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  Wild Arms Creators Make RPG Magic On The iPhone

  From Square Enix and the developers Wild Arms comes Chaos Rings, an iPhone game that looks like it could be the first great 3D Japanese RPG on the platform, with production values on par with PlayStation-era Final Fantasy titles. The comparison is apt, considering the game features designs by Yusuke Naora, the character designer for…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 18, 2010
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  A New Darkstalkers Would Be Street Fighter Producer’s Dream Project

  The man behind Street Fighter IV doubts that Capcom would want him to work on a Hyper Street Fighter IV after iterative Super Street Fighter IV hits stores this year. Instead Yoshinori Ono has something else in mind: Darkstalkers. Asked what his next dream project would be during an interview last week, Ono first joked…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 18, 2010
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  Star Wars MMO Pricing Plan May Have “Some Twists”

  For about fifteen bucks a month, you can play World of Warcraft or most other massively multiplayer online games. That’s the genre standard. Could the next big MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic shake that up? In an interview with Kotaku at Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco last week, Ray Muzyka, general manager of…

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 18, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Dying to say something about video games? It’s a good thing this post is here for you to comment on. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ

  By Stephen Totilo Published March 18, 2010
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  Cry Your Way Through Age of Conan’s Asian Empire

  Wolf and Tiger mounts, choices and consequences that roll out branching storylines and bosses that need to be conquered with emotional outbursts are just a few of the new concepts coming to Age of Conan later this year. Age of Conan expansion Rise of the Godslayer takes place 20 years after the events of Robert…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 18, 2010
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  Today, My Barn Door Was Open (GAH)

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Fancy Arrow Tech Holy smoke! This is embarrassing. Had breakfast, got dressed and took the kids to the eye doctor this morning. It was a nice morning, so we walked there, stopping by 7-11. After the doctor’s, we walked to the supermarket and bought some soft drinks. Then we swung…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Square Enix Will Do Its Best For Final Fantasy Dissidia Sequel

  PSP game Dissidia: Final Fantasy features a smorgasbord of Final Fantasy characters. The game was a hit! It sold over a million copies. Do you know what means? It means that there will probably be another one! Square Enix has never been known to shy away from sequels, spin-offs and franchises. When asked about the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Quantum Mechanics Made Easy With Manga

  For years now, manga textbooks have been explaining things like the English language and cooking. So why not electronic circuitry, quantum mechanics or even thermodynamics? These manga teach advanced subjects and were spotted at a university bookstore in Tokyo. Manga textbooks [kenlee via DannyChoo]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Commodore 64 Rises From The Grave

  The Commodore 64 is a machine beloved by many who grew up in the 1980s. Like me. Which is why it’s fun to hear that it’s parent brand is making a comeback. A new company, Commodore USA, is currently digging through the rights to the ol’ hardware, and once acquired, intends to release new models.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Alone In The Dark Creator Teasing New Game

  Frenchman Frédérick Raynal, known to most as the creator of horror series Alone in the Dark but beloved by us for creating cult hit Little Big Adventure, has a new game due this year in the works for publisher Ubisoft. What it is, exactly, we don’t know. All we know from his chalkboard tease is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Why Doesn’t Pokemon Get Global Simultaneous Releases?

  DS title Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver were released in Japan on September 12. The games didn’t come out in North America until this March. With so many games these days getting either global or near global releases, what gives? “We do our best to make our games so North American players can enjoy the game…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  A Second Look At The Art Of Last Story

  The first round of artwork for Mistwalker’s Last Story was great, but there were two things that were missing: people, and maps. Those shortcomings have been rectified in this second round of artwork for the game, which reveal more of the game’s Mediterranean influence, along with teases that the game’s world , the island (and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Japan Lines Up For…Digital PS3 Recorder

  Noodles. Toy figures. And grab bags at New Years. Japan loves lining up for stuff, and the PS3 torne digital recorder is no exception. Torne went on sale as an individual peripheral and also bundled with the PS3. By 9:00am this morning in Japan, over 200 shoppers lined up in front of the Akihabara Yodobashi…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  What Is This: PC Hardware, Or City Of The Future?

  This is an “enthusiast” motherboard. The Rampage III Extreme. And by “enthusiast”, manufacturers Asus mean “hardcore PC gamers”. This would normally be where we all start nodding off, but really, take a look at this thing. That’s not a piece of hardware you stuff inside a desktop PC. It looks more like a miniature rendition…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Crap Game of the Year Coming To Xbox 360

  Um, Hooray? Forget Game of the Year, the Japanese internet has the Kuso (“Crap”) Game of the Year. And last year’s winner is coming to the Xbox 360. Computer title Sengoku Hime 2 is a historical simulation game in the same vein of Koei’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms franchise, but with adult content. The…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Splinter Cell’s PC Specs Don’t Need To Be Written On The Side Of A Building

  While a lot of the game’s marketing has focused on the fact it’s coming out on Xbox 360, let’s not forget espionage title Splinter Cell: Conviction is also on the way for the PC. As such, and as is customary with major upcoming PC releases, we’re going to need to take a look at the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  This Character’s Voice Actress Might Surprise You

  Hana is a character in Yakuza 4. She is a clerk at in-game finance company Sky Finance. This is what she looks like in the game. What does her voice actress look like? Like this. SEGA used advanced face scanning technics for many of the game’s voice actors so that the character models resemble their…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Meet Yakuza 3’s Real Life Tattoo Artist

  One of the most interesting things about Yakuza 3 is how you keep running into men with enormous, fantastic tattoos. Well, those tats are the work of one man: Kazuaki Kitamura. Better known as Horitomo, he’s a Japanese tattoo artist who, while working in Yokohama, was drafted in by Sega to design the trademark body…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Return of the Pee Bottle Guy (And Fishy TV Reporting)

  In early January, a Japanese news program did a piece on “netoge haijin” or “online game invalids”. A follow-up to that report has appeared, and some believe the segment is fake. The slang “netoge haijin” went mainstream in 2009 in part due to news reports like this. There was also a book by journalist Osamu…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Muramasa Returns With Colourful, Yet Tasteful Figure

  While the game is (sadly) slipping from people’s memory’s, Muramasa’s star Momohime doesn’t seem to be, as evidenced by this delightful new figure. We caught a glimpse of it at Wonder Festival, but the toy is gearing up for a retail release, meaning we now get to check out a range of detailed shots. It’ll…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010