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  SouthPeak Carries Blood Bowl Across Goal Line

  Cyanide Studios‘ Blood Bowl scores a retail release next year courtesy of SouthPeak Interactive, carrying the video game adaptation of Games Workshop’s fantasy football board game to the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation Portable. Blood Bowl is a game of real fantasy football, with races from the Warhammer universe taking on each other in brutal…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 29, 2009
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  Christmas Was Very Good To Forza 3

  Forza Motorsport 3 was on quite a few Christmas lists this year it seems, with developer Turn 10 reporting a massive influx of new players over the holiday weekend. As far as gifting video games goes, racing games are easy. You generally know if your loved one is a racing fan, and if they owned…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 29, 2009
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  A Frag Without the Fest: If Chess Was a Shooter

  First-person shooters are great and all. But they’re no where near the size of real-world military conflicts. In reality, they play more like isolated firefights than all-out war, according to CJ Heine, lead designer at Zipper Interactive. “The scale has always been missing,” he says. For example, when you see tracer fire and hear gunshots…

  Blake Snow Published December 29, 2009
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  GOOD BYE AMERICA

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft We had a wonderful time with the Americans. Rather, Texans. Heh. T_T Bout to hop on a plane to Japan — have a feeling the kids won’t be sleeping on the flight as they slept all night. The flight should be…interesting. What you missed last night Capcom Still Burning Over Bionic…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Sengoku BASARA Warring Giant Heads

  Japan loves Capcom’s series Sengoku BASARA (Devil Kings in the West). It loves it! Sengoku BASARA has spawned manga, anime and even stage productions. And now, cute Kotobukiya big-head mini figures. Because Japan loves little people with giant heads. Priced at ¥630 each, they are slated for next February and March. ［コミケ77］コトブキヤブースの小さな『戦国BASARA』の武将達（写真ギャラリー） [Kotaku Japan]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Comiket’s Sexy Pikachu Girl And Friends

  It’s late December, which means one thing. No, it actually means several things — one of which is that it is Comic Market time in Japan. Cosplayers came out in droves, and Kotaku Japan has galleries up: here and here. And reader tsukasa1288 sent along photos that document some of this year’s Comic Market cosplay.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Let’s Watch Some Fist Of The North Star Musou Game Play Footage

  Why not? The game looks delightful. In March 2010, Tecmo Koei is bringing post-apocalyptic martial arts manga Fist of the North Star (Hokuto no Ken) to the PS3 and the Xbox 360 in Japan. The game has been titled Hokuto Musou, and is part of Koei’s popular “Musou” series of games. The manga Fist of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Which Final Fantasy Game Do These FFXIII Launch Customers Love?

  On December 17, Japanese game site Gpara asked the first hundred customers waiting in line for Final Fantasy XIII at Shibuya retailer TSUTAYA to name their top three favorite FF games. And today, Gpara is publishing the results. 13.) Final Fantasy II: 2 votes 12.) Final Fantasy XI: 3 votes 11.) Final Fantasy: 3 votes…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Square Enix Patents New Battle System

  Square Enix designer Tetsuya Nomura recently announced that he is working on unannounced projects — one of which is a brand new title. Could this latest patent shed light onto that? It’s too early to tell; however, this patent application lists Tetsuya Nomura as the inventor of a character switching battle system for RPG/action RPG…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  The Cosplayers of Kotaku

  Following on the footsteps of our cosplay feature, here is a look at some of the cosplayers who read this site, featuring: ZerinaX, WoggyWooWoo, Yummy, startoonhero, Tzion, muburkit, Clarke, SHIMATTA-BAKA-NI, micahmidnight, Zanduar in AfterlifeUSEC, Natalie, Cody_Mau, Minion21g, Steffa, Anne, Shelly, Chinako, Rhys Berresford and HezaChan.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Japanese Arcade Themed Like China’s Back Streets

  According to reader Landon, a game center in Kawasaki, Japan is themed like “the backstreets of China”. Tokyo-based Landon says this is the first time he’s been this blown away by an arcade in Japan. “It’s 18 years old and up, extremely dark and dirty, and basically looks like what an arcade would if it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  NSFW: A Phantasy Star Portable 2 Character Forgot Something

  Panty shots of video game characters? Like the rising sun, inevitable, and we’ve seen them before. But what about this? Discerning individuals on the Japanese internet have noticed that while Phantasy Star Portable 2 offers glimpses of a wide array of under garments, there appears to be at least one character who has forgotten something.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  South Korea’s First Person Shooting In 3D World

  Located in Seoul’s Yongsan Station, FPS World gives Koreans a chance to wield airsoft versions of Berettas and Desert Eagles — 3D versions of the guns they fire in shooters like Counter Strike. FPS World is a modern spin on the pop-up shooting gallery with a gaming-themed spin. “I gave it a try and for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Just How Good Is Ice-T At Modern Warfare 2?

  When rapper Ice-T plays Call of Duty multi-player, he’s rollin’, comin’ through buildings, you gonna die. Oh really? Sure as snot seems that way! Ice-T (gamertag “Lord 187X”) posted an image of the after action report for a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 multi-player round. The report details the player’s score and Accolades —…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  Square Enix Doesn’t Divide By East And West

  For Square Enix, there is not East and West. It’s all about hard and easy. Just ask Final Fantasy: The Crystal Bearers producer Akitoshi Kawazu. “The presence of Japanese games is not as strong within the international market these days, and as a business that creates and sells games, the reception in the Western market…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2009
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  The Bayeux Tapestry, World 1-1

  It may not have the lasting historical significance of “1066 and all that”, but that doesn’t stop Elsa’s tapestry of Mario’s iconic 1-1 level from being just as impressive as anything the Normans could come up with. Currently a work in progress, the tapestry will come in at an incredible 620x40cm (or 250×15 inches) when…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2009
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  Kick Off 2010 With A Brand New NES Game

  Champagne, pointy hats and Auld Lang Syne are for suckers. You want to kick off the new year in style, you do it by buying a brand new game for the NES. This is Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril, by Sivak Games. It’s a real, proper game for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It even comes…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2009
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  Mechwarrior Meets Crysis, They Get Along Just Fine

  Having been in development for over three years – and having missed its original release window by a whole twelve months – a promising MechWarrior mod for Crysis has finally been released. It’s called MechWarrior: Living Legends, and is the work of some modders by the name of Wandering Samurai. While ready for download and…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2009
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  Capcom Still Burning Over Bionic Commando Failure

  In a Q&A session held earlier this week, president Haruhiro Tsujimoto became the second high profile Capcom employee this month to get all negative when it comes to the company collaborating with Western studios. Answering a question on Capcom’s “alliances” with overseas developers, Tsujimoto echoes comments made a few weeks back by Resident Evil producer…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2009
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  Chinese TV Goes All Fox News Over Online PC Games

  China Central Television last week broadcast a show called “Confession of a Murderer: Focus on Pornography and Violence in Online Games”. You know where this is going. CCTV is China’s state news channel, and the program (the second part in a series), which visited a juvenile prison to speak with those apparently influenced by the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2009