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  Warner Bros. Wins Bid For Midway For A Very Simple Reason

  Looks like the new home of Mortal Kombat, Joust, Spy Hunter and other well-known Midway properties will be Warner Bros. after all. The media conglomerate looks to have won bidding rights to the publisher and developer by default. According to the LA Times‘ report on the matter, Warner’s $33 million bid for the better portion…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009
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  The Man

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Now This Is Service Today the family and I headed to Carlsbad, New Mexico to check out their spectacular caverns. As usual, I wrote while Trish drove. About half way there we came across a border patrol check point station. When we stopped to talk to the INS agents we…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 26, 2009
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  It’s Officially Game Over, Man For Aliens RPG

  The rumors were true. Sega’s Aliens role-playing game, previously in development at Obsidian Entertainment, is as dead as games can get. The title’s developer and publisher both confirmed today that development on Aliens RPG has ceased. A posting on the Obsidian forums from a forum administrator, picked up by Giant Bomb, attempts to clear the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009
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  Notebook Dump: Layton, Samurai Showdown, RE5 3D

  There comes a time in the week when to reflect on what got into my reporter’s notebook but didn’t turn into Kotaku blog posts. Shall we? New Professor Layton: I played Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box on Monday evening during those Nintendo demos I couldn’t stop writing about in the middle of the week.…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009
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  Madballs in Babo Invasion Preview: A Game With Balls

  The old tagline for the Madballs collectible toys of the 1980s was “Obnoxious And Gross!” which should tell you a lot about both the 80s and what to expect from squishy balls with disgusting faces. However, apart from starring revolting balls, Babo Invasion isn’t really affiliated with the toy line, the subsequent cartoon or the…

  By AJ Glasser Published June 26, 2009
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  Playing As Insurgents: Volition Reflects On Red Faction Guerilla

  There are rebellions that were and weren’t intended to be part of Red Faction Guerilla, Volition and THQ’s well-reviewed destroy-everything open-world game. Kotaku talked to the game’s designers about the possibilities and politics of what they made. “I like an open world where it feels like stuff is going on around you,” James Hague, Red…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009
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  Bethesda’s Big Move

  When Oblivion and Doom meet, the Fallout is bound to yield surprises; and perhaps offer some insight into the future of the video game industry. Earlier this week the company behind post-apocalyptic video game hit Fallout 3 bought the developers of famed shooter Doom putting two of the most respected talent pools in the industry,…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 26, 2009
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  Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Has Really Big Guns

  Ninja Gaiden publisher Tecmo and Dynasty Warriors factory Koei were officially merged in April. But today, the two Japanese powerhouses spawned a European subsidiary. So we though we’d celebrate the good news with screen shots of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Specifically, we wanted to upload these screens of Rachel, ones that we didn’t get around…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009
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  The King Of Fighters XII – Triumph Of Combat

  Giddy after the triumph of winning three Best of E3 awards for Best Fighting Game for The King of Fighters XII , Ignition Entertainment rushes out this latest trailer without removing the opening slate. Sure, we could have edited the slate ourselves, but then how would we preserve the excitement? Simply telling you about it?…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 26, 2009
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  THQ Has Natal Dev Kits But No Sony Wand Dev Kits

  Sony Computer Entertainment and Microsoft both showed off new motion control at E3 2009 and both appear to have designs on launching those offerings in 2010. And some third party publishers already have Project Natal dev kits. THQ’s Brian Farrell tells G4’s The Feed that his company already has Natal development tools. They’ve had them…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009
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  New Section 8 Screens Drop In

  TimeGate Studios dropped us some new screenshots for their Xbox 360 and PC shooter Section 8, showing off….the graphics for Section 8, of course. Luckily their aim was off a bit, as even a screenshot is instantly fatal when dropped from 15,000 feet in the air. Dropping from on high onto the enemy is probably…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 26, 2009
• Reviews

  Art Style Boxlife Micro-Review: Smart Misery

  It’s a 2009 phenomenon: some of the smartest and most artistically adventurous games released on any of the big platforms come from Nintendo’s Art Style line. Enter Boxlife, the first good game about boring factory work. (Sorry, Shenmue!) What makes you laugh as a gamer? A joke? A line of dialogue or a sight gag?…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009
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  Report: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Prices Slashed In Fall

  Anyone not expecting a price cut on the PlayStation 3 this year? How about the Xbox 360? Well, if Ars Technica’s “Mole” is right—and it has been before—both consoles will be cheaper by the fall. A relatively easy prediction, yes, but Ars’ source lays out how it might go down, with the PS3 80GB model…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009
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  inFamous Home Space Coming Soon

  Snuck in at the very bottom of a post on important inFamous facts and figures, Sony has announced that Sucker Punch‘s free-roaming superhero game would soon be getting its own home in PlayStation Home. The announcement is hidden at the bottom of an otherwise unspectacular post regarding some fun facts and figures that Game Informer…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 26, 2009
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  Autobots Fans Currently Crushing Decepticons Fans

  In a battle between DS owners of the Autobot and Decepticon versions of the official Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen game, the good guys have the edge. The new Transformers game, like its DS predecessor, has an online web-site-based metagame that pits its owners against each other. And, as of today, the Autobot side is…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009
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  What Are You Playing This Weekend?

  I just walked in the door, fresh from a taping of the Bonus Round for GameTrailers.com only to be greeted by two new games from the UPS man: Blazblue: Calamity Trigger and The Conduit. Guess what I’m playing this weekend? The answer is Blazblue: Calamity Trigger and The Conduit! Looks like I have a copy…

  By Michael McWhertor Published June 26, 2009
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  Old Vivendi Digs Put To Constructive Use

  Vivendi’s Los Angeles headquarters at the Howard Hughes Center might be gone, but what’s taken its place will leave a lasting impact on LA drivers for years to come. Following the 2007 merger between Activision and Blizzard, the old Vivendi headquarters at 6060 Center Drive became redundant, closed as a cost-cutting measure to help streamline…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 26, 2009
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  Industry Figures Share Michael Jackson Memories, From E3 To Neverland

  Yesterday’s passing of pop superstar Michael Jackson has provoked widespread reminiscences. Today, leading game reporters and game designer Dave Perry recalled when they crossed paths with the King of Pop. In addition to starring in a few video games, Michael Jackson appeared at the first E3 more than a decade ago. GTTV‘s Geoff Keighley recalled…

  By Stephen Totilo Published June 26, 2009
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  Tiger Redeems Himself On Late Night…Sort Of

  After losing to Jimmy Fallon in a round of EA’s Tiger Woods 10 for the Nintendo Wii in Times Square yesterday, Tiger managed to defeat Fallon in the televised rematch…but just barely. Tiger came on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show last night to see if he could make up for his humiliating loss…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 26, 2009
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  3G Versus 3GS Game Comparison: Slooooooow Load Times

  Here’s a quick look at the load times of the iPhone 3G versus the iPhone 3GS. While the 3GS’ loadtimes are substantially faster, that alone doesn’t really warrant the upgrade, I think. Only time will tell if newer games, developed to take advantage of the new hardware and software upgrades, will make the purchase or…

  By Brian Crecente Published June 26, 2009