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  I’ve Seen Battlefield 3 on PS3 Firsthand. It’s Spectacular.

  The last time I saw Kevin O’Leary he had a beard. A tier-one beard. These day’s he’s wrangling press for Battlefield 3. Right now he’s walking me behind a curtain on the second floor of a New York City ballroom to a Playstation 3 set-up on a back room television. They won’t allow me to…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 21, 2011
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  The Shuttle Has Landed…

  Many of us watched as the space shuttle Atlantis rocketed into space earlier this month, marking the last time a space shuttle will ever leave the Earth. Early this morning Atlantis came home.

  By Brian Crecente Published July 21, 2011
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  Wii Fit U? Wii Sports U? Wii Music U? U Betcha!

  Nintendo has trademarked a whole host of Wii U titles. Most are fairly obvious, such as “Wii Party U”, but with one glaring miss: Nintendo trademarked “Mii U” and not “Wii Mii U”. Oh no, quick Nintendo, quick! Here is the full list, courtesy of website Siliconera: Wii U + logo Mii U Wii Fit…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2011
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  Sid Meier’s Pirates! Washes Up on the iPad

  Launching today, an iPad optimized version of Sid Meier’s Pirates! is available in the App Store for US$3.99. That’s a limited time deal until July 25. After that, it’s priced at $6.99. [iTunes]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2011
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  This Is What a Zombie-Killing Cheerleader Looks Like

  Yesterday, it was revealed that Goichi Suda of No More Heroes fame is working on a new game called Lollipop Chainsaw. It’s about an 18-year-old cheerleader who kills zombies, so it’s less rah-rah and more slice-slice. The first images of the game were blurry magazine shots. These images are much better! Lollipop Chainsaw looks to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2011
• Culture

  This Concept Art Has a Demon’s Soul

  In addition to a bunch of other stuff, Hong Kong artist Michael Ting Yu Chang has also done some video game work with Japanese developers From Software. That means he provided concept art for the sucky Ninja Blade, yes. But it also means he’s provided concept art for crushing RPG Demon’s Soul and its upcoming…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  Rumor: Fables’ Creator Working on Fables Game?

  We haven’t heard too much about it, but there’s going to be a game based on the excellent Fables series of comics. If you like the idea of that, you’ll love this. On the eve of Comic-Con, a rumor on comics site Bleeding Cool says that Bill Willingham, the writer and creator of Fables, is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  Former Mega Man Producer Is Sorry about That Cancellation

  This week, Capcom shitcanned Mega Man Legends 3. The game was supposed to be produced by Mega Man producer Keiji Inafune, but he’s not at Capcom anymore. Hrm, that might have something to do with it? On his blog, Inafune wrote, “Today’s cancellation decision is out of my control, but there’s something I’d like to…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2011
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  There’s a Downside to Deus Ex’s Robot Body Parts

  There was a Deus Ex commercial earlier this year showing how awesome it would be to have robot arms, robot hands and robot eyes. Turns out it’s not so awesome, as this lengthy follow-up trailer explains. This live-action stuff really treads a fine line, doesn’t it? Sometimes it can really help give a trailer that…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  Mortal Kombat Statues for Differing Tastes and Budgets

  Collectible company Syco have picked up a license to release Mortal Kombat statues, so release some Mortal Kombat statues they shall. The company is releasing three different ranges, from 10-inch statues ($164) to 18-inch statues (US$300) to 1:2 scale busts ($200). You can check out each piece in more detail at Syco’s site, linked below.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  This Is the World Cup of Gundam Model Making

  This December, Bandai Namco is holding the “Gunpla Builders World Cup 2011”, the first international competition devoted to Gunpla, or Gundam model building. Between now and September, preliminary rounds are being held with competitors from 13 different countries: Japan, China, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Australia, America, and Italy. There…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2011
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  Old Republic Pre-Orders go Live, Three Versions Available

  As expected, pre-orders for Star Wars: The Old Republic have just gone live, customers able to choose from not one, not two, but three versions of the upcoming MMO. There’s the big one we showed you the other day, the “normal” one, and an edition that falls in between them, which lacks a fancy box…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  The Uncanny Valley is Now Scientific Fact

  The notion of the “Uncanny Valley”, where artificial people are more disturbing the closer they come to “reality”, has been around for ages. But now, thanks to a research team in San Diego, it’s bonafide science. As reported on Wired, The University of California confronted twenty test subjects with a variety of videos showing a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  Skyward Sword’s New Trailer Takes Flight

  On the eve of Comic-Con, Nintendo has released this new, lengthy trailer for the upcoming The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword It’s got pretty much everything you could ask for in a Zelda trailer. Fighting, flying, weird characters. Even Gorons! The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is the first proper Zelda game since 2006’s Twilight…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  Is This the World’s Oldest Gamer?

  Old people play video games. By old, maybe that means sixty years old? Seventy? How about 99 years old. Meet Umeji Narisawa. She’s 99 years-old, and according to Japanese TV program Nani Kore Chin Hyakkei, she plays nothing but Bomberman for hours everyday. And has for nearly the past 26 years. Bomberman was originally released…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 21, 2011
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  Activision Boss Says DJ Hero Helped Kill Guitar Hero

  I like video games. I like turntables. I like DJ Shadow, I like the Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, the Scratch Perverts. Yet I’ve thought DJ Hero was a stupid idea from the moment the series was first announced. Not only did its lumping together of hip-hop, dance and electronica dilute the series’ focus, but being…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  TF2’s Rockets Explained: Pith Helmets, Ray Guns & Mutton Chops Ahoy

  WETA, the special effects and design house behind movies like Lord of the Rings and District 9, has teamed up with Valve for a little cross-promotion, with some of its original designs to be featured in Team Fortress 2. For a while now WETA has peddled its own intellectual property (created by WETA’s Greg Broadmore),…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The Real History of the Triforce

  It’s one of the most iconic designs in the history of video games: three golden triangles combined to form a single larger one. The Triforce. The object that lies at the heart of The Legend of Zelda The thing is, Nintendo didn’t come up with the design. It’s been around for almost 1000 years The…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 21, 2011
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  America’s Pastime Is Japan’s Biggest Seller Right Now

  High-definition, big headed baseball is currently the hottest thing in Japanese video games. Konami’s latest cartoonish baseball sim, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu 2011, is the country’s number one game. According to sales tracker Media Create, the weekly software sales chart is ruled by superdeformed baseball on the PlayStation 3. Hot on the heels of that…

  By Michael McWhertor Published July 20, 2011
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  Pulling Action Figures Into a 3DS with Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure

  Here is how you take a three-inch high plastic figurine and pull him into your 3DS, without wires, memory cards, or the device’s camera. Just set your character from Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure on that portal, and aim the 3DS at him, and wait for the beam of light. When I did it, I swear I…

  By Owen Good Published July 20, 2011