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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
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  The Yakuza 4 Hummer Limousine Pulls Up

  In large Japanese cities, driving a big American car can prove challenging. There are endless narrow backstreets and fixing the car in a parking place can be a nightmare. Try imagining doing that in a Hummer. No, a Hummer limousine. To draw stares, SEGA rolled out this Yakuza 4 branded Hummer limo on the Tokyo…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Heavy Rain Patch Is On The Way

  Since the release of Sony’s Heavy Rain last month, users have been complaining about a range of bugs and glitches. Well, complaining about most of them. Good news, complainers: a patch is on the way. The publisher has posted a notice on its official forums, revealing that the patch – which should hopefully (though it’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Possible Screen Name List

  Personally, I like “Broly the Unholy”. As seen on Skull Swap. Thanks, JoeyJavs!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published March 18, 2010
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  Command & Conquer Copies Ubisoft’s Awful DRM

  Well, here’s something that slipped through the cracks. While we were all busy condemning Ubisoft for its restrictive, must-be-online PC digital rights management, EA has crept in and done the exact same thing. In a post over on Command & Conquer 4’s forums, EA community manager Apoc writes “First thing to be clear about, Command…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  Kotaku Census 2010: The Personal Computer

  It’s the backbone of the video game industry. Consoles come and consoles go, but the personal computer has always been there, and maybe, always will be. So let’s talk about it, eh? From upgrades to digital delivery, today we’re going to be asking you all about the PC. And not the dusty old Dell you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published March 18, 2010
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  The Amazing Bill Paxton Pinball Machine

  The incredibly talented (and patient) Ben Heckendorn, hacker and modder extraordinaire, has revealed his latest and greatest creation, a built-from-scratch pinball table based on the works and quotes of actor Bill Paxton. Heckendorn crafted almost everything you see here from raw materials combined with blood, sweat and tears, including the LED display, the body, the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  Kotaku Off Topic: Shamrocked

  It’s a special St. Patrick’s Day edition of Kotaku Off Topic, a chance for the conversation to be not just about video games, but not just about pounding Guinness and Irish whiskey as well. Well, my conversation starter is going to be about today’s holiday. I’m half-Irish, so I’ll be putting in half the effort,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  Video Games Can Save The Planet, But Only If We Play More

  Only video games can save the world, says Jane McGonigal, but only if we dedicate more time to playing them, some 21 billion hours of game time per week needed to survive the next century. McGonigal, director of game research and development at Institute for the Future and one of the people behind the do-good…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  What Do PlayStation 3 Owners Want Most From Sony?

  Cross-game voice chat. How do we know? By looking at the newly launched PlayStation.blog Share, a PlayStation fan’s sounding board that will let the powers that be know just how badly you want auto-syncing trophies and backwards compatibility. In fact, those are the top three demands PlayStation 3 owners are making of Sony right now,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  Natal Has At Least One Sega Project On Board For E3, “Several” More Later

  Sony has already showed its hand in the upcoming motion control battle, debuting playable PlayStation Move games at GDC last week. Looks like we’ll see Microsoft’s response with at least one Sega game in tow at E3. Sega bossman Mike Hayes tells CVG that its Japanese studios have something “brilliant” up and running for Project…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  EA Sports MMA Claims “Now It’s A Fight”

  Electronic Arts may be a little late to the mixed martial arts game, but its first effort, EA Sports MMA, may win over fans who don’t find what they’re looking for in THQ’s UFC-licensed competitor. With its “late 2010” ship date, EA Sports MMA might have a difficult time catching up to UFC Undisputed 2010’s…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  Fancy Arrow Tech

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Cannot Find My House Key The only thing better than fancy new tech is fancy old tech you didn’t know you already had. Take for instance Totilo’s discovery today. Apparently you can flick through our galleries with the help of the keyboard arrow keys. Fancy!!! What you missed: Mass Effect,…

  By Brian Crecente Published March 17, 2010
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  Final Fantasy XIII Comes To iPhone As… An Artbook

  Square Enix is no stranger to iPhone apps, but the Final Fantasy maker is doing something interesting for the recently released Final Fantasy XIII, turning your iPhone or iPod Touch into a digital artbook. The Final Fantasy XIII Larger-Than-Life Gallery, released today on the iTunes App Store, packs in a library of hi-res artwork from…

  By Michael McWhertor Published March 17, 2010
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  The Newest Kotaku Podcast Completes Its Dark Descent To iTunes, Zune & More

  Dante’s Inferno senior producer Hans ten Cate joined our hosts, Brian Crecente and Stephen Totilo, in today’s episode of Kotaku Talk Radio to discuss everything you need to know about descending into the darkest depths of hell. In case you missed the live show, which runs every Wednesday at 11AM Mountain, 1PM Eastern time, we’ve…

  By Mike Fahey Published March 17, 2010