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  The Games, the Girls, and Prizes of Japan’s Amusement Machine Show

  The 49th Amusement Machine show wrapped up recently in Japan. The show played host to new arcade games like Sega’s Operation G.H.O.S.T., new medal games for Monster Hunter and Pokémon, and a bunch of prizes. Jackass comedian Esper Ito arrived in a bag, while booth companions showed attendees around. Check out the festivities, courtesy of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 20, 2011
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  Remember, Sony’s Shitty New Terms of Service Don’t Apply to Everyone

  Sony’s new PlayStation Network terms of service, which basically exist to try and stop the company being taken to court by disgruntled users, aren’t exactly popular in the US. If you’re from Europe or Australia, though, relax: They don’t apply to you. A Sony spokesperson has confirmed with Kotaku Australia that across the territories governed…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2011
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  No, I Do Not Want To Eat This

  　Starting this November, Dragon Quest‘s cute blue Slime character is getting its own meat buns. The blue buns will go on sale at convenience stores across the country. This week Japanese television showed off the Slime meat buns and did a taste test. The slightly sad Slime face combined with the meaty filling make this…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 20, 2011
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  Making Zelda a Little More Japanese

  Despite being developed entirely by Japanese men and women, The Legend of Zelda has always had a more Western aesthetic. Something this wonderful fan art seeks to address. French artist Gerwell has reimagined some of the series’ main characters for a fantasy project of his, and in this project, there are less belts, heavy leather…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2011
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  Wipe Out Some Sword Slashes on the PS Vita

  With Dynast Warriors Next, hack-and-slash series Dynastt Warriors is coming to the PS Vita. The game uses traditional button based combat and touch screen controls. Prompts clue in the player when to use the touch screen. Kotaku wasn’t able to get hands on with the game at the Tokyo Game Show (long lines, not enough…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 20, 2011
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  What Happens To Developers When A Studio Closes?

  We hear about video game studios closing down – and people losing their jobs as a result – all the time. But have you ever wondered what it’s like to be one of those affected? To work through the job uncertainty, survive a round of layoffs, get the sack and try and find new work?…

  Tracey Lien Published September 20, 2011
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  Skyrim Comes To Life In This Fan Flick

  Fan flicks continually get better and better. Check out this Skyrim fan film trailer, which features swooping aerial shots, a CG dragon, and fire. If you like this, you can subscribe in the YouTube link below. Remember when it was enough to have a grungy guy don a costume and run around in the woods?…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 20, 2011
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  Mass Effect’s Sexy Star is Hopelessly Addicted to Angry Birds

  Yvonne Strahovski is known as both a model and TV actor, but really, around here she’s Mass Effect’s Miranda Lawson. And that’s it. Or it was until today, as she’s now known as Mass Effect’s Miranda Lawson and “lady who talks about Angry Birds so much it’s a little strange”. In an interview with Collider,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2011
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  Just Because You Know Him, Doesn’t Mean Japan Does

  The press room on the last day of the Tokyo Game Show was dead. I spent the afternoon in there, finishing up some stories and just when I was leaving, I spotted a slick Mercedes Benz. I stopped, pulled out my camera and got ready to snap off a quick photo to send to my…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 20, 2011
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  See All of Capcom’s TGS Stage Presentations (DMC, Dragon’s Dogma, Resident Evil, etc) In the One Place

  Since you weren’t at the Tokyo Game Show, you would have missed Capcom’s lineup of stage presentations, held as part of the company’s enormous (and awesome) booth. While they were light on news, they’re heavy on live gameplay demonstrations and clips, so if you feel like seeing footage of DMC, Dragon’s Dogma, Asura’s Wrath, Resident…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2011
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  Valve Beta Leaks, Contains DotA 2 Info (and Creepy New Intro)

  There’s a closed , very private beta going on at the moment for Valve’s upcoming click simulator DotA 2. Or, at least it was private: one of the participants has apparently leaked the client data onto the internet, spilling all kinds of information on the game. Among the content currently out there are character icons,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  This Star Wars Game Was So Bad They Should Have Made More Of Them

  Over the past thirty years there have been plenty of memorable Star Wars games, from the Super Star Wars series to X-Wing to Jedi Knight to Battlefront. They’re all classics, not just awesome adaptations of a movie franchise but awesome games in their own right. Star Wars: Yoda Stories is not one of those games.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 20, 2011
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  Octorok, Koopa, Goomba, Roomba

  Four Roombas swept across the floor at this year’s SUPER iam8bit art show, recreations of the most memorable low-ranking bad guys from Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda. Thanks to iam8bit, you can now see those Nintendo-fied Roombas in video action. You can contact Michael McWhertor, the author of this post, at [email protected].…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011
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  Welcome To Earf

  Our semi-nightly off topic thread is back from vacation, so please welcome its return while also talking amongst yourselves. I’d contribute, but I’ve got some Burrito Bison to play… Seriously, lots of things to get done tonight, so I’ll leave you with some interesting links and encourage you to join your fellow Kotaku commenters in…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011
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  Forget Unreal: I’m All About Twisted Pixel’s “Beard” Engine

  Like many folks, I’ve got a complicated relationship with pre-game splash screens. On the one hand, I like that series of middleware introductions, publisher logos, and various other graphical preamble that flash across my screen, largely because of how I savor them the first time I’m playing a game that I’m excited about. I watch…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 19, 2011
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  Assassin’s Creed Revelations‘s PS3 Bonus Is Assassin’s Creed

  See how far the Assassin’s Creed series has come with your “day one” copy of Assassin’s Creed Revelations for the PlayStation 3 will have a nice little bonus in the form of Assassin’s Creed—the 2007 original—free of charge, Ubisoft announced today. Ubisoft says of the “special partnership with Sony Computer Entertainment” that “gamers will be…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011
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  Those Horribad Deus Ex: Human Revolution Boss Battles Were Outsourced

  A month after release, popular opinion holds firm that Deus Ex: Human Revolution was a well-made game. And yet one niggling flaw stands out, an issue that has been highlighted in countless blog posts, tweets, and video game forums. Those accursed boss battles. They were, in a word, bad. As I played the game for…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published September 19, 2011
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  An Augmented Reality Japanese Pop Star of Your Very Own, Courtesy of Toyota

  Japan’s beloved virtual pop goddess Hatsune Miku, star of her own video game series and hundreds of thousands of user-create YouTube videos, is now the voice of the 2011 Toyota Corolla, and you can hold her in the palm of your hand. Created by Crypton Future Media, Inc., Hatsune Miku is one of the world’s…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 19, 2011
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  Unreal Dev Kit Adds Mac Support… So How About Some More Mac Games, Developers?

  Epic Games’ Unreal Development Kit, the developer side of the engine that powers Gears of War, Mass Effect, Mortal Kombat, and dozens of other titles, has a new beta release. Within is support for UDK games on Mac OS X, meaning, hopefully, more native games on Apple-made computers. Epic’s Unreal dev tools already supports Apple’s…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011
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  The Contents of Resident Evil‘s 15th Anniversary Deluxe, Japan-Only Box Set Exposed

  Japanese Resident Evil fans received a very posh box set for the PlayStation 3 earlier this month, stuffing 15 years’ worth of zombie horror history—across five core Resident Evil games—in very slick packaging. See its horrors unboxed in the video above, for getting your hands on it might be a challenge. The Biohazard 15th Anniversary…

  By Michael McWhertor Published September 19, 2011