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  Final PS Vita Box Design for Europe. Launch Apps, Too.

  When Sony detailed the PS Vita launch apps for Japan, the questions was how many of those would be available in the West. Well, how many? The launch app for Europe include Welcome Park (PS Vita tutorial), Party (text and voice chat), PlayStation Store (shopping), Group Messaging (messaging), Photos (well, photos), Near (location-based gaming network),…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011
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  This Week’s Cosplay Stars Deus Ex, Mass Effect, Zelda and Adventure Time

  Regular Fancy Pants posts have been on a little break for a while as we recharged from a glut of events like PAX and the Tokyo Game Show. We’re back as usual this week, though, and it seems the time off has worked wonders Why? Because for sheer quality this might be the best we’ve…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Kinect Could Automatically Control What you can Watch On Your 360

  A Microsoft patent, filed in March 2010 but only publicly released last week, is called PARENTAL CONTROL SETTINGS BASED ON BODY DIMENSIONS. It’s about using tech like Kinect to automatically restrict content on a PC or Xbox depending on who (or what) the camera sees in the room. Basically, it would use a camera (Kinect…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Is This Ni no Kuni‘s Official English Title?

  The PS3 version of Ni no Kuni, the prettiest game of this year’s Tokyo Game Show, is coming to America The game’s Japanese title needs an English localization, because its Japanese title Ni no Kuni: Shiroki Seihai no Jyoou is a mouthful in English. According to a U.S. government trademark registration by Level-5, the game…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011
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  Go Behind the Scenes of Portal With This Aperture Science Documentary

  These kids (and adults!) have invested what looks like a ridiculous amount of time and energy creating a documentary on Portal’s Aperture Science. Not a short five-minute web clip. Like, a 21-minute documentary. Don’t worry, it’s not serious. It’s not a Valve neckbeard convention agonising over easter eggs and links to Half-Life 2. It’s just…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Bloody Roar 5 In Development [Update]

  It’s not like the world was clamouring for it, but here we have it regardless: there’s a new Bloody Roar game in development. It’ll be the first in the animal-punching series since Bloody Roar 4 in 2003. UPDATE – And, it was a hoax. Nothing to see here!

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Peripheral Designed with Dicks in Mind Coming Next Month

  Japan’s Tech Arts 3D doesn’t just make video games. It also makes things to put on your junk. Some might call this unnecessary or disgusting, I’ll call it multitasking. Tech Arts 3D is the studio behind computer title 3D Custom Girl, which allows players to create custom computer girls and then do things Last fall,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011
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  “Rare” PS2 Games Coming to the PlayStation Network [Update]

  I’ve been dreaming for a while now of picking up a PS2 game I already own, putting it in my PS3 and having it work. Ever since my launch console died that’s been totally out of the question, so I guess I’ll have to settle for the next best thing. Sony has launched a new…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Mass Effect 3 Including Multiplayer After All?

  For what feels like forever, there’s been talk of something in the Mass Effect universe turning up soon that features multiplayer. Some say it’s a standalone expansion, some say it might be nothing Whatever it is, over the weekend it reared its head again: once in the form of an upcoming feature for Xbox World…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  What’s the Reaction When You Make Dragon Quest Games

  As far as iconic games in Japan go, they don’t get any more iconic than Dragon Quest. It’s one of those rare games that still ensnares people who don’t game as much as they used to or don’t game at all. So in Japan, working on Dragon Quest must be a pretty big deal, no?…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011
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  Japanese Ghost Town Haunted by Old Nintendo Consoles, Porn

  Ghost towns aren’t just found in the Western United States. They’re everywhere. Even Japan, where they’re slightly more interesting than usual, because they’ve got dirty old video games (and dirty old video cassettes). Nichitsu was, like old American ghost towns, a settlement based on gold mining. Named after the company which owned the mines (and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  American Kids Totally Baffled by Japanese Virtual Creation

  Hatsune Miku is a virtual idol. She exists in the virtual space. In the latest Kids React, a group of kids react to the singer. Footage is shown of the Sega-produced Miku concert, and the kids, while initially WTF-ing, do offer up some insightful and open responses about the virtual popstar, as well as some…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011
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  We Few, We Happy Few…

  Gabrielle Salonga, who’s had it up to here with internet commenting system fanboys, shows that it’s neither red nor blue (green?) that matters. It’s the space between. 1 Oct [Game On] 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…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Ripping Off Your Biggest Fans, Idol-Style

  Japan is expensive. Tokyo and Osaka consistently rank among the most expensive cities in the world. With the strong yen, Japan is even pricier for foreign visitors. It’s no steal for nerds, either. It’s highway robbery. Geek mecca Akihabara has a bevy of maid cafes to tempt otaku with cutesy food. Popular dishes include “rice…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 3, 2011
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  Super Cult Tycoon 2: Deluxe Edition is Free to all Believers

  Playing as a mayor, or a President, or a Captain in a strategy game gets boring after a while. You’re always the straight guy, the man in the suit, the uniformed leader burdened with responsibility. How refreshing it is, then, to play Super Cult Tycoon and take charge of a crazy cult leader. Built in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  Finally, Play a Battlestar Galactica Game That does What the Show did Best

  It’s a sad world we live in when the best Battlestar Galactica games available are a rather dry MMO and some fan-made mods Yet like the crew of the Galactica we’ve got to make do with the world we’re left with, no matter how cruel and unfair it is. So today, let’s make the most…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  Before They Were Superstars: BioWare

  Canadian developers BioWare are known today for blockbuster series like Mass Effect, Dragon Age and the upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic We don’t care about those today. Today, for our younger/newer readers that may only know them for those franchises, we’re going back to 1995, where it all began. Unlike most (I’d be tempted…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 3, 2011
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  The Sith’s Gonna Do It Again

  The Sith’s Gonna Do It Again | Graffiti spied on a utility pole on the Eugene, Ore. side of the Knickerbocker Bridge. Vote on Sunday Comics‘ Newest Strip Last week we took nominations for a new feature to take Rooster Teeth‘s place in Sunday Comics. After reading through all of your suggestions, we’ve come up…

  By Owen Good Published October 2, 2011
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  This Guy is Hellbent on Getting a DotA 2 Beta Key

  Valve opened a photo-submission contest offering beta keys for DotA 2 and asking fans to show just how much they want one. The contest guidelines included the requirement that images be larger than 600 by 400 pixels. Think a billboard will do? Steven Addison talked a rep for Clear Channel, owner of this digital billboard…

  By Owen Good Published October 2, 2011
• Culture

  Rage With Your Machine

  A jampacked Tuesday gives the core gamer Rage and Dark Souls. Sports fans get NBA 2K12 and loyal webheads will see Spider-Man: Edge of Time Today • Tetris Axis (3DS) Tuesday • Dark Souls (PS3, 360)—The successor to From Software’s uncompromisingly challenging Demon’s Souls sends Xbox 360 gamers to hell and back for the first…

  By Owen Good Published October 2, 2011