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  Does Digital Distribution Do More Harm Than Good?

  Isn’t moving from disc-based software to downloadable digital products a step in the right direction? Commenter Paradox Me isn’t so sure, and explains why in today’s Speak Up on Kotaku. I think I might be a bit of a technophobe. I love technology to a certain point, where my interest begins to fade and rather…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 26, 2012
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  Talk Amongst Yoursleves

  All we can do now is huddle in our little official Kotaku forum and talk about video games. Red XIII would have wanted it that way. Look folks, it’s the long-rumored Final Fantasy VII remake in TAYpic form, courtesy of Pan1da7! Join in the fun and submit your own TAYpic. Please do your best—or your…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 26, 2012
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  In This Game, You Roll Dice to Fight Fires, Of Course

  If someone can add zombies to Minesweeper (and do it well) then who am I to stop someone else from making a dice game out of firefighting? It has been done, and it’s good. There is surely a message being sent through the Android and iOS game Fire and Dice: A message about the randomness…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 26, 2012
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  What Horrific Secrets Lie Beneath The Secret World‘s Blue Mountain?

  Blue Mountain might have a pretty decent football program, but off the field the area is filled with secrets, mysteries, and despair. Such is the way of all things in Funcom’s paranormal MMO The Secret World Perhaps it’s the flu I am currently battling, but I can’t picture what real-world paranormal location Funcom is attempting…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 26, 2012
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  The Rift Mobile App Hits Android Today

  The iOS App that extends aspects of Trion’s MMO makes its debut on the Android Market today. As Mike Fahey reported earlier, you can chat with Guild members, engage in mini-games and glance at event schedules from Rift Mobile. Find it here

  By Evan Narcisse Published January 26, 2012
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  Back When Sega Had Hard Hats

  Sonic | SAN FRANCISCO: A Sega of America exec posed with Mayor Willie Brown at Sega’s then new headquarters back in 1999. (Photo: AP Photo/Court Mast, ho) Do Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo Really Care? Do We? For Westerners, the conditions are shocking. Workers slave away for hours on end, pulling overtime, until their legs…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  The Street Fighter IV of My Japanese Pop Culture Dreams

  Japanese artist Kei Suwabe created profiles for characters that don’t exist in Street Fighter IV, but Japanese pop culture. If you are not familiar with Japanese pop culture—from kiddy shows to potato chips—some of the characters will be lost on you. There are universal favorites, however, like Colonel Sanders and Donald McDonald. (Yes, in Japan,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Nintendo Money Printing Press Is Finished. Huge Losses Expected.

  Today in Osaka, Nintendo released its revised forecast for this financial year. Things are not good. “We had higher expectations for the year-end season, but failed to meet them,” Nintendo Satoru Iwata said today (via Reuters). Nintendo is facing a bigger than expected annual loss, facing competition from smartphones and battling a strong yen as…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Erotic Game for Women Combats Hairy Dudes

  No, Thank You!!! not only has the best name for an ero game aimed at females ever, it also has a unique feature: An “On/Off” choice for arm hair during sexy “event scenes”. So, if a lady player likes macho Maki, but hates his hairy arms, she can select a smooth armed version of the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Asura’s Wrath and the Revenge of Boob Physics

  A few years ago, “boob physics”—how breasts “jiggled” in video games—was actually a topic of conversation This was probably because Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki was actively promoting games (this, for example) during this period—games that featured boob physics. Boob physics are not a thing of the past—heck, there’s this example from last summer.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  People Sure Bought A Lot of 3DS Handhelds

  Nintendo’s recent sales have gotten a boast thanks to the 3DS and 3DS games. While not as good as original forecasted, the 3DS has surpassed the 15 million sold mark. Pretty good!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  This Man’s Asia Honeymoon. With a Cardboard Girl.

  If you think being married to people is hard, try being married to a cardboard person. And then globetrotting around with your better half. Your better cardboard half, that is. Fabrice Requin is doing just that, trekking through Asia, making stops in Singapore, Bali, Japan, and more. Have you ever seen a man with a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Is This the Perfect Otaku Office?

  My office? Nope. While it’s a mess of stuff, my desk doesn’t exactly scream otaku (though, the signed Kurt Vonnegut print above it is pretty cool!). This guy’s office, however, is otaku chic. Spotted over on DannyChoo.com, the office belongs to Dieta from Germany. Stereotypically, otaku space are packed with stuff and are dirty. This,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  The Wii Will Sell a Hundred Million. Eventually!

  According to Nintendo, as of Dec. 31, 2011, over 95 million Nintendo Wiis have been sold. Next milestone—100 million! You can do it, Nintendo Wii. I believe in you.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Report: Namco Ignored Programmer’s Mental Health. Programmer Committed Suicide.

  Mr. N fell in love with Namco’s space shooter Xevious. On his job application, Mr. N wrote that from the moment he played Xevious as a junior high school student, he knew he wanted to make games. And he knew Namco was the company for him. Mr. N isn’t his real name, reported Japanese site…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Nintendo DS: Over 150 Million Sold

  Today, Nintendo revealed that as of Dec. 31, 2011, the Kyoto-based game maker shipped over 150 million Nintendo DS (and DS spin-off) units. That’s a lot!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  Do Apple, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo Really Care? Do We?

  For Westerners, the conditions are shocking. Workers slave away for hours on end, pulling overtime, until their legs swell or they suffer from crippling disabilities. Our iPhones and game electronics are made by hand, probably because it’s cheaper to pay a worker in China to fit, solder, and polish products than it would be to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 26, 2012
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  The Wii U Will be Out by Christmas in the US, Europe, Japan & Australia

  While there’s still scope for slight delays, Nintendo has tonight eased fears of a drastically staggered release of the Wii U by confirming the new console will be out in all four major territories by Christmas. Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has told Reuters that the Wii U would be out in the US, Europe, Japan…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2012
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  Someone Turned TV’s The Office Into a Counter-Strike Map

  YouTube user Blitzkrieg1981 has, after spending around 55 hours pausing and examining episodes of the hit TV show The Office, gone and replicated the entire thing as a map in first-person shooter Counter-Strike Fans of the original British series, sorry. This is the American version. Counterstrike Source The Office (TV) map [YouTube, via Reddit]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2012
• Culture

  One Does Not Simply Design Badass Lord of the Rings Characters

  Well, actually, one does if one is Wes Burt, concept artist at Massive Black, whose recent work for Turbine’s Lord of the Rings Online is well worth sharing. We’ve featured Wes’ work before here on Fine Art. If you haven’t seen it, you really should Fine Art is a celebration of the work of video…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 26, 2012