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  Japan’s Top Arcade Fighter Moves On From His Main Man

  For years, Daigo Umehara tore up arcades and tournaments with the character Ryu from Street Fighter. Not anymore. They’ve broken up. Daigo, who is best known for this clip, is still fighting and still winning. However, he’s traded the iconic Ryu for another character, Yun, for Super Street Fighter IV. The gamer recently broke the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2011
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  Think Indiana Jones, Only With Puzzles And Giant Hats

  Fatshark, the developers behind the promising (and yet ultimately disappointing) Western shooter Lead & Gold, are back with a new title. And it’s got nothing to do with cowboys. Instead, it looks to the great adventurers for inspiration. Which adventurers? Well, with the fedora and jacket, a certain Henry Walton “Indiana” Jones, Jr. comes to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Half-Life 2 Still Looks Pretty As A Postcard

  Just when the memory of how beautiful Half-Life 2 can be begins to fade, Reddit user Enjuaguese reminds us all with these panoramic shots of the game’s City 17. Included in this gallery is the original work, a massive picture spanning the first glimpse the player gets of the city and the looming threat of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  3,000 Mega Man Fans Got This Lady A Job

  Making decisions by yourself on who to hire is hard. It’s easier when you have 3,000 people do it for you, which is exactly what happened for this Mega Man Legends voice actress! The game’s studio Capcom had fans vote for their choice to voice in-game heroine Aero — hardly a standard practice — and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2011
• CultureTotal Recall

  Remember When Box Art Gave You Nightmares?

  And yes, before you ask, it’s a real game

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Have You Ever Stopped Gaming?

  It’s Friday! I like Friday. Know why? Because we can have our special time, talking 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 January 14, 2011
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  Blade Runner Fans, The Past Just Became The Present

  Gemini Rue, an upcoming indie title for the PC, looks like something we sadly haven’t seen much of lately: a game that combines adventure, science fiction and a little bit of darkness. While that sounds like the nichest of niche genres, throughout the late 1980s and into the 1990s there was actually a steady stream…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Are The 3DS’ Launch Games Up To Snuff?

  Next month, Nintendo is rolling out a brand new handheld, called the 3DS. New hardware means new games. But how do the 3DS’ games match up with the last time Nintendo released an entirely new portable? The line-up of 3DS games available in Japan when the Nintendo 3DS goes on sale on February 26 are:…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2011
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  Watson Is A Machine, And He Will Kick Your Ass At Jeopardy

  An IBM supercomputer codenamed “Watson” just played two of Jeopardy’s greatest human players and emerged the victor. Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, two former champions of the TV quiz game show, went up against Watson in a practice match yesterday ahead of a live TV special, reports Wired. And while they were good, Watson —…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Japan’s Biggest Jackass Is Now A Video Game Zombie

  Esper Ito, above, is actually less creepy-looking as a video game zombie. No, really. But that still doesn’t take away his position as Japan’s bravest (and craziest?) comedian. The Yakuza crime series of games is not only famous for its take on the Tokyo underworld, but also the absurd amount of Japanese celebrity cameos the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2011
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  This Game Pits Its Jerk Players Against One Another

  We’ve seen one way today a video game is trying to tackle the problem of people being jerks on the internet. It’s a little heavy. Here’s one that’s a lot simpler. Upcoming fighting game Marvel vs Capcom 3 tracks instances of “rage-quitting” — when a player drops out of an online match rather than face…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Punch-Out!! Switcheroo Suspect Gets KO’d By The Law

  Let’s say you have no money. What would you do? Get a job maybe, right? One individual in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan hatched a different plan. A 33-year-old employed man apparently offered retro games like Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! on online auction sites. But one winning bidder claims that instead of the actual retro game cartridge, pirated…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2011
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  Nintendo Sending The DS Off Not With A Whimper, But A Bark

  Little Charo is a Japanese cartoon aimed at helping kids learn English. It’s also now a DS game being published by, of all companies, Nintendo. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this was the old handheld’s last big game? It probably won’t be, of course, not with Pokemon just out and the DS’ successor, the 3DS,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  The Rise Of The Nerd Princesses

  In 2006, an unknown named Olivia Munn began hosting a program on game-centric network G4. Five years later, she’s sitting on Dave Letterman’s chair and readying her sitcom debut. Olivia Munn is a new breed, that stretches beyond the US. Born in Oklahoma but growing up (and modeling) in Tokyo, Munn went on to cut…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 14, 2011
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  Hey Thor, Less Talking More Face-Punching, OK?

  The mighty Norse God Thor will be appearing in upcoming fighting game Marvel vs Capcom 3. You’d think he was there to swing his giant hammer around, but no, it appears he’s just there to chat. Check out his taunts in the clip above. I’ve seen entire fights come to an end faster than his…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Air Jordan, Granite Bears, and My Favorite Gaming Moments of 2010

  As Kotaku’s chief sports writer, my most memorable gaming moments of 2010 come entirely within that genre. No spoilers here, but then, the human drama of athletic competition follows no script. These were just some of my favorite moments from my favorite games of 2010. We’ll have favorites from the rest of the team throughout…

  By Owen Good Published January 14, 2011
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  Sega’s Glorious Failure Makes Another (Disappointing) Comeback

  As expected, Sega revealed today that a collection of old Dreamcast games will be released for the Xbox 360 and PC. And as you’d expect from such a collection, it’s a little disappointing. The four games included in the pack are Sonic Adventure, Space Channel 5 Part 2, Sega Bass Fishing and Crazy Taxi. In…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  PS3 Hacker Being Sued For “Making Sony Mad”

  Click to viewGeorge “GeoHot” Hotz, the hacker who helped blow the doors off the PlayStation 3’s copy protection system, is being sued by Sony. Why? Because, he says, he made them mad. Appearing on G4’s Attack of the Show, Hotz stands firm on his motivation behind hacking the console (he wanted to return the “Other…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 14, 2011
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  Nerd Claws

  Most of the time we talk about video games. Some of the time we don’t. Sometimes we talk about science, movies, pretty things and, in this post—an open thread—we talk about whatever. Speaking of movies, I was a little surprised by the reaction to the way Andrew Garfield fills out a Spider-Man suit. As a…

  By Michael McWhertor Published January 13, 2011
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  Grateful Dead’s Facebook Game Takes Shakedown Street Online

  I don’t speak for Jerry Garcia but it’s probably a good thing the Grateful Dead’s frontman died in 1995, because only over his dead body could one reasonably imagine someone spouting corporate bullshit like this in his name. “We want a Deadhead Uncle to be able to buy a Grateful Dead Games gift card at…

  By Owen Good Published January 13, 2011