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  Mafia II Playable At PAX East, Buyable In August

  2K Games nails down a (hopefully) concrete release date for Mafia II, with fans getting their first taste of the 1940’s sandbox-stylings of the sequel this weekend at PAX East in Boston. Delayed, delayed, and then delayed again, 2K Czech has had plenty of time to polish the sequel to Mafia, refining the experience and…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 25, 2010
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  New South Australian Attorney General Supports Adult Game Ratings

  Australia is one step closer to a mature rating for video games, as resigning ratings-blocker Michael Atkinson is replaced as South Australian Attorney General by John Rau, a man who reportedly says an R18+ video game rating is common sense. Australian gamers and publishers alike have long lamented the lack of an R18+ rating for…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 25, 2010
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  Is The Best Way To Play Games The Subversive Way?

  From the moment I broke Mario through the ceiling of Super Mario Bros. World 1-2 to bypass the next few levels of that game, I’ve assumed that an essential part of playing video games is being subversive. I’ve assumed that not following the rules was part of following the rules. I’ve believed that to play…

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 25, 2010
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  BlizzCon Five Comes Alive In October

  The annual celebration of all things Diablo, StarCraft, and Warcraft returns to sunny Anaheim, California this October, as Blizzard reveals the dates for the fifth installment of BlizzCon. Stock up on blue body paint and get your fake elf ears ready, because BlizzCon five is only seven months away. Blizzard’s annual fan gathering returns to…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 25, 2010
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  Alien Vs. Pooh: A Bedtime Story For the Little Gamer In Your Life

  You probably think you’ve already read all of the adventures of Christopher Robin and Pooh in the 100 Aker Wood. You’ve read about the the spelling bee, about Tigger’s dreams of Africa and the Harvest Festival. But have you, I wonder, ever read about the time when Aliens came to the wood? I didn’t think…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 25, 2010
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  The Game Fiction Dilemma: Knights of the Old Republic vs The Sands of Time

  Excerpts from the book Expressive Processing. Reprinted with express permission of the author. Author’s Note: At this year’s GDC Expressive Processing (published by MIT Press) was the only book included in the “Game Studies Download,” a selection of the top 10 game studies publications over the last year. This excerpt from chapter 3 uses two…

  Noah Wardrip-Fruin Published March 25, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  You can talk about video games in the comments section of this post, but can we also talk about voice-acting? Specifically, who should be voice-acting these guys here? Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 25, 2010
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  The Beautiful Sounds of Arcades Now on Your iPod

  Arcades hold a very special place in my heart. They were, for a child growing up on the move, living in different states, different countries every few years, the one refuge in a constantly changing landscape. While the names, the graphics, even the language of my childhood arcades changed with each relocation, the feeling of…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 25, 2010
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  Cornell And Suicides

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Spring Blizzard As it’s been reported elsewhere, six students at Cornell University have committed suicide in the past six months. (Read more here.) Whether it’s the overcast skies or the intense course work, Cornell has long been known as the suicide capital of the Ivy League. When I was a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010
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  Report: Sony To Release Michael Jackson Video Game

  Last week, Sony shelled out US$200 million for for the rights to release 10 new posthumous Michael Jackson albums, DVDs and video games between now and 2017 reports The Independent. This is the largest advanced sum ever paid to a musician. The “new” material was recorded by Jackson over three decades and includes never before…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010
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  Ex-Con Exec: Sony Should Leave The Game Business

  At one time, Takafumi Horie was the most powerful man in Japan. Now, he’s not. He does have a lot of followers on Twitter. The Tokyo University dropout headed up internet portal Livedoor and attempted to not only buy an Osaka baseball team, but also carry out a hostile takeover of a major Japanese television…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010
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  Shenmue, Billy Hatcher, Meet The Xbox Live Avatars

  I’m not saying this is worth paying for – no 360 avatar gear is worth paying for – but a Shenmue get-up for the little guys is certainly worth pining for. It’s part of a range of gear released to advertise Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing, and along with a bunch of other rubbish, there’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2010
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  Miyamoto: Last Year, Nintendo Was Short On the Fun

  2008 was a blast. Remember that? Non. Stop. Party. 2009? Well… In 2008, Nintendo released Wii titles like Animal Crossing: City Folk, Mario Kart Wii, Super Smash Bros and Wii Music. In 2009, it didn’t! When asked by The Economist why Nintendo had a better year in 2008 than last, Shigeru Miyamoto, creator of Mario…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010
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  First King Of Fighters XIII Footage (And It’s Tiny!)

  There’s a new King of Fighters game coming. And yeah, it’s got Mai in it. Want to see what it looks like? Here’s some shaky-cam footage from the game’s public debut in Japan. It’s hardly high definition, I know (sorry!), but at this stage, it’s all we’ve got. Special thanks to Kotaku Japan for providing…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2010
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  I Like Mortal Kombat’s New Direction

  As seen on Woot

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2010
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  The Master Sword, Now Safe For Children

  Previous replica Master Swords we’ve seen have been, well, dangerous. Pointy. But this one? It’s soft. Widely available. And you can hit small children with it. It’s a new sword by toy company Nerf, and even a sideways glance will tell you that garish shade of pink’s primary purpose may well be to hold off…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2010
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  Mai Shiranui Confirmed For King of Fighters XIII

  There was something missing from The King of Fighters XII. Make that, there were many things missing from KOFXII. But one of the most notable was jiggly ninja character Mai Shiranui. She did not make it into The King of Fighters XII, but was mentioned as possible DLC last year. “I think the thinking is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010
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  Hey, Olivia Munn Was Cut From Iron Man 2, Then Added Back

  Olivia Munn, host of television program Attack of the Show! and Playboy covergirl, was slated to appear in forthcoming Hollywood film Iron Man 2. Then she ended up on the editing room floor. “As they started to edit they realized it was becoming darker than what they’d expected and what my scenes had allowed for,”…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010
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  The Dirty Men Of The Wild West’s Last Days

  You know, Red Dead Redemption could be the worst game of the year, and I think I’d still enjoy it. It’s predecessor, Red Dead Revolver was pretty awful, and I loved it. Why? Because Rockstar just “get” Westerns, that’s why. A good Western setting or story can get me past poor gameplay. And a good…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 25, 2010
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  What Does Kingdom Hearts 3 Depend On?

  Kingdom Hearts is the Square Enix role-playing series staring Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. The series has had several spin-offs, but gamers are eagerly awaiting Kingdom Hearts 3. “About the next title, Kingdom Hearts 3 depends on Final Fantasy Versus XIII, but development of the next title is already underway,” Kingdom Heart…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 25, 2010