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  NOW Are You Happy With Diablo’s Art Style?

  You thought the hub-bub over Diablo III’s aesthetics was over? It’s not over. That said, Blizzard have moved on from the “hurt deep” stage, and are now in the “coping through humour” stage. Responding to some commenters making jokes about including unicorns, rainbows and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man in the game, Blizzard’s Community Manager…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 4, 2009
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  Shhhhh… Pikachu Is Sleepy

  Across Japan, Pokémon Centers, the official Pokémon goods retailers, are holding a “Sleepy Pikachu Festival.” That doesn’t mean they’re too tired to sell you things! Starting this Saturday, various goods featuring a slumbering Pikachu go on sale: t-shirts, cups, bentou boxes, cups, plush toys and, yes, sleepy Pikachu underoos. All too cute. Pokemon Center [Official…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  Source Engine Moves From Games Into…Fire Escape Planning

  Despite its advancing years, Valve’s Source engine still looks good, and is still pretty useful for making games with. But can it help with anything aside from games (or machinima)? You bet it can. A research team at Britain’s Durham University have adapted the engine to create a fire drill simulator. Recreating the university campus,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 4, 2009
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  Hands Down, The Best Dead Rising Wii Screenshot

  Um. Okay. Yeah. New Dead Rising Chop ‘Til You Drop screens show just how the game makes good use of the Nintendo Wii’s waggle controls. We posted it here for posterity. Enjoy! In the above screen, Frank has been captured. But in Chop ‘Til You Drop, players waggle the Wii-mote when the guards aren’t looking…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  Hey Japan, Street Fighter IV Xbox 360 DLC Is More Expensive

  The upcoming issue of Famitsu magazine details the DLC for multi-platform title Street Fighter IV. So, which SFIV DLC is more expensive: Xbox 360 DLC or PS3 DLC? (Hint: read the post’s title.) According to Famitsu, the game’s various costume DLC packs (pictured below) break down as such: Muscle Arms Pack Release: 2/12 PS3 Version:…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  New Star Ocean 4 Screens, New Star Ocean 4 Character

  Xbox 360 title Star Ocean 4 is only a few days away from release. Perfect timing for some new Star Ocean 4 and a new character — the bird lady! And she wears glasses. Sarah Jeland (literally, “Sara Jerando” in Japanese katakana — not sure about the English romanization) hails from the in-game planet of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  Some Sales Data For Left 4 Dead, Rock Band 2, Mirror’s Edge & Dead Space

  It wasn’t all bad news and leaky product announcements during yesterday’s EA conference call. Some good came of it. Like positive sales figures for some of EA’s riskier titles. Like Left 4 Dead, whose physical copies EA published, and which went on to sell 1.8 million copies. Or Rock Band 2, which sold 1.9 million…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 4, 2009
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  Atlus Bringing Persona And Growlanser To PSP

  Atlus is bringing two “new” PSP games to Japan: Persona and Growlanser. One is a remake, and the other is a port. Persona is a “complete remake” of the 13 year-old PlayStation game. It has more save points, difficulty options, new cutscenes and the game balance adjustments. It will be out in Japan on April…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  You Seem To Have Got GTAIV In My Google Earth

  Reader Sun Scramble was checking out Google Earth the other day and – on a whim, we’re sure – punched in 40°42’49.23″N, 73°59’51.44″W. Lo and behold, what did he see? A giant GTAIV ad. See for yourself, it’s right there, dominating the nearby streetscape in Manhattan’s Chinatown. Not a bad way to get some free,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 4, 2009
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  Musou OROCHI Z Screens Hack-And-Slash Out

  First announced last month, Musou OROCHI Z is a compilation of previous titles Musou OROCHI and Musou OROCHI The Devil King’s Second Coming. Announced for only the PS3, Musou OROCHI Z offers new costumes, new characters, new “dramatic” scenario mode. Musou OROCHI Z is slated for release March 12 in Japan and is priced at…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  Nintendo Customer Service Training, 80’s Style

  Confession: I used to work at EB Games. Helped people out with Nintendo stuff all the time. Nobody ever, ever offered to bring me a pie. [via Go Nintendo]

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 4, 2009
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  Koei Posts Record Sales

  Japanese game maker Koei has recorded record sales — it’s biggest quarterly earnings ever. For period starting April 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2008, Koei sales were up ¥163 million over the previous period, racking up ¥20.1 billion total. Operating profit was up ¥968 million, posting ¥4.5 billion. Koei saw strong sales for multi-plat…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  Rocket Slimes Made Of Snow

  A few days London was blanketed in snow. It was the worst snowfall in 18 years. So Kotaku reader Anneka did what any good Kotaku reader would do: She made Rocket Slimes. And four hours later, the illustrator-by-trade had a stack of Slimes. Look at them! They’re terrific. Snow Slimes [The Creative Brainwaves of Anneka…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  Capcom Sign Up For The PC Gaming Alliance

  The PC Gaming Alliance today welcome two new members into the fold, as publisher Capcom and Southern Methodist University’s Guildhall program signed up to help defend the PC market against “oh, it’s dying” allegations. The Guildhall (already a member, but who are now joining the group’s board) is one of America’s biggest and best game…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 4, 2009
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  Let Pac-Man Describe Your Pain

  Spotted on Flickr, this handy chart asks folks to choose the Pac-Man face that best describes how they feel. I’m a little “BERRR-.” You? Pacman Pain [Flickr via technabob]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 4, 2009
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  So What’s EA’s Market Share Like These Days?

  EA ain’t what they used to be. Activision are top dogs now, and Nintendo aren’t kidding around either. So let’s see how much of the gaming market in the US & Europe EA still commands. The graph below is fairly self-explanatory. The percentage is the percentage of sales of EA games in relation to total…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 3, 2009
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  Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 Is Ready To Kick Your Ass

  Hostesses? Boring! Guys getting hit with a gas tank? So not boring. This batch of Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 images packs a walloping punch. PS3 exclusive Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 hits Japanese retailers February 26.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 3, 2009
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  Shacknews Bought By..GameFly?

  It’s a strange headline, yes, but that’s how the world goes sometimes. Shacknews founder Steve Gibson has revealed that his site has indeed been bought by games rental outlet GameFly. Gibson – who claims the move has nothing to do with money troubles for the site – says of the surprising deal: GameFly has demonstrated…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 3, 2009
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  Taito Arcade Hikes Prices 20 Percent [Update]

  Arcade games since the birth of Japanese arcades have been 1 play for ¥100 yen*. Starting this week, that has changed. Sure, players could enjoy older games for ¥50 and some new, deluxe titles charged ¥200 and up. But generally speaking, 1 play was and has been ¥100. Game center Taito Station in Shibuya is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 3, 2009
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  Eric Nylund Writes Something Unrelated To Halo

  Tor Books announced today that they’d be publishing an original novel from Halo and Gears of War writer/story consultant Eric Nylund. Mortal Coils is the first book in a planned five-book series. I’m to understand Nylund did in fact write books before he adapted the Halo series — but this is the author’s first original…

  By AJ Glasser Published February 3, 2009