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  Video Games, Still Too Neglected By The Masses?

  You might quibble with exactly how important British writer Naomi Alderman says video games are, but if you’ve ever felt that games don’t get their due by the public at large, here’s a verbal salvo to keep handy: It’s a curious fact that, though videogames are now the world’s largest entertainment industry in financial terms,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 25, 2010
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  PSN This Week: Hustle Kings

  The North American PlayStation Store racks its balls this week, with the debut of VooFoo Studios gorgeous pool game, Hustle Kings. While Europe’s been playing Hustle King since December, those of us in North America have had to sit and wait and look at pretty screenshots of the game. This Thursday we’ll finally have a…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2010
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  Scottish Prisoners May Get DSes For Brain Training

  The Sunday Times reports of a plan by the Scottish prison system to raise “literacy” and “numeracy” skills among its prison population by giving the inmates access to Nintendo DS systems. The program would be tested in a small number of prison libraries and would involve literacy experts working with the prisoners. Prison officials note…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 25, 2010
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  Debris Rains Down Over Bad Company 2’s Squad Rush

  The action is fast and furious in this trailer for Battlefield: Bad Company 2’s four-on-four Squad Rush multiplayer mode, but I can’t take my eyes off the crumbling scenery. So enthralled by the crumbling masonry was I that I nearly missed the real news about the Squad Rush mode. It’s a four-player per team version…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2010
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  Kotaku’s 2009 Game of the Year

  It’s been a well-fought discussion: Which game was the hand’s down best title of 2009. But all good fights have to end, hopefully with a clear winner. At Kotaku Tower we spent the better part of January nailing down the games we agreed were the best contenders for best game of 2009. In the end…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 25, 2010
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  One Of These Games Is The New Duke Nukem Forever

  Duke Nukem Forever is dead and gone (I think.) Its possible successor on the great video game milk cart of missing games, Alan Wake, is on the verge of release. So what, then, is the New Duke Nukem Forever? Here are some candidates: Black Mesa First Inklings: This fan-made re-creation the original Half-Life using development…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 25, 2010
• Reviews

  Alienware Area-51 m15x Laptop Review: It Ain’t Heavy, It’s My Laptop

  Alienware has long been one of my favorite computer and laptop makers. It’s purchase by Dell didn’t change that. The computer maker’s latest line of gaming laptops promise to deliver on-the-go gaming in a slick looking new laptop. But can the Area-51 m15x deliver the goods at an affordable price and in a package you’d…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 25, 2010
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  Italian Teen Stabs Father Over FIFA 2009

  An Italian man giving video game advice to his son Sunday evening was repaid with a 15-inch kitchen knife to the neck. A 46-year-old storekeeper identified as Fabrizio R. was watching his 16-year-old son, Mario, play EA’s FIFA 2009 on the PlayStation Sunday evening. According to reports, the father began giving his son advice on…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2010
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  The Game Industry In 2185

  Mass Effect 2 pokes fun at Second Life, sports games, and traditional role-playing games, with a candid glimpse of the intergalactic game industry in the year 2185. Those of you avoiding Mass Effect 2 spoilers might want to go read up on this week’s Nintendo downloads, which contain nothing Mass Effect 2 related whatsoever. One…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2010
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  Are Game Companies Spoiling Their Own Games?

  You may have noticed that over the past couple of years video games marketing has become increasingly pervasive, many publishers intent on telling us as much as they can about a game before we can get our hands on it. But are they telling us too much? There once was a day that all you…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 25, 2010
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  The Nintendo Download: Uno!

  Too late! I shouted it first, so you folks all have to draw two cards while I tell you all about this week’s releases for WiiWare, DSiWare, and the Wii Virtual Console. Can you guess what this week’s biggest WiiWare release is? That’s right! It’s “Aha! I Found It!” Hidden Object Game by Ateam Inc.…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2010
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  The Secret World: Postcards From The Edge Of Madness

  A mysterious postcard pointed me towards the outwardly unassuming website of a small New England town, where I am invited to become an honorary citizen “by being dunked in the Miskatonic River.” Wait, what? With the back of the postcard reading “Dark Days are Coming,” there can be no doubt that this is a viral…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 25, 2010
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  iPhone Chart Toppers: Wars… in Chinatown

  Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars slammed onto the list this week in the number one spot. Rock Band managed to pop back on the list at number two, thanks in large part to the lite version that hit last week, I suspect. Fingers crossed for those new song packs that Harmonix promised me. Here’s the…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 25, 2010
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  Apple Tablet Detected Running Games At Apple HQ, Research Group Says

  The Apple Tablet is still just a unicorn, a publicly unseen beast of questionable evolutionary logic, but research group Flurry Analytics claimed yesterday to spot its presence at Apple headquarters and detected a heavy amount of gaming on the thing. In a blog post on Sunday, Flurry’s vice president of marketing, Peter Farago, announced that…

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 25, 2010
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Welcome one and all to Kotaku’s Massive Action Forum, known as Talk Amongst Yourselves. It does more than 256 commenters, all talking about games. See for yourself. Confused about commenting on Kotaku? Read our FAQ.

  By Stephen Totilo Published January 25, 2010
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  Gaming: The Fifth Network

  The very public, very messy late-night fight between Jay Leno, Conan O’Brien and NBC didn’t just offer interesting insight into the inner workings of network television, it reminded everyone that the TV isn’t used only for watching shows anymore. Video games, right behind bad programming and bad decisions, are television networks’ biggest threat these days.…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 25, 2010
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  It’s Monday

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft Just letting you know… Monday. MONDAY!! What you missed last night Get Mass Effect 2’s DLC For Free (Free!) New Super Mario Bros. Wii Over 10 Million Served Mass Effect 2 Has Some Fancy Disc-Swapping Action Who Can Capcom Fight Next?

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 25, 2010
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  Waiting For Your Flight? Play PS3

  Waiting at the airport is dull. Put down that payphone, funny dress lady! Hong Kong International Airport has just installed fourteen PS3 kiosks around the airport for travelers to check out free of charge. Sony Computer Entertainment Hong Kong has teamed with the airport to put the kiosks near the Terminal boarding gates and in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 25, 2010
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  Monster Hunter Tri Controller Bundle Bound For America

  Those who looked longingly at the black Classic Controller Pro Capcom released in Japan for Monster Hunter Tri will be happily to know that the hardware is coming Stateside. The bundle was originally released in Japan for ¥8,490 (US$94) when the game was released in August 2009. The North American bundle will be available for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 25, 2010
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  Pokemon As Traditional Japanese Art

  As seen on Asamegraph. Thanks, Aeshir!

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 25, 2010