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  The PS Vita is a Social Beast That Will Entangle Us All in Its Loving Tentacles

  What the latest Inside PS Vita is trying to say is that by purchasing a Vita you’re becoming a member of a global gaming community connected by glowing threads of gaming-infused light, wrapping about you like a brilliant cocoon in which you’ll never feel lonely ever again. I might be reading a bit much into…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 6, 2012
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  Chun-Li and Poison Picking on the Tekken Dude

  Ouch | TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Namco’s Katsuhiro Harada got picked on by Capcom bullies at the Taipei Game Show. (Photo: Game Watch Impress) Dying in an Internet Cafe Is More Terrible Than You Can Imagine As Kotaku previously reported, a 23-year-old man recently died at a Taiwanese internet cafe. Nine hours later, someone noticed. The country’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  The Sights of Taiwan’s Big Gaming Blowout

  Now in its tenth year, the Taipei Game Show was expected to draw over 300,000 visitors. As previously reported, this year’s show also packed in overseas game companies to show new hardware, like the PS Vita, as well as new games. Click through the above gallery to check out the festivities. And be sure to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  Can You Handle the Bullets? The Beauty? The Madness?

  Cave’s newest shooter DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou recently got its first arcade location at Japanese game center Taito Hey! in Tokyo’s Akihabara. The vibrant shooter looks stunning—wonderful in every way. This is what Cave does better than anyone else. Dodonpachi Saidaioujou 1st location test [YouTube]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  Let The King of Fighters Bring You to Climax

  Oh my! The King of Fighters XIII is getting a new version, The King of Fighters XIII: Climax. It apparently brings characters from KOFXIII‘s home console versions, such as Nests Style Kyo, to arcades. Location tests kick off next weekend in Tokyo and Osaka. The King of Fights XIII: Climax [Kotaku Japan]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  Dying in an Internet Cafe Is More Terrible Than You Can Imagine

  As Kotaku previously reported, a 23-year-old man recently died at a Taiwanese internet cafe. Nine hours later, someone noticed. The country’s Next Media Animation—who’s behind all those computer animation recreations—portrayed the event in its news story. The computer CG scenes, along with the actual news scene, make the clip not only highly disturbing, but also…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  My In-Flight WiFi Is Better than Yours!

  Back in November 2011, Air China (China’s national airline) launched its in-flight wifi service. Unfortunately it wasn’t a real wifi network, users only connected to the in-flight intranet instead of the real internet. Users could access services such as the in-flight movie and music selection but not social networking sites or instant messenger services. Now,…

  By Eric Jou Published February 6, 2012
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  Square Enix Is Not Remaking Final Fantasy X

  Instead, as the company explained at the Taipei Game Show, Final Fantasy X is getting a HD remastering—like Metal Gear or Shadow of the Colossus—and not a full-on HD remake. [Gematsu via FF-Reunion]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  Japanese Cosplayer Is Too Hot for Taiwan

  Won’t somebody think of the children? You think of the children; Ushijima Ii Niku (“Good Meat”) is going to push every envelope she can with her daring cosplay. Taiwan’s TTV visited the FancyFrontier event in Taipei, which is filled with self-published comics. As Kotaku previously posted, the event is crawling with cosplayers. But they’re wearing…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  PS Vita Will Support the Mac OS

  On Feb. 8th, Sony is launching the System Firmware Ver. 1.60 for the Vita. Here is some of what this update contains: a new Map application, video recording, and Mac OS support. The new map application will allow the user to locate his current location, search for specific addresses, and set destinations. The application can…

  By Toshitaka Tachibana Published February 6, 2012
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  Glittery Crotch Is Not Already Dead. Somebody Purchased It.

  Fist of the North Star‘s Kenshiro got a life-sized statue last fall. It was covered in 500,000 Swarovski crystals, apparently worth ¥10,000,000 or $130,000. For those not familiar with Fist of the North Star, watch this. It’s badass. The figure was put on the Yahoo! Auction block, with the winning bid hitting ¥3 million yen…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  The Taipei Game Show Is Looking To Go International

  TGS, no not the Tokyo Game Show, but instead the Taipei Game Show is closing today in Taipei, Taiwan. In its 10th year the Taipei Game Show is looking to attract more visitors by becoming more international. Companies such as Sony Computer Entertainment and Mircrosoft have set up large booths to show off their latest…

  By Eric Jou Published February 6, 2012
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  An Examination of Japanese Characters’ “Whiteness”

  Japanese anime, manga, and game characters sometimes have blond hair. Sometimes they have blue eyes. But, that’s merely cosmetic, no? There must be some sort of analysis that cuts closer to the bone. Literally. Back in fall 2010, Kotaku ran a story titled “Why Do Japanese Characters Look White?” It was based on a post…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 6, 2012
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  The NES Zapper Becomes a Transformer. A Bright, Orange Megatron.

  New York LEGO builder Baron von Brunk has done something I’m surprised it’s taken decades for someone to do: take Transformers villain Megatron as inspiration and build a transforming NES Zapper. Christening his Nintendo-themed Transformer Plasmashock, von Brunk provides instructions on how the robot was created and how it transforms, before pledging to do a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012
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  This is Cannon Fodder 3. Sort of.

  We got a little excited last year when we heard a new Cannon Fodder game was being developed. Excitement quickly gave way to not-giving-a-fuck, though, when it turned out the game was for the Russian market and was likely never going to be released in the West. Still, it appears while we had our collective…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012
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  The Very Best In Cosplay: LJinto

  Our little journey around the best of the best in cosplay continues today with a look at another photographer, one who, pound for pound, is probably the most widely-seen on the planet. That photographer is LJinto, and his work is amazing Comprising both dedicated cosplay shoots and pounding the pavement at conventions and shows, LJinto…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012
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  Report: Zynga Insider Spills his Guts, Talks Spying and Bad Math

  A user over on Reddit, claiming to be a former Software Engineer at social games giant Zynga, has not only gone and posted the rather dense separation letter he received upon quitting the company (above), but done a little extra guts spilling at the same time. Among the claims user mercenary-games makes are, when asked…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012
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  Half-Life Art is Thinking With Portals

  If you need a Half-Life chaser after playing (or not playing) Half-Life 2 this weekend, take a look at these. While drawn by two different artists, they both do the same thing, bringing the worlds of Half-Life and Portal a little closer than they already are. The image up top is by Jade Law, while…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 6, 2012
• CultureTotal Recall

  When EA Sports Accidentally Put a Game’s Source Code on a Demo Disc

  In 1997, EA Sports released a demo disc for the latest iteration of its FIFA football series. Anyone picking this disc up got a lot more than they bargained for. Late last year, Blackbird Interactive’s Yossarian King (whose studio is now working on Hardware) wrote a piece on industry blog #altDevBlogADay about building engines. Tucked…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 5, 2012
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  PSN Update Stops Users From Accessing Paid Content

  A routine bit of maintenance on the PlayStation Network last week has gone a little pear-shaped, it seems, with users in Europe complaining that post-update they’ve been unable to access content they’ve already paid for. While North American users appear unaffected, the problem has struck hundreds of users in PAL territories like Britain, continental Europe…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 5, 2012