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  Waiting at a Japanese Arcade Leads to Blackmail. Then, an Arrest.

  On either July 6 or 7 of this year, 21-year-old Koichi Akashi spent time at a Kobe City video game arcade. Akashi, who’s unemployed, was apparently waiting for someone. When the man he was waiting for, a 19-year-old college student, showed up at the arcade, Akashi told him, “I’ve spent ¥200,000 waiting for you. One…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2011
• Culture

  The Fine Art of StarCraft II, Diablo III and World of Warcraft

  Like another man who has done such fine work for Blizzard, Mathias Verhasselt, Chris Thunig is here for one reason and one reason only: his amazing landscape paintings for Diablo III, StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Thunig specialises in matte paintings, which are static, highly-detailed images used in the background of things like movies…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  First Look at Minecraft’s Dragons (Well, Dragon)

  So the owner of the Elder Scrolls trademark is taking Minecraft developer Mojang to court, saying the latter’s upcoming game Scrolls should be called something else. Bad words ensue. And now competing screenshots. Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson has just posted a work-in-progress screenshot for his game, and it’s got…a giant dragon. You know, Elder…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Paris is Drowning, and it Looks Beautiful

  Happy Friday. Here’s something tranquil to ease you into the day. This is a clip made by French team ArtefactoryLab, who filmed Paris circa 2011 and then, with some computer work, recreated the water levels of the city’s devastating 1910 flood. Sounds slightly morbid, but nobody died in the original, and nobody died making this…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  An Epic Quest Against a World of Warcraft Grammar Nazi

  Poor Perolex. All he/she wanted was some help getting through a dungeon. All Perolex got was a schooling For some reason, it’s funnier because they’re whispering. Grammar Nazi [Felicia Day] You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Green Beret Says Military Game Developer Is a Phony, “Liar” UPDATE

  This is Pipeworks, an Oregon-based game studio headed up by Robert Daly. Apparently, Daly’s been saying he was in the Special Forces. But at least one Special Forces website, that’s not exactly true. Updated with response from Pipeworks disputing the accusations. If you’ve seen Spike TV, you’ve probably seen Daly on Deadliest Warrior. His studio…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2011
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  The Secret Words Only Game Developers Use

  Like any industry, game developers have their own lexicon, used to describe the unique people and quirks they encounter. If you’ve ever wondered what some of these are, Gamasutra enlisted the help of a few developers (who had themselves picked the brains of plenty more) and found that across the video game industry there exist…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Once Again, Gabe Newell Says Why PCs Are Great

  PC owners, you probably already know this. Valve boss Gabe Newell sure does and lets everyone know for the umpteenth time that PCs matter. Why? Because certain people think they don’t. In the latest issue of PC Gamer UK (via website CVG), Newell said that PCs are “great value for money”. “People like their PCs,”…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2011
• Reviews

  The Cyborg R.A.T. 7 Albino Looks More Like a Mass Effect Battleship Than a Gaming Mouse

  I use my PC almost as much as I use my lungs. I work ten hours a day on it, and when I’m not working on it, I’m sending emails, curating Facebook or watching videos of cats. I also, from time to time, play games on it. Meaning the mouse under my hand had better…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Nobody Cares about Your Stupid FarmVille Movie

  Just in time for everyone who has stopped playing FarmVille, Hollywood is working on a cinematic version of FarmVille In a recent interview with IGN, Toy Story writers Alec Sokolow and Joel Cohen hinted that they are working on a FarmVille flick. From the interview: We’re in conversations with Zynga to do something with one…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2011
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  Battlefield 3’s Creepiest Bug Brought to Life. It’s Even Creepier.

  Rocket tanks are awesome. But other Battlefield 3 bugs, like the human slug, kinda creep me out. Especially when somebody recreates them using actors. You can contact Luke Plunkett, the author of this post, at [email protected]. You can also find him on Twitter, Facebook, and lurking around our #tips page.

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Your Finger Is a Gun in this Blackwater Trailer

  Blackwater, a competent Kinect title with unsavory mercenary connections, is an on-rails shooter that also supports traditional gamepad controls. As previously mentioned, Blackwater, renamed to Xe Services llc, was contracted by the U.S. government to provide training and diplomatic security, most notably in the Middle East, for much of the last decade. Its presence alongside…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2011
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  Sony Might Buy Ericsson (and Why This Matters to the PlayStation Brand)

  The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sony is about to buy Ericsson, the mobile phone company it teamed up with in 2001. Sounds boooooring, but it actually has the potential to be a big move for the PlayStation brand. The Xperia Play, a phone released by Sony Ericsson’s joint venture, has been a bit…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Woody Isn’t Just a Toy Story Character. He’s a Plastic Figure Pervert.

  Last summer, legendary Japanese figure maker Kaiyodo released a Revoltech figure of Woody from Toy Story. Soon after it was released, people started noticing that, yes, something was off with the figure. In the West, figure collectors noticed that Woody looked psychotic and juxtaposed him with, for example, Gears of War‘s brutality. In Japan, figure…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 7, 2011
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  Here’s a Team Fortress 2 Map That Could Run In Your Browser

  Developer Brandon Jones has, after some tinkering and hard work, managed to import a map from online shooter Team Fortress 2 into WebGL. It’s not playable, but it’s there. This means that in practical terms it’s largely useless, but think big for a second, OK? This is one guy, working on this unofficially. You put…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  Watch Skyward Sword’s Intro Sequence, Right Now

  There’s been a bit of a Skyward Sword media blowout these past few days. An out which continues to blow today, as we get to see the game’s intro, which in terms of Zelda games is always a treat. It’s…exactly like Wind Waker’s intro. Only with a different art style, reflecting this game’s rather unique…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Rape, Racism & Repetition: This is Probably the Worst Game Ever Made

  When you think about it, commercial video games are usually pretty harmless. Sure, they can be violent, but there’s rarely any larger controversy surrounding a game involving things like drugs, politics, or sex. Which only makes 1982’s Custer’s Revenge all the more interesting. And appalling. WARNING: Some slightly NSFW content follows. For those unfamiliar with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 7, 2011
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  The Rarest, Longest-Lost Atari 2600 Cartridge—Once Sold Door-to-Door—is Finally Found

  Before the infamous crash of console gaming in the early 1980s, third-party cartridge development was somewhat a wild-west affair. Development costs were negligible compared to present times and, without the need for a presence in online distribution channels, a garage-built game might actually turn a profit on door-to-door sales. Thus Extra-Terrestrials was born. Skill Screen…

  By Owen Good Published October 6, 2011
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  To Light The Fire

  Greetings, Kotaku readers. Let’s get down to some off-topic conversation in tonight’s open thread, in which discussion of horror films, drugs, The Simpsons and Steve Jobs might happen. Maybe you can even talk about video games with your fellow Kotakuites. I just had a big video game moment, for example. I just finished (game one…

  By Michael McWhertor Published October 6, 2011
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  Here is How Star Wars: Galaxies Will Be Won

  With the dawning of Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Wars: Galaxies, aka “that other old MMO,” is headed for extinction. The game is going to wind up with a gigantic PvP throwdown for dominance settling once and for all (sorta) who runs the galaxy, Empire or Rebels. Here’s how it will be scored. It’s…

  By Owen Good Published October 6, 2011