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  Kotaku Originals: Number Crunch

  It was numbers week in Kotakopolis, which means things like NPD and E74 (“It’s 71 better than E3!”). Also 2009, as Fahey looked at the year that was yet to be in gaming. Beatles: Rock Band also made a splash, and now that Circuit City is liquidated and has nothing left to sell, the Xbox…

  By Owen Good Published April 18, 2009
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  Do You Like Console Exclusive Characters/Content?

  Hey! You!! Did you know it’s Friday? I did. Good for me. Good for you. Here’s how it works: We ask a question, you answer it. Simple and no strings attached! This isn’t some marketing survey or whatever. It’s an emotional investment in you. Yes, we’re interested in knowing you, Kotaku reader person. You probably…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2009
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  Fallout 3 Soundtrack Just Wants To Set Delta Air Lines On Fire

  Here’s a cute story. Reader Josh was taking a little trip the other day on Delta Air Lines when he threw on his free headphones and heard something familiar. Flipping open the airline’s “Sky” magazine, Josh noticed that, on channel 6A, they were playing “The Music of Fallout 3”. The classic songbook of the ’40s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 18, 2009
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  Major Minor’s Majestic March’s Majestic Anime Shorts

  Wii title Major Minor’s Majestic March, the latest music game from PaRappa The Rapper dev NanaOn-Sha, is getting a series of anime shorts. The music-based game centers around drum major Major Minor as he leads his band. Starting April 19, Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV will be airing animated Major Minor’s Majestic March anime shorts until…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 18, 2009
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  PAL PlayStation Store Update: Magical Sound Shower

  European and Australian PS3 owners are in for a treat this week, as Outrun Online Arcade – which in the US is exclusive to Xbox Live Arcade – is also available on the PSN. And aside from that, there’s… a crummy old Disney PS1 game, LittleBigPlanet’s Monkey King costume (the nature of which is irrepressible),…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2009
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  A Week In Comments

  Microsoft Explains the E74 Code, Sorta Comment by: gojirah Nominated by: Billkwando I like how they insist on using the phrase “general hardware failure” when they also tell you there are different specific kinds of general failure. It’s like saying Jo, you are generally bad at sports, and also generally bad in academics, and generally…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2009
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  Silver DualShock 3 Hits US In June

  A listing has appeared on GameStop’s website for a silver DualShock 3 controller for the PlayStation 3. Which is odd, since there are no silver PlayStation 3 consoles available in the United States. Maybe Sony Computer Entertainment America are thinking of releasing the silver PS3 – currently only available in Asia – in the US.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2009
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  Here’s What Comes In Your Patapon 2 Box

  We don’t expect you to be surprised by the contents of your Patapon 2 box, should you choose to pick it up, but let’s be very clear about what’s in that PSP game case. The official PlayStation blog lays it out for potential Patapon 2 customers, displaying the contents—box, instruction manual and download voucher—and clearly…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009
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  Was Pirate Girl Cut From Xbox 360 Tales of Vesperia? Namco Bandai Says…

  The PS3 is getting Tales of Vesperia, and ToV for the PS3 is getting a new character, young pirate girl Patty Fruel. Let’s review and hear what Namco Bandai has to say. A young pirate girl was referenced in the original Xbox 360 version: “Inside the drawer, there’s a pirate outfit for girls. A name…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published April 17, 2009
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  Muramasa: The Demon Blade Is Clearly Pandering

  We have little doubt that Vanillaware and Marvelous Entertainment are targeting the tinglier areas of otaku with Muramasa: The Demon Blade, what with all the sexy bath time and fetishistic character designs. But the game is gorgeous, one of the more interesting third-party titles coming for the Wii this year. And one that’s managing to…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009
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  March’s Top-Selling Games, Accessories By Platform

  Listing the top 10-selling games for March is always going to draw a line in the sand. What about #11? What about #13? Are they not worthy of attention, too? We say they are. After all, the difference in sales between #10 and #11 is slim. Also provided, courtesy of the NPD Group, is a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published April 17, 2009
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  Nintendo Stock Takes A Hit

  The market didn’t take the news of Nintendo’s year-over-year drop in Wii sales well. Despite having the bestselling hardware in the United States, that 17% drop in sales did some damage to Nintendo’s stock price. While the week was mostly positive for Nintendo—it had announced sales of 435,000 Nintendo DSi handhelds in its first week—it…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009
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  Games As Journalism: A Quick Fix For A Dying Medium?

  An Online Journalism Blog article says that traditional news outlets need to start making video games that either replace or improve the delivery of news stories. It’s no secret that print journalism is a rotting corpse; legitimate new sources are packing up and heading for the web left and right. With new levels of interactivity…

  By AJ Glasser Published April 17, 2009
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  Tales Screens Tell Little, Show Rocket Ship

  Somebody likes to wear white, Stan loses to Cless and Japan’s deep-seated obsession with pirates somehow ties into space and kabobs. That’s about all we can tell from this slew of Tales screens Namco Bandai reportedly released today. There’s a batch each for the upcoming Tales of Graces on the Wii, Tales of VS on…

  By AJ Glasser Published April 17, 2009
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  New Virtual On Figures Appeal To Sexy Maid Mech Fetishist(s)

  While dedicated Twin Stick controllers for the upcoming Xbox Live Arcade re-release of Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram may be nothing more than a pipe dream, we can definitely count on new mech action figures! *snort* Sega’s already got a pair in the works—the RVR-H8 Raiden II RNA and RVR-87 Specineff—but have added two more. Well,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009
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  What Does Peter Moore Know About The Xbox’s Motion Control Plans?

  Now that former Xbox exec Peter Moore is well established at EA Sports, he’s probably going to be willing to spill the beans on the oft-rumored motion controller planned for the Xbox 360. Right? Well… Moore, when asked by GameTrailers TV‘s Geoff Keighley about his knowledge of Microsoft’s plans—plans that may have formed during Moore’s…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009
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  Spring Thunder Snow

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: I Wrote You A Letter. No, You Didn’t. But… You know what’s worse than thunder snow? Spring thunder snow! Actually it isn’t that bad once you realize that it can snow pretty much anytime in Colorado. It snowed the day Tristan was born, in May. The trick to spring snow…

  By Brian Crecente Published April 17, 2009
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  Japanese Hardware Sales In A Funk

  This week’s hardware report from Media Create isn’t a positive one. Similar to the industry’s performance in the U.S., Japanese weekly hardware sales are down across the board—with the exception of the Xbox 360. That’s somewhat curious, as the Xbox 360’s rise over the previous week is substantial, enough to put it within spitting distance…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009
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  Adult Gaming on the DS: The Chinatown Conundrum

  With 100 million DS and DSi in the hands of gamers worldwide, Nintendo’s portable is a mighty tempting platform for developers. So why are only seven of the nearly 1,100 games for the DS rated Mature? A popular argument is that Nintendo’s portable is for kids and soccer moms only, something that the Japanese developer…

  By Brian Crecente Published April 17, 2009
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  Could Matthew Perry *Play* Any More Fallout 3?

  Celebrities—they’re just like us! They shop for mundane things. They do movie promotion interviews on The View. They obsessively play video games like Fallout 3 to the point that they require medical attention. Or maybe that’s just former Friends star Matthew Perry, who tells the ladies of the view that he’s been playing Bethesda Softworks’…

  By Michael McWhertor Published April 17, 2009