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  Epic Mickey Lands In Japan, But Is Less Epic Than Kirby

  Disney’s Epic Mickey made its (rather late) to the Wii in Japan last week, debuting in the top ten, but not in the top five. Another adorable mascot, Nintendo’s Kirby, fared much better overseas. The week’s real winner, however, was Sega’s J-League Pro Soccer Club o Tsukurou! 7 Euro Plus for PSP. The soccer sim…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  Mortal Kombat: Legacy Komes to Blu-ray This November

  The nine episode web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy will come to a Blu-ray near you this November, courtesy of Warner Bros. and director Kevin Tancharoen, delivering live action Jax, Sonya, Scorpion, Sub-Zero and more onto one high-def disc. Hi-Def Digest has details on the Mortal Kombat: Legacy Blu-ray, hitting November 8 for $19.98 USD, revealing…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  Madden Munchies Find a Winning Flavor and Stick With It

  Following a breakout rookie year, “Stadium Nacho,” the Madden NFL Dorito flavor, returns for a sophomore campaign on grocery shelves. There’s free stuff in the bag, too. “Stadium Nacho” helped right the ship with stoners after a meal deal with with Kentucky Fried Chicken turned in a Jamarcus-esque performance in 2009. Nacho overshadowed teammate “Tailgater…

  By Owen Good Published August 10, 2011
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  Fan Pleas for Half-Life 3 Enter Negotiating-via-Cardboard Phase

  The two guys on the left showed up at Valve Software recently, hoping the guy on the right would hear (or read) their plea. I’m a little confused, though. Is the guy all the way on the left saying that Canada wants Half-Life 3 to be released? Or is he offering to trade Canada for…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  PvP and Penny Arcade Turn The Horrors of Game Testing Into Our Own Version of The Office

  I’ve never been a game tester, not by choice, but reviewer is often one step up from that front line in the war against game-killing bugs. Testing by accident, finding bugs and even having a few “named” after me, is painless for me because I can just give up, waving the controller in the air…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 10, 2011
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  I Think the PlayStation People are Trying to Hypnotize Us

  There’s some sort of writing on the European PlayStation blog about the Dazzle Eye dynamic theme for the PlayStation 3 and PSP. Artists’ project, platform for creativity, etc., etc…. something about the pattern for Dazzle Eye originating in a World War I design that was intended “to bewilder the enemy.” Press play on the video…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  This Lizard Piggy Went to Anarchy Reigns

  The latest addition to the cast of Platinum Games’ battle royale, Anarchy Reigns, also carries the best name of the bunch: Oinkie. Oinkie is a human mutant that uses a substance called “The Juice” to transform him from pig creature to lizard pig creature, sort of a Spider-Ham meets the Lizard meets the Kingpin, with…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 10, 2011
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  Might and Magic Heroes VI Gets an Announcement Trailer for Its Announcement Trailer.

  I confess, I find the practice of teasing a future tease frustrating, and I’m not quite sure why the video game hype machine is so fond of this. It befuddles me. The actual “trailer” in question however, is not befuddling, but quite rousing, in an inspiring, high fantasy manner. But again. Using a tease to…

  By Joshua Rivera Published August 10, 2011
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  Jonathan Blow, Opinionated Creator of Two Video Games, is ‘Attempting to be Profound’

  Jonathan Blow is a video game developer whose critics call pretentious and grouchy. He once had the audacity to wonder aloud why more people don’t make video games for adults who like reading books. That was some time after he had the temerity to criticize the game-making of the geniuses at Nintendo. That was also…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  Rock Band 3 Has A New Publisher—Mad Catz!

  Harmonix’s rock solid 2010 rock ‘n’ roll game Rock Band 3 will be re-released later this year under the guidance of a new publisher, Mad Catz. That’s right. The people who make Rock Band guitar and keyboard controllers are now publishing the game. Mad Catz, better known for its joysticks, gamepads and expensive flight sim…

  By Michael McWhertor Published August 10, 2011
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  So You Want to Score a 3DS for $170 Two Days Early?

  In addition to news that Wal-Mart was getting all antsy and selling the 3DS for $170 before its official August 12 price drop, shoppers on Twitter and Cheap Ass Gamer are also reporting that Target has also joined Wal-Mart in dropping the price early. We called a few Target locations, and while most still quote…

  By Joshua Rivera Published August 10, 2011
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  That Awesome “Revenge of the Jedi” Moment in Bioshock Infinite? That Came from a Game We’ll Never See

  Near the beginning of the E3 demo of Irrational Games’ Bioshock Infinite, there’s a moment when… well, it’s the sort of thing that when you talk to other people who have seen it you say, “You know… that part?” And they nod knowingly and say, “Oh yeah. That part. That was awesome.” It starts when…

  By Kirk Hamilton Published August 10, 2011
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  Todd Hollenshead Explains Why Quake Live Isn’t a Success Yet

  Quake Live is a browser based free-to-play version of the classic FPS Quake III Arena that has been out of beta for a year. In a recent interview with VG24/7 id CEO Todd Hollenshead discussed what hasn’t gone right. “The thing for us with Quake Live is that there’s one specific thing that can be…

  By Max Abrams Published August 10, 2011
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  Five Disappointing Things About My First Hours on Dead Island

  From its bittersweet debut trailer to its brutally gore-ified combat, Dead Island has captured the attention of zombie gamer around the globe. Earlier this week it captured my attention for several hours, and I wasn’t entirely pleased. We’ve seen plenty of Dead Island here at Kotaku since it made a splash earlier this year. Drew…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 10, 2011
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  The Astounding Talking Wheatley Puppet Overcomes Valve’s Design Flaws

  During the creator’s commentary in Portal 2, Valve animator Richard Lord called the eye portion of lovable personality sphere Wheatley’s design a physical impossibility. Cosplayer Furin’s talking Wheatley puppet seems to have done well enough. After Portal 2‘s release made her switch gears from her planned Fullmetal Alchemist cosplay for this year’s Dragon*Con, cosplayer Furin…

  By Mike Fahey Published August 10, 2011
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  Resistance 3 Dev Diary Highlights the Most Underrepresented Aspect of Game Development

  The new Resistance 3 Dev Diary says it’s about the game’s motion capture. And yes, for the most part, that’s true. But it also spends a fair amount of time delving into something that I feel isn’t shown nearly enough by devs in this era of AAA titles that routinely feature plots in which entire…

  By Joshua Rivera Published August 10, 2011
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  PlayStation 3 Gets Exclusive September Assassin’s Creed Revelations Multiplayer Beta

  In a sign that either the PlayStation 3 version of Assassin’s Creed Revelations needs more public beta testing than the Xbox 360 version or that Sony and AC publisher Ubisoft are—gasp—using a beta as a marketing stunt, the Assassin’s Creed: Revelations multiplayer beta will launch next month only on PS3, initially to a subset of…

  By Stephen Totilo Published August 10, 2011
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  Dance Central Adds The Godfather of Soul, Sean Paul, and Lloyd

  On August 16th Dance Central will add “Sex Machine” by James Brown, “Get Busy” by Sean Paul and “Get It Shawty” by Lloyd to the in-game store. The tracks will also be compatible with the upcoming sequel, Dance Central 2

  By Max Abrams Published August 10, 2011
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  Hit the Gym. You’re Going to Be Able to Play Video Strip Poker on the iPad 2 Tomorrow

  OK, Full Deck Hold’Em certainly isn’t meant to be a strip poker game. It is the latest game from Graeme Devine, creator of The 7th Guest and former game guru at Apple. But when you combine live video streaming with poker, you’ve got to expect that at least a little nudity might happen. Full Deck…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 10, 2011
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  From the Director of Alien, Blade Runner, New Content for Call of Duty Elite

  Call of Duty Elite, Activision’s bid to make their billion-dollar shooter more community driven, will be getting some “exclusive episodic entertainment” from the likes of Will Arnett, Jason Bateman and Ridley Scott, the company said during a recent presentation. Speaking to a gathering at the 13th Annual Pacific Crest Global Technology Leadership Forum in Vail,…

  By Brian Crecente Published August 10, 2011