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  No Problem. Everything’s Fine.

  大丈夫だ、問題ない | JAPANESE ARCADES: Enoch from El Shaddai is coming to Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown. (Photo: SEGA) When Monsters Hunt Kids In Costume, Pokemon Simply Sit & Watch Well, if it isn’t Kirin from Monster Hunter. Who says the series isn’t popular in the West. It’s popular enough for somebody to dress up as…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  Don’t Lend Strangers Your Game Handhelds, Kids!

  On May 12, a 10 year-old grade-schooler in Kochi City and her friend waere playing with her Nintendo game portable along the city’s waterway. A 23 year-old man named Akira Nakamura appeared and said, “Let me see your game machine.” According to Yomiuri Online, the girl lent her handheld and two games to the unemployed…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  It’s Like Dragon Quest, But in TV Drama Form

  This June, actor Takayuki Yamada, known for the Densha Otoko movie, stars in his latest television drama, Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro (Hero Yoshihiko and the Devil King’s Castle). Writer-director Yuuichi Fukuda penned the original script—it doesn’t look original, though. If you’ve played a Japanese role-playing game in the past twenty years, the drama…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  Duke Nukem’s Gay Sidekick Was Nixed

  In Duke Nuke: Forever, a wide variety of heterosexual tropes get probed. “Sexuality is part of Duke’s personality,” game designer Randy Pitchford recently said at the BAFTAs in London. It’s part of the games, too. Pitchford and his studio Gearbox Software considered adding a “gay robot” sidekick (not pictured) to the upcoming shooter. The reason…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  When Monsters Hunt Kids In Costume, Pokemon Simply Sit & Watch

  Well, if it isn’t Kirin from Monster Hunter. Who says the series isn’t popular in the West. It’s popular enough for somebody to dress up as a Monster Hunter character! Other notable mentions from this week’s cosplay roundup include a convincing Ezio from Assassin’s Creed, double the Devil May Cry and a dark, very furry…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  It’s Portal Time, Come on Grab Your Friends

  As Jake is saying, “this is awesome”. Via Gamefreaks

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  One of the Oldest Video Games Makes a Comeback

  Lunar Lander is about as old as video games get. You’d nearly all have played a variation of the game at one point or another, but soon you’ll be able to play one that’s a little fresher Indie developer Sean Edwards is working on a PC game called Lunar Flight, which is a modern take…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  Huge Angry Birds Game Created in Spain

  To promote Angry Birds, Deutsche Telekom and game developer Rovio joined forces for a video in the Spanish city of Terrassa, reports Spanish site Hasta los Juegos. There was a giant Angry Birds set-up, with explosive pigs and destructible structures. A jazz group was on hand to blast the game’s theme. According to Hasta los…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  Where Studio Ghibli Meets Minecraft

  The modders at Oz Workshop have achieved something remarkable: recreated something in Minecraft that is not mildly amusing, but genuinely awe-inspiring. They’ve produced in block form the most famous locations (and in some cases characters) from Hayao Miyazaki’s Studio Ghibli films, like Castle in the Sky, Totoro and Howl’s Moving Castle While it helps if…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  Male + Male Relationships Finally Available in Mass Effect 3 [Update]

  Up until now, Mass Effect has been about shooting bad guys and sowing your wild oats. In the series’ third game, however, your oats will be planted in more familiar ground. BioWare has told PC Gamer that there are no new romance options in Mass Effect 3, the emphasis in the final game being on…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  These Star Wars and Gundam Dioramas Will Melt Your Face

  As a kid, I was always impressed with models. I was more impressed with full-blown dioramas—still am. These dioramas, though, aren’t merely impressive; they’re brain-destroying. At the recent Shizuoka Hobby Show, Star Wars and Gundam dioramas nearly stole the whole damn show. The level of detail in these miniature masterpieces is stunning. They’re like those…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  Your First Look at Pro Evolution Soccer 2012

  Here’s the first footage from PES2012, Konami’s latest attempt to wrestle back the top spot in the world of football games. And it looks…well, sadly, at this early stage as stilted and wooden as the last few versions. Fans of the series or hardcore football fans will still want to check out the clip, though,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  Booth Babe Costume Reborn as Cosplay Sexy

  Out of all of Capcom’s fan service characters, Morrigan Aensland from Darkstalkers is one of the most fan servicey. So is this cosplay. At the recent Cosholic cosplay event, cosplayer Morichi (site NSFW) wasn’t satisfied with merely doing a Morrigan cosplay. Instead, she did a “Morrigan Capcom Companion” cosplay, based on a series of figurines…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  An Idea on How to Fix iPhone Gaming

  While it can do some game genres well, boy, for others the iPod can be a nightmare to use. Yet those nightmares could easily be sweet dreams with an add-on like Alan Li’s Iphone Gaming Pod. His design, while sadly just a concept at this stage, is for a sleek, clip-on pair of attachments for…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  Why Japan Is Blocking the Return of the PSN

  The PSN’s service is being restored in North America, Europe, Australia and Latin America. In Japan, it’s not. Governmental bureaucrats at the Ministry of Economy’s Media and Content Industry department won’t allow Sony to resume its PSN service until the electronics giant gives more information on new security measures. “We met with Sony on May…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2011
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  The Right Way to do Japanese Box Art

  The same smart people at Nintendo Europe who thought it was a good idea to localise Wii RPG Xenoblade also know how important box art can be for such a localisation. So they’re letting the game’s fans vote. While the front cover – which we’ll assume is the same as that found in Japan –…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  Valve’s Novel Idea: Charge Popular People Less

  In an interview with Develop, Valve boss Gabe Newell says that his company is more interested in “looking into what Valve can do with payment services than engine services”. What that means is some crazy ideas on how to take your money. “The industry has this broken model, which is one price for everyone”, he…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  The Beautiful Art of Arcade Video Games

  Since for most of arcade gaming’s heyday graphics weren’t exactly easy on the eye, to lure customers in companies often had to rely on artwork to make a sale. The biggest, grandest works were reserved for the side of the cabinet, but since they usually weren’t seen (with machines stacked side-by-side), it was the “marquee”…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2011
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  Won’t Someone Think of the Children?

  Won’t Someone Think of the Children? | A Los Angeles-area teenager takes to the streets for PlayStation Network, in a photo taken “just minutes” before service was brought back online in North America (Photo: Christopher Kirkman | Media Geeks) The PlayStation Network Returns; Normalcy Won’t Across North America yesterday evening, PlayStation Network returned after a…

  By Owen Good Published May 15, 2011
• Culture

  Here’s the Juice

  Rockstar’s cop thriller L.A. Noire dominates this coming Tuesday, though RPG enthusiasts on the PC will want to take note of The Witcher 2. For those picking up Noire two DLC extensions are available the day of release via PSN and Xbox Live. Clarification: These extensions are preorder premiums; they are not DLC available for…

  By Owen Good Published May 15, 2011