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  Scandal Hits Call Of Duty Devs: What We Know [Update]

  While most of you slept, drama struck Infinity Ward, the creators of the Call of Duty series, with allegations of “insubordination” from publishers Activision and the rumoured departure of the studio’s two top men. This post will be updated throughout the day. The news first hit yesterday afternoon, when G4 reported that IW heads Vince…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  British Sales Charts: Torrential Downpour

  I’ve got to hand it to Heavy Rain. Or Sony’s marketing team. Although I thought the game was pretty good, I also thought it would be a tough sell to Average Joe. Guess not, since it’s gone #1 in the UK. Yes, Quantic Dream’s moody crime thriller ousted Ubisoft’s Just Dance, if only for a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  NSFW: Remember When Robot Games Were Promoted With Robots?

  In the 1980s, robot video games were sold with robots. It’s not the 1980s anymore and robots alone alone are not enticing enough for in-store retail displays, it seems. Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier EXCEED, the sequel to Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Endless Frontier, is another tactical role-playing spinoff of the Super…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  Gravity Hook HD, From The Makers Of Canabalt

  Before they made the excellent Canabalt, Adam Saltsman and Danny Baranowsky made a game called Gravity Hook. It was like Bionic Commando vs Peggle. Anyway, they’re remaking the game in “HD”, and you can play it right now. The original has been overhauled in almost every way, from graphics to sound to controls, making for…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  Chesty Jake Keeps Shirt On For New Prince of Persia Trailer, Part II

  Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time? More like the shirtlessness of Jake Gyllenhaal. Though, like the last trailer, it was short on Chesty Jake. Though, the promotional photos for this movie have been long on the Chesty Jake! Ditto for the behind-in-the-scenes clips Based on the Ubisoft games, Prince of Persia is set in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  From Street Fighter To Reality Television

  What is it about Survivor and video games? First we get a Ghost Recon designer applying for a spot on the show, now we have a fighting game expert. Ivan Kim, otherwise known as Kryojenix, is a member over on fighting mecca Shoryuken, and has competed in EVO tournaments (probably the biggest fighting game showdowns…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  A Very Expensive Collarbone

  As part of a promotion to encourage repeat business, a “Film Bookmark Repeater Campaign” was launched for anime The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. This film book mark just went for nearly US$4,000. Moviegoers could redeem two ticket stubs, one of which must be dated February 27 or later, to receive a bookmark made from a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  Blacklight Shooter Goes Downloadable

  Blacklight is a shooter we first heard of around a year ago, and have heard little of since. It’s back now, however, and back as a downloadable title for the 360 and PS3. Due in the Summer, it looks like Ghost Recon hooked up with Half-Life 2 mod NeoTokyo over the internet, then went out…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  March Is Yakuza 4 Month In Japan

  Well, not officially. But while the West is getting Yakuza 3, Japan is getting Yakuza 4 on March 18. Here’s a dude-heavy Japanese television ad, watch it! 『龍が如く4 伝説を継ぐもの』、TVCMの放映が始まったよ（動画あり） [Kotaku Japan]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  Prince Of Persia: Chesty Jake Rides A Plastic Horse To War

  When we got our first look at the action figures of the upcoming Prince of Persia movie, some of the items from the line were absent. Like Aksh, the Prince’s trusty steed! Aksh will come with a Prince figure and some dainty horse armour horse decorations, and will cost $15 when released later this year.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  Crysis Engine Goes 3D

  Crytek announced yesterday that its upcoming CryENGINE 3 engine – which will power Crysis 2, among other things – will be jumping on the bandwagon and going 3D. The last CryENGINE is still the benchmark for top shelf graphical performance on the PC, so news it’s successor is going 3D will have those somehow convinced…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  Activision Cites Infinity Ward “Insubordination”

  Jason West and Vince Zampella, two lead developers at Infinity Ward, met with Activision earlier today. Then they seemed to disappear and “bouncer-types” showed up at the studio. This Activision filing might explain why. “The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  Déjà Vu Surrounds Infinity Ward Rumors

  Strange, hazy things are happening at Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward. This wouldn’t be the first time for the studio. In 2002, nearly a dozen developers walked out of Tulsa-based studio 2015, the team behind the PC game Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. Rumor has it that the developers did not want…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  NSFW: Heavy Rain Glitch Brings Playable, Accidental Nudity

  Reader kuroner says that while playing Heavy Rain the other day, he stumbled on a little glitch. One that leaves one of the game’s stars, Madison Page, completely naked. SPOILERS He says that following the love scene between Ethan and Madison in “On The Loose”, in which he declined the kiss but ended up triggering…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  A Week In Comments

  Mega Man 10’s Endless Mode Coming Later, For Download Comment by: salaminizer: I knew it! Nominated by: Lessthan_tom An Endless Mode fits well with their Endless DLC strategy. U R *Not* “Mr. Gay” In Super Mario Galaxy 2 Comment by: Krish Ravindranath Nominated by: Luis it says Ya Im R U? backwards! PS3 Error: 8001050F…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 2, 2010
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  How EA Plans To Squeeze More Money Out Of Madden Buyers

  Speaking today at the Morgan Stanley Technology conference in San Francisco, EA Sports boss Peter Moore has spoken of Madden’s digital future. Madden fans, and sports game fans in general, may not be amused. “I think we need to move much quicker, in particular with Madden, through a digital world,” he said. “You’re going to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  Mirror’s Edge Was Seven Years In The Making

  In hindsight, Mirror’s Edge was probably my favourite game of 2008 (provided I go back and skip the indoor bits). Turns out that quality was no accident, with the game having been in production for seven years In an interview with Gaming Union, former DICE (the developers behind the game) CEO Fredrik Liliegren said “Knowing…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 2, 2010
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  Report: Strange Things Are Afoot At Infinity Ward; President Ousted?

  Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward is now home to a very strange, currently very unclear story, as G4 reports that security guards have stormed the developer, with studio heads currently missing in action. While that all sounds like scary stuff, there’s very little in the way of actual detail here. Infinity Ward leads Vince…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 1, 2010
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  Kotaku Off Topic: Stop The World

  Please, Kotaku Off Topic commenters and contributors, bring some sanity to the site. This has already been a very weird week for the video game industry and it’s only Monday. We could all use something to ground us. Personally, something beyond tonight’s selection of beers would be appreciated, so enjoyable trivia, lighthearted conversation about the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 1, 2010
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  Top Game Design Schools Ranked

  The Princeton Review, most commonly known for its rankings of top party schools and other quality-of-life ratings of colleges, has compiled a list of the 50 best undergraduate schools for video game design, ranking the top eight in order. The rankings, compiled in partnership with GamePro, are: 1. University of Southern California, Interactive Media Division…

  By Owen Good Published March 1, 2010