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  It’s Never Too Early To Final Fantasy Cosplay

  A very young Yuna from FFX smooches a young Tidus — as seen on That Girl’s Site (via the CHIVE).

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 18, 2009
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  2010: The Year of Better Nintendo DS Games?

  As the Nintendo DS enters its sixth year on the market, introducing its fourth major iteration, the Nintendo DS XL, the software line-up is looking good, especially if you’re a fan of portable role-playing games. The DS’s 2009 was solid and varied, with an all-new Legend of Zelda, Rhythm Heaven, and Mario & Luigi Bowser’s…

  By Michael McWhertor Published December 18, 2009
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  PAL PlayStation Store Update: Discounts On Metal Gear Time Trial

  Big update this week for the PAL PlayStation Store, as Sony not only cut the price on a ton of great PSN titles and dropped a Gran Turismo 5 demo, but also let PSP owners enjoy a little Metal Gear. Yes, in addition to the endless list of discounted games and DLC, there are GT5…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  Final Fantasy XIII’s First-Day Sales Numbers Are In

  Final Fantasy XIII was released in Japan yesterday. A day later, Square Enix have released figures revealing how many copies of the game were sold during its first 24 hours on the shelf. And that number has “exceeded one million”. Which, well, makes it sound like they sold between 1 and 1.1 million. The news…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  EA Reclaims #1 Publisher Position (In Europe)

  It hasn’t been the best of years for Electronic Arts, but the mega-publisher can take solace in one key area: they’ve returned to the top of the summit in the European market. Having been the #1 publisher in the world’s second-biggest market for years, EA were displaced in 2008 by Nintendo, but have regained top…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  “Core” Game Sales Are Actually On The Rise

  While overall video game sales in 2009 are down, that’s the big picture. Break it down into individual markets and you’ll see that “core” game purchases are anything but down. Having taken a look at detailed market data, Broadpoint AmTech analyst Ben Schachter says that “core” game sales in the US (which according to their…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Screenshots Are Oscar Mike

  Yesterday, you got a video. It was pretty great. Today, you’re getting some Battlefield: Bad Company 2 screenshots. Sorry they’re not quite as exciting.

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  Aliens vs Predator “Unbanned” In Australia

  Knew something was up with that trailer rating this morning; Sega just let us know that Aliens vs Predator, a violent game which had previously been refused classification in Australia, has had that ruling overturned. Sega Australia’s general manager, Darren Macbeth, tells Kotaku “It is with great pleasure that we announce the success of our…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  Vagrant Story Dated For (PAL) PlayStation Store Release

  Last month, we received the uplifting news that Square’s classic Vagrant Story was on its way to the PAL PlayStation Store. Thing is, back then, it didn’t have a release date. It does now! And that date is Tuesday, December 22, which we guess must also be the day Europe’s PlayStation Store is update next…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  FFXIII Home Goodies Arrive, Aren’t Quite “Free”

  Like we said, there’s now some Final Fantasy XIII gear available in the Japanese version of PlayStation Home. Thing is, it isn’t as free as first believed/hoped. The only thing that’s free is a personal space, and that’s only free until January 14, after which it’ll cost ¥600. Everything else, from chairs to rugs to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 18, 2009
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  Quake Wars Goes Online, Learns Korean

  Splash Damage have announced today that Korean developers Dragonfly are working on an online-only version of Quake Wars, called…Quake Wars Online. It’s moving into beta as we converse, with 100,000 spots available, but since those spots are Korea-only, that information is presented only as information, not a recommendation. Still, you’d expect the final game to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2009
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  Aliens vs Predator Not Entirely Banned From Australian Consoles

  Sega’s Aliens vs Predator may have been effectively “banned” in Australia, but Sega are still plugging away, with a trailer released this morning on the Australian PlayStation Store. Hilarity ensues. Not for the contents of the trailer, mind you, but for the MA15+ rating the trailer carries, and veritable baggage train of rating warnings along…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2009
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  TF2’s War Ends With New Item, New Maps

  And just like that, the war is over. The Soldiers, victorious, the Demomen, less so. The saying decrees that the victors get the spoils, and since the Soldiers won, their spoils are on the way. Spoils which come in the form of the final update to the game’s characters for the week. Since the Soldiers…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2009
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  Here’s the Achievement List for BioShock 2

  Ever-watchful Xbox 360 Achievements has dug up what it says is the list of cheevs for BioShock 2; there are 50 for the standard total of 1000 gamerscore, and a goodly number of them are secret achievements. Here’s the full list. It rates a standard spoiler-alert warning but, going through this, the descriptions don’t seem…

  By Owen Good Published December 17, 2009
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  Sun Rises, We Have More Mass Effect 2 Screens

  Wondering why there’s been so much Mass Effect 2 media lately? The game is out next month. These January games have a habit of sneaking up on you like that.

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 17, 2009
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  Playing the Crowd in MLB 2K10

  MLB 2K10 is trying to be more creative and less repetitive with what you hear coming from the stands this year. For that they need voices for more than 10,000 sound clips. Here’s what two had to say. Bitmob’s Aaron Thomas and his friend, Shanker Srinivasan, journeyed to 2K Marin’s studio in Novato, Calif. to…

  By Owen Good Published December 17, 2009
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  Well, Excuuuuuse Me, Hulu!

  The Legend of Zelda, that Friday special cartoon that ran on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show back in the late 80s, is now on Hulu for your trip down memory lane pleasure. I feel kind of silly now, having bought the whole thing on DVD some years back. At the time I thought it…

  By AJ Glasser Published December 17, 2009
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  PlayStation Store Update: VIII + 5 + 40

  So much to see and do this week on the North American version of the PlayStation Store. But what to do first? Download the Gran Turismo 5 Time Trial demo? Final Fantasy VIII? Rubber Soul? Argh! I suppose it’s up to you to decide whether the Army of Two: The 40th Day demo takes precedent…

  By Michael McWhertor Published December 17, 2009
• Reviews

  Dragon’s Lair Micro-Review: Small Scenes from the Mind’s Eye

  When it landed in 1983, Dragon’s Lair was truly unlike anything ever seen in an arcade. The gorgeous cartoon visuals not only justified an unthinkable 50-cent spend back then, they became the most memorable of pre-crash arcade classics. With Dragon’s Lair’s port to the iPhone and iPod Touch, EA Mobile and Digital Leisure are banking…

  By Owen Good Published December 17, 2009
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  Starship Patrol Brings More Tower Defense To DSiWare, Q-Games Style

  The official Nintendo Europe web site has given us a better look at Q-Games next original DSiWare effort, the downloadable DSi game known as Starship Patrol over there, Starship Defense over here. Like Q-Games’ PixelJunk Monsters, Starship Patrol is a classic tower defense style game, but with a focus on resource management, strategic weapons placement…

  By Michael McWhertor Published December 17, 2009