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  Insomniac Explores the Wild Facebook Frontier with Outernauts

  Breaking with a long tradition of creating Sony-exclusive console titles, the studio behind Ratchet & Clank and Resistance brings the full weight of its wit and style to bear in Outernauts, a quirky new adventure role-playing game… for Facebook. Snuggled up with Sony for so long that people often forget it’s an independent studio, Insomniac…

  By Mike Fahey Published May 9, 2012
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  BioShock Infinite Delayed to 2013 [UPDATE]

  This fall’s much-anticipated BioShock Infinite will now be released on February 26, 2013, publisher Take Two announced this morning. The game had been planned for an October release. Updated with lengthy note from Ken Levine. “When we announced the release date of BioShock Infinite in March, we felt pretty good about the timing. Since then,…

  By Stephen Totilo Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Behind this Mai Shiranui, There’s Tragedy

  Last year started out well enough. It looked like it was going to be a big one for Yang Qi Han (aka Isabella Yang). She was all over the place, even appearing at the Cannes Film Festival. Then things got bad, real bad. Everything came to a head with Isabella hanging on the side of…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  How About a Part-Time Job Buying Diablo III?

  Diablo III is coming out. Soon. And people (like this individual) are very excited. South Korea is no different. Gamers are jazzed about Diablo III. And whenever there are jazzed people, there are unscrupulous individuals ready to take advantage. A South Korea job site recently ran a listing for a company offering a “one day…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  In Japan, Social Game Makers To Phase Out “Gambling” Elements

  Japanese social game makers DeNA and Gree both said they will begin phasing out controversial “complete gacha” elements in their games. Losing $700 million in one day sure is convincing! [Reuters]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  This High School Student Will Saw You in Half

  In the West, the “image character” for splatter game Lollipop Chainsaw is cosplayer Jessica Nigri. She’s great for events in America, but the commute to Japan is a little far. In Japan, the game needs a local image character, and a local is what it is going to get: American-born Japanese actress Mayu Kawamoto. Dressing…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Persona Sure Makes a Lovely Arcade Stick

  Persona didn’t actually make it. It’s a game, and games cannot make arcade sticks. Rather, famed Japanese peripheral company Hori produced this PS3 fighting stick. It is to mark upcoming fighting game, Persona 4 The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena, which is based on the Persona role-playing game. The game is a collaboration between Atlus and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  When Anime and Real Life Collide, Things Get Freaky

  Before people in Asia and the West were Photoshopping the hell out of their faces to look like anime characters, artist Chris Scarborough was doing it to his subjects. For art. Scarborough’s series “Ideal Species” shows humans that look more humanoid. It’s as though he’s taken the anime aesthetic and transplanted it to the real…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kane & Lynch Developers Sued for Defaming Chinese People

  Never mind that Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days was first released nearly two years ago (or that it was a bit of a turd), one lawyer in China sure is pissed. According to Global Times (via TechInAsia), Beijing attorney Liu Lin is suing Kane & Lynch‘s developer, Denmark-based IO Interactive, and its publisher, Square…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  North Korea’s Dictator Never Has Bad Hair Days, Only Awesome Ones

  While nothing can and will top China’s previous Photoshop efforts (in which Kim Jong-un was turned into Dragonball‘s Android 19 of the Red Ribbon Army), these latest attempts are valiant. They’re pretty funny, too! Both North Korea and China have a close political alliance, so there is some good-natured ribbing on China’s hair. Because really,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Sacrifice Flesh with This “Totally New” PlayStation Vita Game

  The PS Vita wants its pound of flesh. And you are going to give it. In return, you will get some wicked power weapons and spells. Keiji Inafune, best known for Mega-Man and Dead Rising, is working on upcoming PlayStation Vita game Soul Sacrifice. Until now, the game has been shrouded in mystery, but Sony…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  China’s Superman Wedding Proposal Required a Crane

  It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a lovebird hanging nearly twenty stories above the ground dressed as Superman. Just look at those balloons. And those tights. And that crane. Things are about to get heart-warming. In the Jiangsu province city of Lianyungang, an unnamed gentleman showed up in a Superman costume, riding a scooter…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now. Right Now.

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 9, 2012
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  There’s a Feature-Length Documentary About Mass Effect 3’s Ending

  You’d think, if told there’s an 84-minute documentary on the ending of Mass Effect 3, that it’d be the result of some crazed fans, crackpots spending most of that time exclaiming breathlessly into a cheap microphone. You would also be wrong, because this thing is great It’s basically a very in-depth examination of the various…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012
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  The Great League of Legends Cosplay Extravagaza

  The 2012 ChinaJoy Cosplay extravaganza was especially extravagant in this case, as an entire stage is decked out with League of Legends cosplayers. It’s not just the quantity that’s impressive, it’s the quality of said quantity. Also of note? The prolonged pose-holding. These cosplayers are serious A few weeks back I made a concerted effort…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012
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  If Only They’d Actually Released an All-White NES

  I’ve got a basic rule when it comes to consumer electronics: the white the better. The white PS3, the original Xbox in its rare white, the DSi in glossy white, the new white 360, they all look great That’s just my tastes, though. Artist and advertising man Andrew Miller has a different reason for emphasising…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012
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  This Might be the Greatest Zombie Game Ever Made

  I don’t like most zombie games because, well, they’re not really zombie games. They’re action games using the texture of a walking corpse as your opponent. From Resident Evil to Left 4 Dead, they don’t really capture the essence of a good zombie yarn like Dawn of the Dead or The Walking Dead manage. So…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012
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  Pokémon Onesies are Dangerously Close to Furry Pyjamas

  This range of onesies – you know, those awesome little suits babies get to wear – are fashioned in the style of Pokémon. And they’re available for grownups. An Etsy seller called All for Onesies makes these to order, meaning you can pick your favourite Pokémon, pay up and soon you’ll be spending your time…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012
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  The Low Hanging Fruit: Why Gamers Shouldn’t Become Billboards

  Perhaps my friend Dan Golding, over at Crikey, put it best: “The sophistication of Assassin’s Creed III’s “do free advertising for us and we’ll give you more advertising” online campaign is amazing.” He’s right, it’s truly amazing. In fact… it’s sublime. In case you missed it – yesterday Ubisoft gave gamers all an important task.…

  Mark Serrels Published May 9, 2012
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  A Documentary About People Drawing Pictures of Their Favourite Nerd Heroes

  “Fan art is often the viewer’s reaction to the show projected onto the character”. Not a bad summary, that. This short PBS video examines the world of fan art, and just why people feel the need to spend their time and energy drawing amazing images of characters who someone else aready created and drew. Refreshingly,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 9, 2012