…

  By Dave Oshry Published January 15, 2012
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  THQ Says it has “Not Cancelled” its 2014 Lineup

  Over the weekend, a giant rumour popped up claiming that major publisher THQ was effectively done for. Specifically, it suggested the company’s entire 2014 lineup had been shelved, and that its major MMO project based on the Warhammer 40K franchise had been binned. Today, THQ refutes those rumours. The company’s statement in full reads: THQ…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 15, 2012
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  Holy Crap, This Metal Gear Toy is ENORMOUS

  Ashley Wood’s threeA toy company has for years been teasing the release of a figure based on Metal Gear Rex. Why the wait? Because, um, it’s as big as a dog. Seriously, get a load of this thing. Earlier pictures made it look like it’d be, oh, 10 inches. 14 inches tops. This must be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 15, 2012