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  Hideo Kojima: The Wonder Years

  Just in case you ever wanted to know what Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima looked like as a wee lad, well, now you know, courtesy of the man’s own Twitter account. [@Kojima_Hideo]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  The Great Nintendo Family Portrait

  Artist Luis Carrasquillo sent us this amazing piece to share, which includes just about every major Nintendo hero (or hero appearing on a Nintendo console) there’s ever been. At 4000x, it’s only wallpaper for the more hardcore among you, so for everyone else, it’s like a Where’s Waldo/Wally. Only, with Marios everywhere. If you want…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Culture

  Some of the Prettiest Game Trailers In the Business

  Blur Studios. You may have heard of them before (like in this feature we ran on them last year), as they’re responsible for some of the biggest and best cinematic video game trailers around. So it’s cool today that we get to look at some of the work of Heikki Anttila, CG Supervisor at the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  There’s Already an Ocean Marketing Comedy Video

  Boy, the internet works fast these days. It’s barely 24 hours since the whole Paul Christoforo/Ocean Marketing thing blew up and already there’s surprisingly enjoyable comedy videos of the mess available. Warning: this is a little NSFW

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Battleduty Modernfield 3 is a Real Thing, Costs $0.99

  Battleduty Modernfield 3. It’s a game, sort of, that you can play. Barely. It’s also pretty damn great. Taking the whole “trolling of copyright” thing on the iPhone to a hilarious new extreme, this parody title takes static screenshots of both Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3, overlays a crummy gun and adds some “pew…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Man Plays Dance Dance Revolution For Over 16 Hours, Lives To Tell the Tale

  While most people spent yesterday sleeping off food hangovers and trying not to do any real work, 17 year old Alexander Skudlarek from Rochester, Minnesota was getting letters from the Guinness Book of World Records confirming he now has the title for “longest video games marathon playing Dance Dance Revolution”. He actually set the record…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  This is the Most Batshit Insane Nintendo Trailer I’ve Ever Seen

  Kiki Trick is an upcoming Wii game from the team behind the WarioWare series. This is it’s trailer. So, yes, not only is there FMV in a Nintendo game, but it is amazing [via @markmacd]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  2011, a Year In Disappointment

  Throughout 2011, we’ve been blessed with some extraordinary games and some memorable events. But life is not all ups. For every up there must be a down, or in this case, a downer. These are, according to us at least, 2011’s biggest video gaming disappointments. Now, before we go any further, know that few of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  College Student Bought an Xbox 360 with Fake Money. He Got Arrested.

  Twenty-one year-old Christopher Moore swung by his local Game Stop in Norfolk, Virginia. He paid cash for an Xbox 360. The store manager, however, thought something was odd about the hundred dollar bills. They looked funny. According to The Virginian-Pilot, the manager turned the bills over to the police, who then gave them to the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 27, 2011
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  The Gaming Gifts I Gave This Holiday Season

  As a gamer that regularly reviews big titles and otherwise has the means to procure his own video game entertainment, it isn’t often I get to experience the joy of a thoughtful video game related gift. Instead, I give things to my family and live vicariously through them. What did they get this year? Perhaps…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 27, 2011
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  PR Trolling “Ocean Stratagy” Out of Business, Avenger Controller Maker Asks For Forgiveness

  The PR tempest in a teapot born of one misused gamer and shockingly bad customer support seems to have mostly run its course, leaving a one-man PR firm in apparent shambles and a unique video game controller accessory struggling to survive. The issue came to light today when emails between Kotaku reader Dave and Paul…

  By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2011
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  Braid Creator’s The Witness Gets an Intriguing Architectural Update

  When we last saw the upcoming game from Jonathan Blow this summer, The Witness already looked like an intriguing experience. The way that Blow’s game design interwove puzzles and environmental cues created a hypnotic level of immersion where you had to pay attention to a gameworld like never before. As a result of updated designs…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 27, 2011
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  This Chinese Hotel Is an Odd Homage to Japan and Anime

  Spend any time in Japan, and you’ll see them: Chinese tourists. While tensions do flare between the two countries, there are Chinese who are infatuated with Japanese popular culture. Thus, the Chinese province of Anhui has this: a newly opened “anime” themed hotel. Japan, alert your lawyers. According to an ANN News report (via Japan…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 27, 2011
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  Mega Man‘s Creator Launches First Post-Capcom Game, Dr. MoMo’s Island

  Keiji Inafune gave us Mega Man, one of gaming’s immortal heroes and mascot for Japanese publisher Capcom. But then Inafune had a seemingly tense break with his longtime employer over creative differences. News of his new companies Comcept and Intercept followed his departure and the first new game from Inafune just went live for iOS…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 27, 2011
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  Persona Studio Returns to Cute Sticker Pictures

  You probably know Japanese game company Atlus best for its Persona role-playing titles. But in the mid-1990s, Atlus was known for something else entirely: sticker pictures. A female employee at Atlus actually invented sticker pictures, which went on to become a national craze in Japan. Even today, Japanese teens get sticker pictures with friends. Atlus,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 27, 2011
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  Stranger’s Wrath HD, Splinter Cell HD, and All Zombies Must Die This Week in the PlayStation Store

  While the final PlayStation Store update of 2011 might not be the overstuffed smorgasbord of new content Sony fans are used to, it makes up for its short stature with the star power of Sam Fisher and the Stranger The first three Splinter Cell games remastered in 3D plus the remastered version of my personal…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 27, 2011
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  Oh Mai, This Figure Could Be Better

  There are literally a gazillion Mai Shiranui figures. The King of Fighters character is a figurine favorite. Some of the figures are great. Some are good. Then, some are so-so, or bad, even. This one is so-so. Granted, it’s not terrible. As commenters on website Neko Magic pointed out, there’s discoloration in her hair and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 27, 2011
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  Angry Birds Ball

  Dodge Ball | As seen at the Angry Birds online store, this makes me love dodge ball like a billion times more. Dragonvale Captured My Heart and My Wallet in 2011 I never should have downloaded a free iOS game about breeding cute and colorful dragons; it was a tremendously bad idea on my part.…

  By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2011
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  ‘Ocean Stratagy’ Guy is ‘Sorry’; Penny Arcade Deems him a ‘Bully’

  An update to the ongoing drama (part 1, part 2) of an ex-controller marketing guy, an angry customer, and Penny Arcade. The guy’s “sorry.” Penny Arcade thinks he’s a “bully” who’s sorry he got caught. Part 3’s on Penny Arcade

  By Stephen Totilo Published December 27, 2011
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  Looking for Some of That Facebook Money, L.A. Times Starts Hosting Casual Games on Website

  Casual games make money. The L.A. Times needs money. So, the L.A. Times is adding casual games to its website. That seems to be the logic at work in a new partnership announced today between the newspaper and casual gaming company Arkadium, which makes Facebook games Mahjongg Dimensions and Solitaire Heaven Visitors to latimes.com will…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 27, 2011