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  But Does The Yakuza Spin-Off Manga Look Any Better?

  “Yakuza: New Chapter Black Panther”, the upcoming Yakuza spin-off for the PSP, is getting a television program. That’s not all. Starting on September 18, a manga version from Yukai Asada will appear in Shukan Young Magazine. The manga will be based off the game, but feature an original story.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  Portal 2 Once Had Competitive Multiplayer

  Portal was a singleplayer game. Portal 2 adds co-op, but did you know it was at one stage also going to add competitive multiplayer? “Along with co-op, [we had] the idea of sort of a competitive Portal multiplayer,” Valve’s Erik “Old Man Murray” Wolpaw told 1UP. “We went down that path, actually, for a little…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  Final Fantasy XIV Gets Fancy Trailer, Open Beta Date

  Surcease? You used the word surcease? Square Enix, we know you’ve a penchant for flowery words, but this is 2010, not 1710. Aside from that, everything else in this epic Final Fantasy XIV trailer looks good, as there’s plenty of gorgeous cinematic stuff to go with some actual gameplay footage. Meanwhile, Square Enix has also…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  Chime Comes To PC

  Chime is great on Xbox 360. Should be just as great on PC when its released on September 7!

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  Just In Time For Fall, The $400 Mario Sweater

  And it’s not just any only $400 Mario sweater, but an officially licensed $400 sweater sold to you via the guy who created role-playing game Earthbound. The online store at Shigesato Itoi’s website is offering a 100 percent wool sweaters for ¥36,000 (US$435). They’re hand-knitted. Not by Shigesato Itoi, though. He’s busy, doing other stuff…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  Every Day Is Brewfest With This World Of Warcraft Tankard

  Sideshow Collectibles want to make sure it’s Brewfest all year-long at your place, with this replica of World of Warcraft’s Tankard O’ Terror. The tankard, modelled on the in-game item used in WoW’s once-a-year Brewfest spectacular, weighs three pounds and stands just shy of ten inches high. It’s also made of stoneware, and holds around…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  You Thought You’d Never See Pokemon’s Ash And Pikachu Again?

  Ha! Ha Ha! You were wrong! The duo will be appearing in the upcoming anime, Pokemon: Best Wishes! The upcoming anime series is for the fifth generation game, Pocket Monsters: Black and White. Previously it was revealed that the new Pokemon series, Black and White, will be all new Pocket Monsters right up to the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  This Is The Strategy Game Of My Dreams

  Microsoft’s Surface device has already shown its worth for board games, but let’s not forget, it has a lot of potential for strategy games as well. Especially after you watch this video. This program, made by the University of Massachusetts’ Mark Micire, is actually intended for the real-world deployment and control of robots. But look…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  NSFW: Was Britney Spears Bamboozled Into Virtual Child Porn Protest Art?

  Britney Spears is on the cover of British publication Pop Magazine. The images, the work of one of Japan’s most famous artists, feature Britney in a bathing suit and a wedding dress. If only it were that simple. It’s not. The photos were art directed by Takashi Murakami, who is often referred to as “The…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  Blockbuster Filing For Bankruptcy

  Beleaguered rental chain Blockbuster’s financial woes have gone from bad to really bad, with the LA Times reporting that the company will next month file for bankruptcy. According to “people who have been briefed on the matter”, Blockbuster has already begun meeting with Hollywood’s big movie studios to discuss the move, which its hoped will…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  Let’s Look At Gran Turismo 5 Parts

  GT5 designer Kazunori Yamauchi wasn’t kidding when he said there might be “too much” detail in the game. Just look at that engine! Detail out the whazoo. Here are some of the different parts you can purchase for your cars in GT5. 『グランツーリスモ5』が予想を遥かに上回るクオリティ！！！ [オレ的ゲーム速報＠刃]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  Call Of Duty Developers Have Had Enough Of The Second World War

  Call of Duty developers Treyarch, a studio that made its name developing World War Two games, is done with World War Two. Phew. Having developed first Call of Duty 3 and then Call of Duty: World at War, the team behind the upcoming Black Ops has all but ruled out a return to the 20th…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  A Truly Logical Nintendo DS Charger

  Pikachu is an “electric-type” Pocket Monster with a tail shaped like a lighting bolt. The perfect mascot for an electric charger! This DSi/DS XL “Pikachu Charge Stand” is priced at ¥3,980 (US$47) and will be out in Japan on September 18. Pika pika.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  What Was Valve Working On Before Left 4 Dead?

  Before Valve roped the gang at Turtle Rock to come on over and make Left 4 Dead, the Half-Life developer was working on something else. Something with…fairies. Yup. Not aliens, or cops, or super-soldiers, or valiant knights, or space marines. A game about fairies. Valve’s Erik Johnson tells PC Gamer that the game, a “weird…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  A Highly Questionable Source For the Nintendo 3DS’s Release Date

  We do not know when Nintendo is releasing its 3D-glasses-free portable, the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo has said sometime this financial year. A super shady seller of R4 cartridges, however, is more detailed. Retailer Magical Shanghai — a retailer that continues to ignore the court injunction against the R4 in Japan — is sporting a cardboard…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  Reminder: Beta Test Kinect, You Will Be Silenced [Update]

  If you’re one of the lucky ones receiving an invitation to Kinect’s beta testing program tonight, a word of caution before you accept: you’ll be losing some of your means of communicating over Xbox Live. Because of the 360’s improved voice chat tech – or, if you’re the tin-hat-wearing type, because Microsoft is crazy-paranoid about…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  New Yakuza Game Being Made Into TV Show

  This fall, a spin-off installment of the popular “Yakuza” crime franchise will hit the PSP. That’s not all, though. The game is also getting turned into a Japanese television show. Dubbed “Ryu Ga Gotoku Shinshou Kurohyou” or “Yakuza: New Chapter Black Panther”, the game follows the adventures of young ruffian Tatsuya and his crazy hair.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published August 27, 2010
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  Xbox 360 Voice Chat Being Upgraded

  Xbox Live Studios boss Jerry Johnson has revealed that the Xbox 360’s voice chat feature is in for an upgrade, aimed at improving the quality of player-to-player communication over Xbox Live. “The codec we used when we first launched was a low bit rate codec and we stuck with that”, he said at the Edinburgh…

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  Dragon Age II Trailer: The Director’s Cut

  As good as Dragon Age II’s first trailer looked at GamesCom, it looks even better with an extra 40 seconds of blood, stabbing and dismemberment.

  By Luke Plunkett Published August 27, 2010
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  Rock Band’s PR Agency Slapped By Federal Trade Commission [Update]

  The agency that handles PR for Harmonix, 505 Games and other developers will settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that its employees posed as ordinary consumers to post positive game reviews on the iTunes App store. Reverb Communications, whose clients also include MTV Games, CDV Software Entertainment and Emergent Game Technologies, must remove…

  By Owen Good Published August 26, 2010