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  Dr. Mario, For Real

  Former Nintendo boss Hiroshi Yamauchi, who ran Nintendo from 1949 to 2002, used to be the richest man in Japan. He isn’t anymore. That doesn’t mean he isn’t willing to part with his cash. Especially for a good cause. Yamauchi has donated over US$80 million for a new cancer central in Kyoto — where Nintendo…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  Video Game Sound Has Come A Long Way, Baby

  It may seem ridiculous now, but there once was a time when it was tough work getting sound out of a PC. We’ve come a long way since then, something this clip does a good job of reminding us. Twenty years of PC audio is covered, all by showing us how the Monkey Island theme…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Solid Snake Through The Years

  This is 1987 stealth game Metal Gear. The box shows protagonist Solid Snake at the age of 23. Let’s review and see how he stacks up over the years — courtesy of 2ch, the world’s largest bulletin board. Here is snake at 27 years-old in Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. And at 33. And at…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  BioShock 2, Gears Of War Figures Exclusive To Comic-Con

  At this year’s Comic-Con in San Diego, toy company NECA will be selling a few exclusives from their video game lines. Only attendees – or savvy web shoppers – will be able to pick up these up. Three video game figures will be sold: two from BioShock 2, and one from Gears of War 2.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Yes, This Is The Best Final Fantasy VII Cosplay

  By “best” I don’t mean “most realistic”, I mean the best. As seen on Topless Robot

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  Preowned Customers Paying Extra? GameStop Doesn’t Care

  The recent trend for publishers to lock out content to customers buying pre-owned versions of games was supposed to be a swipe at GameStop, but the giant retailer reckons the move won’t hurt it one bit. “We support the creation of added downloadable content for popular franchises, as we see that as extending the life…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Macho, Macho Man, Nier’s Gotta Be A Macho Man

  Ever wonder why there are two versions of role-playing game Nier? In the West, “macho” means big and muscular. Beefcakes! Just look at the majority of Western games. In Japan, however, ideas of masculinity are different. Someone can still be manly and strong, but not necessarily shaped like a gorilla. When development on RPG Nier…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  Giant Buildings That Look Like Video Game Consoles

  Yup. Giant buildings that look like – well, are – video game consoles. Don’t they look great? Pity, then, they’re not real. As is usually the case when we see a big batch of incredible video game photography/art, you can thank French magazine Amusement for these pics, showing what a PS3, DS and NES would…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Blur Punches Mario Kart In The Balls

  Blur, the latest racing game from the team behind the Xbox’s Project Gotham series, has copped a little flak for being like Mario Kart, only with real cars. Instead of deflecting that argument, this ad just runs with it. To great effect! Sure, it does nothing to make me any more interested in picking up…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Did Square Enix and Yahoo! Change Japanese History? Um…

  Earlier this week, a teaser site appeared on Yahoo! Japan, claiming that the web portal and the game company would change Japanese history. The teaser site than asked Twitter users to guess what was to come. The guesses ranged from Dragon Quest online to a search engine game. Those guesses are wrong. Totally wrong. Inside,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  Predator: Made from Spare Parts, Made of Awesome

  It’s easy to become jaded in this job. To think, “Oh, I’ve seen that before, big deal“. Every once in a while, something comes along that makes me say, “Holy crap that is cool”. This is that something. Reader Guram from the Republic of Georgia spotted this statue at a…veterinary/pet convention. “It’s like a hybrid…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  120 Metal Gear Solid Discs, But With A Catch

  Metal Gear Solid for the PlayStation 1 is a two disc game. If you could have 120 discs, which would you want disc 1 or 2? You can only have one! Disc 2 it is! An eBay seller is not giving away 120 MGS disc 2 discs, but selling them. Yours for US$499.95. Why? Who…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 21, 2010
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  Publisher Actually Thinks Games Are Too Expensive

  I think games are too expensive. You think games are too expensive. Surprisingly, a major international publisher thinks the same, Namco Bandai calling for a “worldwide summit” to discuss this crisis “I feel all the big video game companies need to join together in a worldwide summit to discuss the future of our industry. I…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Play The Bits Between Mass Effect 2 And Mass Effect 3

  To date, Mass Effect 2’s downloadable content has been a little underwhelming, giving players who have completed the game little to do but spin their wheels. That’s set to change in the coming months. Why? Because BioWare will soon be moving on from post-game DLC and shift to pre-game DLC, with future packs planned to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Valve: PS3 Is Like A GameCube

  I’ve seen the PlayStation 3 compared to a lot of things in my lifetime, from a grill to a brick and everything in between. But a GameCube? That’s new. In an interview with 5BY5, Valve boss Gabe Newell has spoken of his company’s decision to release online gaming platform Steam for the Mac, and why…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 21, 2010
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  Kotaku Off-Topic: Doobie-Oh-Seven

  My apartment has been smelling like a baked horse turd for the past three weeks. My downstairs neighbor finally explained it’s because he has a license to grow ganja in the basement. It might be legal (Oregon law provides for growing medical marijuana, and deprioritizes policing other aspects of pot possession and use). But it…

  By Owen Good Published May 20, 2010
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  Guilt and Gaming the Morning After

  The sun rises around 6 am and that’s when it starts to come full force. Something about the hazy pink morning light strikes the perfect chord of misery. The mouse in my hand is a palmful of guilt, guilt, guilt, and my fingers clatter on the keys like the legs of a spider. It’s Final…

  By Lauren Orsini Published May 20, 2010
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  This Could Be The Best Call of Duty: Black Ops Trade Ever

  You know who’s a huge and vocal fan of Call of Duty? Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. In fact, if you can get him a copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops early, he’ll give you season tickets. Ochocinco has already begun begging for a pre-release copy of the game, hitting up Black Ops…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 20, 2010
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  A Peek at the Pitch for the Original — and Very Different — BioShock

  We knew BioShock‘s original story was quite a departure from the finished game – a “deprogrammer” infiltrates a bioengineered cult. Irrational Games still sold the title on that concept, and has now posted seven scans from the original 20-page pitch. The images are the first installment in what Irrational promises will be the posting of…

  By Owen Good Published May 20, 2010
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  Sega’s Big Sonic 4 News: It’s Delayed

  Originally fixed for a summer release, today Sega pegged Sonic the Hedgehog 4 to “moar like latter half of 2010,” while touting the delay with a brave cheerfulness and saying it’ll allow for incorporating fan feedback into the game’s development. “For the first time ever, we’ve mixed internal suggestions alongside fan feedback to make some…

  By Owen Good Published May 20, 2010