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  Get In On The Dawn Of War II Beta

  Want in on the Dawn of War II beta? Don’t want to pay “full price” for Dawn of War: Soulstorm, the only way you can currently get into the beta? Things just got easier. Valve and THQ have announced that the price of Soulstorm has been slashed by 75%, so if you want in now…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 21, 2009
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  More Exclusive Noodles From Another PS3 SEGA Exclusive

  The last Yakuza PS3 exclusive, Ryu Ga Gotoku KENZAN! got instant udon. The upcoming Yakuza PS3 exclusive gets, you guessed, instant noodles. On March 2, Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 cup ramen will go on sale in Japan from food maker Ace Cook. It’s not just ramen, but Kyushu tonkotsu (“pork bone”) ramen. The ramen references…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 21, 2009
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  Maybe Microsoft WILL Fire Some People (Like, 8000 People)

  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reckon Microsoft will hold off on massive job cuts. But analysts speaking to Reuters think otherwise, and believe the company will lay off between 6000 and 8000 workers. And that might just be a start. While those numbers would put a dent in the company’s 95,000-strong workforce, McAdams Wright Ragen analyst Sid…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 20, 2009
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  Hey PC Gaming, BioWare Says You’re Alive And Kicking

  Some have given up on PC gaming and have already thrown it on the funeral pyre, but not BioWare CEO Ray Muzyka. He totally believes in it. Muzyka optimistically says, “I think there are more people playing PC games and more dollars being spent on the PC space than ever before, but it’s taking a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 20, 2009
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  Outrun Online Arcade A 360 Exclusive (Only In America)

  Outrun Online Arcade has us excited. But if you’re American and own a PS3, you may want to ease back on the throttle of your own white-hot excitement jets. For safety reasons. Because it’s been confirmed that while the game will be released on both Xbox 360 and PS3 the world over, in North America,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 20, 2009
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  FromSoftware Holding Festa For Itself

  Three demos will be available for folks to check out: Inugamike no Ichizoku, NINJA BLADE and Tenchu 4. Held at the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera first floor event space, the festa kicks off January 24 and 25 at 11am and ends at 7pm. Free multi-purpose pouches will be given away. フロム・ソフトウェア、「FROMSOFTWARE Game Festa 2009」 Xbox 360「NINJA…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 20, 2009
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  Halo 3 ODST Writer: “Put That in Your Speculation Pipe and Smoke It!”

  In a new interivew with GamePro, Halo 3: ODST writer and creative director Joseph Staten talks plot, gameplay and design choices for the upcoming Halo 3 expansion. Among the many things the guy has to say, I’m most intrigued by the stuff about the Rookie’s place in the overall Halo story. Halo 3: ODST is…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 20, 2009
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  Sony Gives Us A Peek At God of War III In February

  You thought that brief glimpse of God Of War III from the Spike TV VGAs was all you’d see of Kratos for a while? Nope. Sony will be showing the game off in mere weeks. We just got the invite to check out Kratos’ “final mission in his war with the Gods,” an appointment just…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  Rumor: More EA Job Cuts, This Time At Madden’s House

  EA are cutting 1000 jobs, and they’re cutting them from everywhere. We’ve already seen, or heard of job losses at Blackbox and Mythic, but are now hearing of more at Tiburon Studios. Tiburon are most famous for being the developers behind the cash-conjuring Madden series, but they’re also responsible for the Tiger Woods and NCAA…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 20, 2009
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  PlayStation Dominates Street Fighter Club Round 3

  The third installment of the Fight Club-themed Street Fighter community events went down in a semi-seedy building next to the James Lick freeway in downtown San Francisco last Friday. Stations were set up for games journos, community members and industry insiders to go head to head in Street Fighter IV. The layout included six arcade…

  By AJ Glasser Published January 20, 2009
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  Marketing Gone Wild: Tits, Ass & Tenchu: Shadow Assassins

  I swear to God this “review” of Ubisoft’s Tenchu: Shadow Assassins from Girls Gone Wild founder Joe Francis is real. A heady blend of flesh, gameplay and tiger growls makes it 2009’s best video. And by “best,” I might actually mean the most confounding, flagrant display of “college girls” wearing nothing but Tenchu logos and…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  Podcast Guest Editor

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: “Happy Inauguration” We just finished recording the month’s video podcast. This time inside Grand Theft Auto IV. Our special guest this month around was the winner of the year-end Be a Kotaku Editor for a Day contest. Kinda fun, mostly because we drove around shooting each other. Adam, apparently, has…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 20, 2009
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  Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children PS3 Now Yours For The Importing

  Want to get your hands on the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Complete branded PlayStation 3? That fancy decoration is going to cost you if you plan on importing. So… how much? Importer National Console Support is first out of the gate on pre-orders for the “limited” edition version, offering the complete package — one…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  Rock Band Wii Gets New (Old) Tracks

  The Wii version of Rock Band is slowly catching up to its peers, with Harmonix releasing six familiar tracks via the Rock Band 2 in-game music store. Ready the Wii Points! Now available to Wii owners are tracks from Nine Inch Nails, The Ramones, The Clash and Jimmy Buffet. Cost to you? A standard 200…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  EA CEO: Are Games Important? Duh!

  Don’t ask John Riccitiello if video games are “important.” That’s the kind of question that went out of fashion with the Generra sweater and Z Cavaricci slacks. Of course they’re important! EA’s head honcho says that questioning the validity of the medium is so last decade. “That’s the kind of question people used to ask…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  Rumor: SEGA of America Starts Scaling Back, Lays Off Thirty

  IGN is reporting today that SEGA is the latest publisher to start cutting costs, laying off 30 employees from its American subsidiary. No word on where exactly the cuts are coming from, however. The report from IGN cites unnamed inside sources at SEGA of America, noting that the company had not yet commented on the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  From 1,000 Machines to Zero: Death of Another Arcade

  The Big Easy isn’t immune to the same issues that arcade machine vendors across the country face. A shift in culture, a spike in home consoles and arcades, once the bastion for gaming culture, go up in smoke. The latest victim: New Orleans Novelty. After more than 30 years running arcades and placing gaming machines…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 20, 2009
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  Now, The Real List Of 2008’s Bestselling Games

  The answer to the question “What was 2008’s bestselling game in the U.S.?” is “Wii Play.” Or is it? What about all those multi-platform, multi-SKU releases like Madden and Call of Duty: World at War? Turns out the answer is still Wii Play, with almost all things considered. MTV Multiplayer got the NPD Group to…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009
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  You Got Plot In My Street Fighter

  .html Yes, I know there’s a wonderful tradition of storytelling behind the Street Fighter series. But still, I don’t play this game because I care about the inner turmoil that haunts its fighters. That’s what College Humor is for.

  By Brian Crecente Published January 20, 2009
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  Canadian Game Sales Crack $2 Billion

  Our neighbors to the north are spending more on video games than ever, according to the NPD Group, over $2 billion in Canadian dollars last year. Even compared to our $21.33 billion it’s still impressive. NPD pegs Canadian console sales at 1.9 million for the year, with 1.2 million portable gaming machines snapped up by…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 20, 2009