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  Nintendo Stresses “Glasses-Free” Aspect of Nintendo 3DS

  While Nintendo possibly isn’t showing the Nintendo 3DS until the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles, today in Tokyo, Nintendo provided vague hints about what is to come. Several insiders tell Kotaku that Nintendo Chief Financial Officer Yoshihiro Mori played things close to his vest, unwilling to divulge too much about the upcoming Nintendo 3DS.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2010
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  First Look At Arkham Asylum’s Action Figures [Update]

  The first images of the recently-revealed Batman: Arkham Asylum action figures have dropped from a gargoyle and landed online, and if they’re one thing, they’re faithful to the source material. And if they’re two things, they’re faithful to the source material and a poor quality black & white photo. Sorry! But that’s what you get…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2010
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  A Mario Ending You *Might* Not Have Seen

  It’s 2010. Hopefully by now you have beaten 1985’s Super Mario Bros. If not, please get off my lawn and go away. If you have, continue onward to spoilers! In 1986, a special, limited-edition version of Super Mario Bros. was given away by Japanese radio program All Night Nippon. The game is a hybrid of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2010
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  Korea’s Starcraft Scandal Worsens

  The scandal enveloping Korea’s professional Starcraft scene appears to be worse than first believed, with eleven gamers under investigation amid allegations that gambling organisations have been running a “training institute” to lure players into illegal match-fixing. As we reported last month, an investigation has uncovered widespread corruption in the upper echelons of Korea’s pro gaming…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2010
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  A Short History Of Daisy Dukes

  The female trainer for the totally new forthcoming Pokémon: Black & White is wearing, as website Tiny Cartridge points out, Daisy Dukes. But what are Daisy Dukes? Jean shorts, a shorter and literally cooler version of blue jeans, were worn in the 1950s and 1960s as cut-offs. And it was in the late 1960s and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2010
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  These Golden Books Are Not For Children

  Most, if not all of you, will at some stage of your life been read to from a Golden Book. They’re a childhood staple. But what if there were Golden Books that, uh, weren’t exactly suitable for the little ones? They’d look like these! Josh Cooley, an artist at Pixar, has been whipping these up…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 17, 2010
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  Taking Issue With The Ten Most Important Video Game List

  In 1998, Stanford University’s Henry Lowood began preserving video games and video game artifacts. Lowood, along with a four member committee, has announced a game canon, for the Library of Congress. Japan begs to differ. According to the New York Times, the canon is: Spacewar! (1962), Star Raiders (1979), Zork (1980), Tetris (1985), SimCity (1989),…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 17, 2010
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  M to the TV

  To: Totilo From: Crecente Tristan and I were walking through a park this weekend talking about stuff when we somehow came to the topic of music videos. “What are those,” he asked. What! I tried to explain it to him, baffled that something that shaped my high school years had somehow gone unnoticed by my…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 16, 2010
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  Swedish Retailers Spill Project Natal Price, And It’s Expensive?

  At least three Swedish retailers are listing a price for upcoming Xbox 360 motion controller Project Natal, and it’s not good. While UK sources were telling MCV that the motion controller would run $80, perhaps less, the three Swedish retail sites are all listing the device for 1,499 SEK, which works out to just under…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 16, 2010
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  I Kept Playing — A Happy Ending

  In October I told the story of the EverQuest addiction that nearly a decade ago cost me my job, my health, and the woman I loved. Last weekend I asked that woman to marry me. Emily first came into my life during a very turbulent time. My world had completely changed in the span of…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 16, 2010
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  The Marshal Of Mushroom County

  As seen on Threadless

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2010
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  Hostesses? Ha! Hosts!

  In Japan, hostesses are dolled up girls that work in bars, pour men’s drinks and light their cigarettes. Hosts? Hosts are dolled up dolls that…work in bars, pour women’s drinks and light their cigarettes. Host bars are popular with all sorts of regular women (business women, housewives, college students, etc), but as documentary The Great…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2010
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  Week In Games: Better Red

  May get serious with its top line video game releases, including Red Dead Redemption (pictured), Alan Wake, a new Prince of Persia and one of the Nintendo DSi’s most interesting puzzle games. Monday, May 17 BIT.TRIP RUNNER (WiiWare) Looksley’s Line Up (DSiWare) Frogger Returns (DSiWare) Tuesday, May 18 Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, PS3) –…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 16, 2010
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  The Helmet Question

  In Mass Effect 2, your space-faring hero can wear a helmet. It’s not mandatory. I choose to have my character not wear a helmet. What’s that signify? Wearing a helmet provides statistical advantages which can make a tough fight easier or a resistant conversationalist pliable. Should Commander Shepard don the Breather Helmet, she’ll enjoy 5%…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 16, 2010
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  Red Dead Redemption Is No Grand Theft Auto

  Rockstar Games’ Jeronimo Barrera, as heard during this week’s live episode of Kotaku Talk Radio

  By Lauren Orsini Published May 16, 2010
• Culture

  Sunday Comics

  Penny Arcade published May 10 PvPonline published May 13 ActionTrip published May 10 EXTRALIFE published May 13 GU Comics published May 12 Dotgif published May 14 Ctrl+Alt+Del published May 10 Dueling Analogs published May 10 Nerf NOW published May 14 Rooster Teeth published May 15 Monday Night Crew published May 14 Virtual Shackles published May…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 16, 2010
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  Nintendo’s Bamboo-Walled, Flower-Roofed Headquarters

  With corridors made of bamboo, a roof layered with flowering sedum plants and buildings named after Mario, Donkey Kong, Yoshi and Wario, Nintendo’s new Redmond headquarters sounds every bit as fanciful as the games the publisher makes. The 300,000-square-foot-building sits on a 10-acre site on the Nintendo campus, home to most of the Japanese company’s…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 16, 2010
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  This Sultry Princess Peach Will Stick Around Forever

  Or at least until she’s removed. As seen on Hawty McBloggy

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 16, 2010
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  Our First Look at Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light Trailer

  Wait, is this Lara Croft? For a second I thought I was watching a sexy, next-gen Prince of Persia throwback… and I love it! No wonder McWhertor was looking for a better word than reboot when he saw Lara Croft and The Guardian of Light at the Game Developers Conference earlier this year.

  By Brian Crecente Published May 16, 2010
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  Find Tranquillity With Video Game Haiku

  Games can be so LOUD, and also often so poorly-written, that the opportunity for moments of quiet reflection often pass us by. Time then for some gaming haiku. Haiku, the restrictive, formal Japanese art of poetry, is often able to reduce even the most complex subject matter down to its core elements. So it is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 16, 2010