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  Chinese Youth Dies At Boot Camp

  The Chinese government has taken swift steps to deal with teenagers that are addicted to online games and the internet. One step has been the creation of boot camps. Sixteen-year-old Chen Shi was apparently beaten to death at a boot camp in the capital of Hunan province only two days after enrolling in the camp.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  Massively Multiplayer Online Petz

  Fresh off the launch of its first massively multiplayer online game, Might and Magic Heroes Kingdoms, Ubisoft steers its online gaming initiative in a decidedly lighter direction with Petz World. Over the years, the Petz brand has grown from a pair of rudimentary pet sims into a veritable kingdom of animal interaction sims. The original…

  By Mike Fahey Published October 1, 2010
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  Multiplayer Customization in Action in Call of Duty: Black Ops

  In this latest Call of Duty: Black Ops video we get an in-depth look at the customization of multiplayer in the game, in particular we learn all about the importance of in-game currency and horses that can shoot guns. Customization and personalization are two very important design agendas for the makers of Call of Duty:…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 1, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome to October. A new month brings a new image for Talk Amongst Yourselves. This one is by Hans Holbein, 16th century artist behind some creepy made-for-Halloween works like this one. Talk about games here. Go to #TAYpics to begin riffing on this image. I’m excited to see what you come up with. Thanks to…

  By Stephen Totilo Published October 1, 2010
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  Busy Week Has Come To An End

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Please Review This Yay! Looking forward to a busy weekend. Does it ever end? Does it? What you missed last night This Is Not A Mass Effect 2 Screenshot (It’s Something Better) Nintendo Explains The Nintendo 3DS’s Price Point Why Nintendo Made The 3DS So Powerful Myst May Be Coming…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  Electronic Arts Buckles Under Pressure, Removes Playable Taliban from Medal of Honor

  Responding to the reaction of the “friends and families of fallen soldiers,” Electronic Arts today said today they are removing the Taliban as playable characters from their upcoming military shooter Medal of Honor. The opposing force that the U.S. military take on in Afghanistan in multiplayer bouts is now called the “opposing force.” Medal of…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 1, 2010
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  Gears of War 3 Delayed At Least Five Months

  It looks like Epic’s Cliff Bleszinski was more than just three days off when he told Jimmy Fallon on national TV that Gears of War 3 was hitting on April 8. The next day Microsoft shifted the date a bit, saying the game would actually be hitting on April 5, 2011. Today the publisher is…

  By Brian Crecente Published October 1, 2010
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  The 3DS Will Have Firmware Updates

  Nintendo’s upcoming portable, the Nintendo 3DS, will have firmware updates. According to company president Satoru Iwata, this isn’t only to stop piracy. The 3DS will update automatically, and the fact that the portable is updating automatically is an important feature to Nintendo. According to Iwata’s past experience, manual updates can keep some individuals from updating…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  If You Want, You Can Bail On Blizzard’s Real ID

  Blizzard’s Real ID system, whereby users could share an account over several services using their actual name, seemed like a good idea to some, didn’t exactly go down too well with many others Now those who first thought it was a good idea, and now don’t, can get rid of it, with Blizzard revealing a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010
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  This Is Not A Mass Effect 2 Screenshot (It’s Something Better)

  Nope. That’s not a high resolution screenshot of Mass Effect’s Garrus. It’s the latest instalment in “Mass Effect Cosplayers Blow Our Socks Off“. Cosplayer ammnra built this Garrus outfit that shakes the heavens with its amazingness, as almost everything is spot-on, from the chicken legs to the three-fingered gloves to battle damage to his trademark…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010
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  She’s 43, Has Two Kids And Is Ready To Exercise

  Over 8 years ago, South Korean fitness guru Jung Da-Yeon was not a fitness guru. She was out of shape. She’s now built a fitness empire that has even made waves in Japan. She’s appeared on Japanese television numerous times, and her books and videos are sold throughout Asia. Her “body ball” video is a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  I Choose You, LEGO Pikachu

  Master LEGOsmith Fredoichi made this Pikachu for his little girl. Adorable, in a bricky kind of way.

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010
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  Why Nintendo Made The 3DS So Powerful

  The Nintendo 3DS has more graphical umpf than the company’s previous portables. It’s a high-spec machine. Well, a higher spec one. According to Nintendo president Satoru Iwata, the reason why the company went with a more powerful machine is that Nintendo did not want developers to shy away from developing for it under the pretext…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  Friends Hear Guy Getting Robbed Over Voice Comms

  A man in Salt Lake was assaulted and robbed earlier this week while he was playing a “computer game online”. Like, literally: his friends could hear over the mic that he was being beaten up, so they rushed to help. The unnamed victim was playing games online (the report doesn’t specify which platform) when a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010
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  Nintendo Loses A Bunch Of Business Cards

  Nintendo invited members of the Japanese press, Japanese game industry and Japanese financial industry to its Nintendo Conference. Approximately 1,200 business cards were collected. They have gone missing. Nintendo has confirmed that the business cards have gone AWOL and says the company is investigating the matter. Nintendo is hoping that by making this known publicly,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  Medal of Honor: This Is Beard 1

  Oh, sorry, he said Tier 1. It’s just, for all the slow-motion and bullet casings and dramatic score, the one thing I remember about this trailer is that glorious, fleeting glimpse of beard around 18 seconds in. He’s like a Viking with an assault rifle. Or the ghost of Full Throttle, back to blame the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010
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  Let’s Call It A Rejection Simulator

  This behind-the-scenes look at the AKB 48 dating simulator shows the girls doing more than simply mugging for the camera. They’re throwing themselves at it. A high speed camera and a crane was involved in the production! There were even background extras. The point of the game is turn down 47 of the 48 AKB…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  Pokémon As Self-Portrait

  A bunch of webcomic artists have got together and drawn up some self-portraits. Well, they’d be self-portraits if the artists were Pokémon, instead of humans. You can find them over on the Portrait-Dex, with some of the artists including Octopus Pie’s Meredith Gran and Dresden Codak’s Aaron Diaz. I love how the majority of them…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010
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  Nintendo Explains The Nintendo 3DS’s Price Point

  In Japan, the Nintendo 3DS will cost ¥25,000. That might be high considering how Nintendo has priced its portables in the past. The company explains why. When asked why the portable was going to cost ¥25,000, Satoru Iwata explained the decision was based off things like the response when the actual portable got when it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published October 1, 2010
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  World Cyber Games 2010 Kicks Off In LA

  The 2010 edition of the World Cyber Games got underway in Los Angeles yesterday, with around 450 gamers from nearly 60 countries competing for a few hundred thousand bucks worth of prize money. A total of $250,000 is up for grabs, with “athletes” competing in games like Guitar Hero 5, Tekken 6, Warcraft III, FIFA…

  By Luke Plunkett Published October 1, 2010