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  Quick! Zone of the Enders or Miku Hatsune Figures? Which Do You Want?

  What do Gradius, Zone of the Enders, Love Plus, and Miku Hatsune have in common? Plastic! At the recent Wonder Festival in Tokyo, figurines and sculptures went on full display, with fan favorites like love sim Love Plus and virtual idol Miku Hatsune appearing in spades. Check out the images in the gallery, courtesy of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2011
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  The Ladies of Team Fortress 2

  These aren’t the first depictions of Team Fortress 2‘s (mostly) male protagonists as women. Won’t be last, either. But it may well be the most adorable! Artist botjira’s take on the cartoon mercenaries as pin-up girls gets sexy when it has to, but mostly just keeps things cute. Though, going by the spirit of the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
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  From Creepy to Cute, Cosplay at Wonder Festival

  This weekend, the bi-annual Wonder Festival, an event for video game and anime figurines and sculptures, roared through Tokyo. And whenever there’s a nerd gathering, there’s gonna be cosplay. Sister site Kotaku Japan and website Gigazine were on hand to check out the festivities, the figures, and the costumes. 「TIGER & BUNNY」コスプレ, 「本気」スキル発動のジンオウガ装備＆『モンハン』, 「コード・オブ・プリンセス」コスプレ, アツい夏のホットな女子コスプレイヤーたち…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2011
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  Former Microsoft Developer Killed In Traffic Accident

  Former Microsoft Game Studios developer Steve Lacey, who had worked on titles like Crimson Skies and the Flight Simulator series, has been tragically killed when a drunk driver smashed into his car while trying to collide with another vehicle in an incident of “road rage”. Lacey was 43. [King5]

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
• Esports

  Watch EVO 2011 Go Down from the Comfort of Your Couch

  The world’s biggest, baddest fighting game tournament, EVO 2011, is fast approaching (it’s this weekend!), and if you can get there and see it in person, that’s awesome. If you can’t, that’s OK! You can still watch it from home. First things first, if you’re at a PC or are packing a laptop, you can…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
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  Glenn Beck, Nazi Germany, Angry Birds, Oh My!

  Angry Birds is not just a game. See, the birds are angry because the pigs took their eggs—eggs the birds worked for. Redistribution of eggs, Nazi Germany, and comparing the police to pigs. A snippet of pundit Glenn Beck’s talkshow, courtesy of Jeff Grub at Bitmob Seriously, why would we play Angry Birds when Tiny…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2011
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  Here’s One Theory Why Japanese Games Aren’t as Big as They Used to be

  Ever since this console generation kicked off in 2005/06, Japanese developers have become increasingly irrelevant to the purchasing habits of many Western gamers. There are plenty of theories as to why this is. And Dead or Alive creator Tomonobu Itagaki has one. “In Japan, in this industry, they are lacking not just in technology, but…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
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  Pokémon, Japanese Icon

  Pocket Monsters first launched in Japan back in early 1996 on the Game Boy. Later that year, a card game followed. By the late 1990s, the series was supposed to be a fad, a passing fancy. Yet this month in Japan, two Pokémon feature films hit Japanese theaters. Pocket Monsters isn’t a fad, in Japan,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published July 26, 2011
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  There is CityVille In China (and it’s Legal!)

  Super-popular Facebook game CityVille now has a little brother, developers Zynga releasing a version of the game in China. An official version. It’s called Zynga City, and has been largely overhauled for the local market, with buildings and events geared toward Chinese tastes and experiences. It’ll also, fitting for a nation hooked on MMO games,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
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  If You Update Our Firmware, Tell Us Why

  There’s a new 3DS update in the wild. And it does, well…something. What exactly that is, Nintendo isn’t saying, because when Nintendo updates the 3DS, it doesn’t tell you what it’s updated. Aren’t we entitled to know that? Sony does the same thing on the PlayStation 3, firmware updates often accompanied by vague statements about…

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  An Outlaw to the End

  Outlaws was the first FPS title to introduce a zoomed scope for a sniper rifle

  By Luke Plunkett Published July 26, 2011
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  A Family’s Miis Aid in Return of One Stolen Wii

  A Jacksonville, Florida family’s Wii is back in their possession after being stolen and pawned, thanks to a handful of Miis. According to a report from FOX 30 from Jacksonville, the Witherspoon’s Wii was stolen, alongside several televisions, during a burglary in May. Police tracked a stolen television to a local pawn shop, where the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published July 25, 2011
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  Just A Couple Slimes

  Welcome back to the workweek, Kotaku readers. I know. Bummer. But we’re back from Comic-Con, better rested and in possession of two new Slimes. That, ladies and gentlemen, represents the entirety of my Comic-Con haul. Did you fare any better? Granted, I did walk away with a free book and one free Team Fortress 2…

  By Michael McWhertor Published July 25, 2011
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  Take Some Friends With You to Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

  Beautiful adventure game Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet comes to Xbox Live Arcade next week. It is a mysterious, quiet game—Dimmu Borgir music notwithstanding—that is Metroid-like, full of exploration, power ups and re-exploration, at least on the single-player side. But there is a multiplayer side to Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet as well. This 10-minute-long video of…

  By Michael McWhertor Published July 25, 2011
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  New Screens For Silent Hill HD Collection and Silent Hill: Downpour Come to Light

  Silent Hill fans will be soaking in terrifying blackness this fall with the release of the Silent Hill HD Collection and Silent Hill: Downpour, two titles shooting for release by October. Konami has released new screen shots of both titles, Silent Hill HD Collection‘s version of Silent Hill 2 for the PlayStation 3 and Silent…

  By Michael McWhertor Published July 25, 2011
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  This Thursday Retro Game Master Takes On Mighty Bomb Jack

  This week on Retro Game Master The Kacho takes on Tecmo platformer Mighty Bomb Jack Mighty Bomb Jackwas released in 1986 for the arcade and the following year for the Nintendo Entertainment System. In the game, Jack makes his way through a 16-level pyramid on his way to defeat the demon Belzebut and rescue a…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 25, 2011
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  Twisted Metal Goes For the Gore and the ‘Mature’ Rating, Passing on Public Beta

  Most Twisted Metal games, despite their carnage, have been rated T for Teen. The lone exceptions are Twisted Metal: Black, the 10-year-old PlayStation 2 game with a darker bent, and this fall’s equally grisly PlayStation 3 reboot. Eat Sleep Play co-founder and Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe told Comic-Con attendees this weekend that the PS3…

  By Michael McWhertor Published July 25, 2011
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  What’s With These Comics?

  Like… Mint? – It’s good to see that they still have comics at Comic-Con (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images) Reckless Endangerment Makes for a Sloppy Getaway When video games call for criminal behavior, I try to portray the bandit with a heart of gold. Running innocents off the road delivers neither a thrill nor a…

  By Brian Crecente Published July 25, 2011
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  Madden Welcomes Back the NFL, Gets to Work on Free Agency

  The NFL’s four-month player lockout suspended all personnel operations except for the rookie draft—signings, trades, all of it. With labor peace declared today, that process will be condensed down to a hectic few weeks, and can dramatically reshape the rosters in Madden NFL 12 By way of that video, and a “Free Agent Forecast” web…

  By Owen Good Published July 25, 2011
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  This is Kinect 4, for People Who Believe that Connect Four Isn’t Physical Enough

  We can’t blame or credit the new, more physical version of Connect Four on Microsoft’s Kinect sensor. No, the TV show Hasbro Family Game Night is responsible for that. That’s where the basketball version of Connect Four came from. The basketballized version of Connect Four has simply been ported from the world of real game…

  By Stephen Totilo Published July 25, 2011