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  Would You Prefer To Be Slapped Or Game With A Girl?

  It’s your money — spent it the way you like. Newly opened Akihabara business “Cute Room” is offering otaku a bevy of girlfriend-like services that include playing video games, watching DVDs and playing board games with young female (paid) friends. The girls available are pictured above. Cute Room does not appear to be offering sexual…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2009
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  How Tim Schafer Got His Start

  These days, Tim Schafer is known as the man behind Grim Fandango, Psychonauts and Brutal Legend. But everybody has to start somewhere, and Schafer got his start at Lucasfilm Games, a job he won after sending in this crazy-ass application. I read about this a few months back in Rogue Leaders, the book on the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 29, 2009
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  Tokyo Game Show 2010 Dates Don’t Bode Well

  One of the problems with Tokyo Game Show 2009 is that the mid-September dates are just too close to the August Gamescom. If the TGS organizers, the CESA, were smart, they’d move the Japanese event to October like in 2008. That’s if they were smart. The dates that are currently being tossed around for the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2009
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  Tearing The PSPgo To Pieces, Just To See What Its Insides Look Like

  Hardware destruction specialists iFixit are at it again. Fresh off tearing the PS3 Slim to pieces, they’ve now taken a screwdriver and a thirst for blood to the PSPgo, with surprisingly interesting results. Because unlike your average teardown, which just looks pretty, the PSPgo teardown has revealed a strange design decision on the part of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 29, 2009
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  Real Racing Will Affect Gran Turismo

  This August, Gran Turismo designer Kazunori Yamauchi did more than drive on Germany’s famed Nurburgring, he finished won the VLN race— his third race and first in an actual racing car. But what does this mean for Gran Turismo? “The last thirty minutes of the race,” Yamauchi told Kotaku at a recent visit to his…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2009
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  Counter-Strike Creator Working On New Game

  Minh Le is the co-creator of Counter-Strike, a game that even ten years on is still played by millions around the world. So when Le starts work on a new shooter, it’s probably worth a look. Having left Valve after saying nothankyou.jpg to the pressures of creating a Counter-Strike sequel, Le now has an office…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 29, 2009
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  Famous Japanese Actress Gets Her Wii Fit Plus On

  Nanako Matsushima is not only a big time Japanese actress, appearing in films like The Ring. She also is a product pitchwoman. She does TV ads for things like green tea and Nintendo. The last time we saw her in a Nintendo ad — no, the last time we remember seeing her in a Nintendo…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 29, 2009
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  No Modern Warfare 2 Demo For You

  The original Modern Warfare had a hugely popular beta/demo. No doubt helped sell a few million copies of the game. So will Modern Warfare 2 do the same thing? Not. A. Chance. Developers Infinity Ward have said there are “no [plans] for a Demo before launch”, because “the entire team is focused on polish all…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 28, 2009
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  Shall We Look Around Gran Turismo Developer’s Studio?

  During Tokyo Game Show, Sony invited a bunch of reporters to peek around Polphony Digital, the developer of the Gran Turismo series. This wasn’t Kotaku’s first visit to the studio, but in case you missed our coverage from a few years back, here’s a glimpse inside the place where they toil away on Gran Turismo.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published September 28, 2009
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  Uncharted 2 Pulls Plug on Some Twitter Updates

  Playstation 3’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves lost some of its functionality today with developer Naughty Dog deciding to pull the plug on the ability to auto Tweet chapter completion. In an update on the Sony Playstation Blog, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells wrote that the decision to pull the plug on the feature was driven…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 28, 2009
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  Brütal Bus Sets Soapbox Derby Record

  Remember the Brütal Bus Soapbox? Not only did it finish this weekend’s Los Angeles Red Bull Soapbox Race intact, it set a top speed record of 46.1 mph. Team Ironheade of San Francisco took top honors and a VIP NASCAR experience for their winning entry. What’s more, their speed record is an all-time track and…

  By Owen Good Published September 28, 2009
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  The Hotness That Is Females From Fighting Games

  To make up for the lack of boobs, ridiculous costumes and Tekken 6 characters in that trailer I just posted, get a look at these works of art — brought to you by the folks over at The Design Inspiration. These are the guys who brought us amazing Mario art and a lot of Links…

  By AJ Glasser Published September 28, 2009
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  Watch Frank West Golf a Zombie in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom

  Frank West’s 5-iron isn’t just for beating the crap out of your foe in Tatsunoko vs. Capcom. As Seth Killian demonstrates, it can also properly motivate the zombies he summons. Don’t mess with Frank. He’s covered par fours, you know. Watch Seth Show You How Frank West Works [Capcom-Unity via Joystiq]

  By Owen Good Published September 28, 2009
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  Super Street Fighter IV Confirmed, Is Standalone Title

  Capcom today have announced Super Street Fighter IV, a new, standalone title which is Street Fighter IV with eight new characters added and some tweaks made based on community feedback. Of the eight characters, three have been announced: classic characters T. Hawk and Dee Jay (Dee Jay’s reveal coming in the latest issue of Famitsu,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published September 28, 2009
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  Federal Judge Rules Video Games are Protected “Expressive Works”

  The news here isn’t that Jim Brown, a man who certainly knows his rights, is supporting college players suing Electronic Arts over the use of their likenesses. It’s how he lost his own claim against the Madden series publisher. On Wednesday, a federal district court in Los Angeles dismissed Brown’s claim against Electronic Arts for…

  By Owen Good Published September 28, 2009
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  A Tekken Trailer With Almost No Boobs

  I’m tempted to say fighting games are maturing on account of this Tekken 6 promotional video that features only 30 seconds of Tekken to three minutes, fifteen seconds of real people. But then I realize I didn’t see any ridiculous costumes or over-sized breasts. I’ve been trained to expect these things from my fighting games,…

  By AJ Glasser Published September 28, 2009
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  More than 1 Billion Served

  To: Ash From Crecente Re: And I Don’t Blink And I Just Keep Going And I Don’t Blink… We hit an interesting milestone during our coverage of the Tokyo Game Show last week: One billion pageviews since the site’s launch. Yes, with a B. How absurd is that? Now to get our readership up from…

  By Brian Crecente Published September 28, 2009
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  Adventures In TGS Line-Waiting

  One of the lessons I learned at my first Tokyo Game Show last week is that waiting for games there is different. (Special BONUS Aborted Okamiden Line-waiting Liveblog also included inside!) At TGS, you are yelled at. You might be yelled “Good morning!” In Japanese. You might be yelled to come over and try a…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 28, 2009
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  Some Might Call It A Feature, Some Might Call It A Health Warning

  I am no expert on vibrating gaming chairs. I’m certain they’ve been shaking players for years. Here’s one, called Game Chair, that we saw at the Tokyo Game Show. Witness this novel, yet disturbing, demonstration of its vibrating abilities. UPDATE: Sharp-eyed readers note that we are seeing the balls bounce on what would be the…

  By Stephen Totilo Published September 28, 2009
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  Star Trek Online Hides Clothes In Star Trek Blu-ray

  Star Trek fans who buy the Blu-ray version of The Original Series’ third season will find themselves in the Admiralty when Star Trek Online launches next year. The Blu-ray releases of the original Star Trek come packed with extras, as well they should, because when you make something very old very clear it generally makes…

  By Mike Fahey Published September 28, 2009