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  Swine Flu Fears Won’t Affect Nintendo’s E3 Appearance

  Worries about being bitten by infected pigs at E3 2009 may have put a damper on the giant video game expo, but those fears haven’t affected Nintendo’s plans to exhibit its wares next week. The company told Kotaku today it has not restricted international travel for key Nintendo employees due to concerns over swine flu,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 26, 2009
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  Rockstar, Obama Put Latinos Front And Center

  While it’s unlikely that the White House coordinated with the makers of Grand Theft Auto, the two parties managed to make May 26, 2009 a significant date for Latinos. Today saw the announcement not just of the first Latino protagonist of a Grand Theft Auto adventure but the nomination by President Barack Obama of the…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 26, 2009
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  Take-Two Q2 News: $10 Million Loss, Beaterator Hype, More

  In an earnings call today, Take Two executives worked revenue drops, the word “Beaterator,” a denial of a digital distribution sea-change and praise for Rockstar into one conversation. This is how they did it: Highlights from Take Two’s second quarter earnings call follow, minus the big BioShock and GTA stuff, since we covered that already……

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 26, 2009
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  Is This Aliens: Colonial Marines For Nintendo DS?

  Gearbox Software’s first-person shooter Aliens: Colonial Marines is apparently still alive and kicking in some capacity, but who knows when it will be released. The same is true for the… Nintendo DS version?! A very official looking trailer for Aliens: Colonial Marines DS, one that requires a great deal of squinting, was uploaded to YouTube…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 26, 2009
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  World Of Warcraft Druids Getting A Makeover

  In the next big content patch for World of Warcraft, Blizzard finally addresses one of the most pressing matters the game has been facing for the past several years: ugly druids. Now the Night Elves cannot help being giant Smurfs any more than the Tauren can stop being so delicious when grilled, so Blizzard instead…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2009
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  Red Dead Redemption, Mafia II To Come After The Fall

  Take-Two Interactive announced delays for two of its upcoming open-world games today, pushing back the release dates of Rockstar San Diego’s Red Dead Redemption and 2K Czech’s Mafia II. Both titles were slated for a somewhat vague Fall release, but have been delayed today to, at the earliest, November 1, 2009. Take-Two has re-scheduled the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 26, 2009
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  BioShock 2 Dated, Coming First To Europe

  November 3 is the date for BioShock 2 in North America, but Europeans will get a head start. During the company’s conference call to discuss second quarter financial results, Take-Two CEO Ben Feder announced that BioShock 2 will hit Europe on October 30 and North America on November 3. The game, which is expected to…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 26, 2009
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  GTA IV Episodes Coming To Disc As Standalone Game

  Today’s newly announced The Ballad of Gay Tony episode for Grand Theft Auto IV was only half of Rockstar’s GTA news. The other half could usher in a new approach to downloadable content. Rockstar Games announced that the fall-slated The Ballad of Gay Tony and the February-released GTA IV episode The Lost and Damned will…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 26, 2009
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  GTA IV Fabulously Expands With The Ballad of Gay Tony

  Your Liberty City adventures will continue this Fall on the Xbox 360, as Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony as the game’s second downloadable episode. In contrast to Grand Theft Auto IV‘s seedy biker gang expansion The Lost and Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony is said to focus…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 26, 2009
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  Return Of The Aggressively Competitive Gaming Ad

  Do you long for the days when video game ads were designed to attack or undermine competitive products? Don’t despair. We can confirm such days are still here. EA’s got a Wii fitness game. It’s called EA Sports Active. Don’t believe us? Try Googling it. But don’t type in “EA Sports Active.” Type in “EA…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 26, 2009
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  Walk, Don’t Run (Or Sidle), With Nintendo’s Personal Trainer: Walking

  Personal Trainer: Walking comes with two activity meters that track your day-to-day movements, but the tiny device is not without its quirks. The activity meter is a small digital pedometer of sorts. The device has no power button, instead turning on or off when it detects movement. It has a built in infrared sensor for…

  By Brian Crecente Published May 26, 2009
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  What Sega Is Bringing To E3 2009

  Sega is bringing its A game to E3 2009. Two A games, in fact, along with a B game, a C game, two Olympic titles, and a movie tie-in. Sega’s official E3 line-up announcement doesn’t hint at any big surprises, but it does mention a fair number of titles we’re definitely keeping an eye on.…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2009
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  Who’s Keynoting For Nintendo At E3?

  This year, Nintendo’s E3 media briefing will be all “about the games,” with promises from the Wii maker that we won’t be subjected to tales of Mother’s Day cards and on-stage snowboarding. Yes, Nintendo of America executive vice president of Sales & Marketing Cammie Dunaway will be there. Also appearing will be Nintendo president Satoru…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 26, 2009
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  New PlayStation 3 Bundle Arriving Week After E3

  Sony may have just one more PlayStation announcement pre-announced before its E3 showing, as retail sources are indicating that another “new” PlayStation 3 bundle is en route to Best Buy. That’s “new” in double quotes. Because this doesn’t sound like a new new hardware bundle for the PS3. Sorry, this retail listing is not “slim”…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 26, 2009
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  Robots We Love: HK-47

  We continue our week-long tribute to the video game robots that we love with a Star Wars droid that loves you too, meatbag. Original characters created for video games set in the Star Wars universe rarely earn the sort of love we hold for HK-47, the homicidal droid who rose to fame in BioWare’s Star…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2009
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  The Price Of Gas In inFamous

  A detonation in the fictional Empire City of newly-released inFamous jacked gas prices, as seen in this shot we took. Yesterday in Brooklyn, 87 octane was $2.55. In Liberty City, last year, it was $3.59.

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 26, 2009
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  Kotaku Robot Wars Round 1: From The Ashes

  A nuclear explosion has whittled down our list of thirty-five video game robots to a mere eight, their ultimate fate resting in the hands of our readers, a real-life robot, and random chance. While the nuclear explosion launched by a frightened U.S. military managed to wipe out the majority of the robot combatants summed to…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2009
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  How To Use Your 3G Phone To Connect To Xbox Live

  If your house loses internet, or you’re taking your 360 on the road, connecting to Xbox Live can be a hassle. Oh, unless you have a 3G phone and follow this handy guide! It’ll show you how to configure your phone, a laptop and your 360, then use them to commandeer an AT&T 3G signal…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 26, 2009
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  Get A Taste Of Miami Law

  Hudson doles out a tiny bit of street justice on the Nintendo Channel today, with a downloadable demo of their DS action-adventure title Miami Law. Miami Law is a game that wants to be a police drama, balancing action-packed shoot-outs, car chases, crime scene investigation, and detective work in order to create the ultimate cop…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2009
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  LucasArts Confirms Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron

  LucasArts backs up the ESRB listings for Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron for the Nintendo DS and PSP with an official announcement, promising to take the multiplayer battles to several new levels. Elite Squadron is a new twist on the Battlefront series, for the first time allowing players to start a battle on land, commandeer…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 26, 2009