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  Dressing The Part For This New Yakuza Trailer

  Certainly, not all game designers dress like their characters. There is one, however. His name is Toshihiro Nagoshi. He is brown. Nagoshi, an accomplished game designer in his own right with a nose for good games, is famous (infamous?) for his love of tanning salons and tracksuits. Nagoshi has been known to don a black…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  Nintendo: Don’t Judge Our 3D Just Yet

  Love it or hate it, 3D is making major waves. Nintendo is the latest company to jump on the 3D express by releasing a glasses-free 3D handheld gaming device tentatively called the Nintendo 3DS. Nintendo doesn’t only make games for hardcore players. It also makes games for the casuals. So when the company stated it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  Mass Effect 2 Gets New “Man vs Robots” Downloadable Content

  There’s more “premium” downloadable content on the way for EA’s Mass Effect 2, and while this newest pack doesn’t introduce a new character, it does have you playing John Connor over five missions. The pack is called “Overlord”, the entire thing set on a single planet as you try to shut down a dangerous enemy…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  In 2009 PSP Sales Were Down, PS3 Sales Were Up

  Sony released today its financial results for the 2009 fiscal year (April 1 – March 31), and where there’s results, there’s hardware sales figures. The Networked Products & Services division – of which Sony Computer Entertainment is a part – saw its sales fall by 10%, the company blaming exchange rates, along with both a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  OnLive Getting British Release

  OnLive, the “cloud” service that promises/hopes to revolutionise online gaming by removing the need for a PC or a console, will also be launching in the United Kingdom, it’s been revealed today. British Telecom has teamed up with the American company to bring the service to Ol’ Blighty, and in doing so has also bought…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  CounterStrike Meets Second Life Meets Asian Massage Lady

  This year’s Cannes Film Festival isn’t showing just one movie about gaming culture. It’s showing two. There’s French thriller Black Heaven with its naked bottom and now this, R U There with its awkward elevator propositioning. As website New World Notes notes, R U There is a Dutch/French film that was shot in Taipei and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  Metal Gear Solid Peace Walker’s Toys, By Square Enix

  The Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker figures from Square Enix (who, yes, also make toys) that we first spied earlier this year are now available for preorder. They are both detailed and expensive. There are four figures available: Snake, and three Metal Gears from the game (Pupa, Chrysalis & Basilis). Snake stands a decent 26cm…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  El Shaddai Would Like To Meet At E3

  This snowy, super short teaser trailer for El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron has appeared on the internet for you and me to look at together. So let’s do just that. The multi-platform game (PS3 and Xbox 360) is being directed by Sawaki Takeyasu, who is best known for doing monster design in Devil May…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  Valve’s Indie Bundle Is Only Charitable To Your Back Pocket

  Never ones to let a bit of charity corner the market for gaming bargains, Valve’s Steam service is now offering the “Steam Play Indie Pack”, which bundles five great games along with ability to play on both Mac and PC. That means you can buy the games on PC and play them on Mac, or…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  New Resident Evil Movie Will Go IMAX

  It’s already going to be shown in 3D, but Sony Pictures has revealed that the upcoming horror film will also be shown in IMAX. Afterlife is the fourth installment in the Resident Evil film franchise and stars Milla Jovovich. It is being directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. As website Shock Til You Drop points out,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  This Man Needed Toilet Paper

  Imagine you are at large electronics store in Japanese otaku mecca Akihabara. Imagine you go to the bathroom and *ahem* take a dump. Imagine that there is no toilet paper in said bathroom. What would you do? If you were self-styled anime song DJ, DJ Kacho, you’d call for help via the internet. Last week,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  Report Reckons Steam Coming To Linux, Too

  If a report in Britain’s The Telegraph is to be believed, then Valve’s Steam service isn’t happy just making the jump to the Mac, as it’s now on its way to Linux operating systems as well. “Valve has also confirmed that it will make Steam available to Linux users in the coming months”, the report…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  Sony Making A Movie Out Of…Rollercoaster Tycoon

  There are currently plans to make movies based on World of Warcraft, Gears of War and BioShock. Those all make sense. But a new deal that hopes to make a film out of family strategy game Rollercoaster Tycoon? Um… Sony Pictures Animation has picked up the rights to the game, which was published by Atari…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  Haruhi, You Can Drink

  Thirsty? Haruhi Suzumiya, from the franchise by the same name, is gracing the packaging of this “Haruhi Suzumiya Fruit Juice” from beverage maker Pokka. Website Chara-ani.com is taking pre-orders for the drink by the case One case comes with 30 drink packs, and there’s a limited edition card. Yours for ¥5,800. Drink up! Haruhi Suzumiya,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 13, 2010
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  The Perils Of One-Band Music Games

  Music games built around a single artist can be a tricky thing to plan for, because while you’ll attract fans of that single artist, many others just won’t give a toss. Especially, it seems, when that artist is Van Halen. According to retail analysts The NPD Group, Activision’s Guitar Hero: Van Halen has been a…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  Rumor: PSP2 Making E3 Appearance

  According to several sources speaking with trade site MCV, Sony’s biggest E3 surprise may be the long-awaited – and badly-needed, at least outside of Japan – successor to the PlayStation Portable. The sources don’t hail from inside Sony, or relate specifically to the rumoured device’s design; instead, they come from various publishers, some of whom…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 13, 2010
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  Rockstar No Longer Selling ‘Cracked’ Max Payne 2 On Steam

  Today, nosy PC gamers discovered that the version of Rockstar Games’ Max Payne 2 being sold through Valve’s Steam service looked an awful lot like the one released by pirate group Myth. That potentially embarrassing gaffe has been corrected. Looks like a newer (older) version of Max Payne 2 is now available through Steam. The…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 12, 2010
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  Kotaku Off Topic: Burger Beast

  Welcome to Kotaku Off Topic. I see you’ve survived this ban-filled Wednesday. Please, won’t you join us in some off-topic conversation? I promise the giant burger beast you see above won’t be a bother. He comes from one of my favorite random sites, the Japanese monster blog. I have a few dozen Tumblr favorites, deviantArt…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 12, 2010
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  Blur Tutorial Leaves Me Hot for Teacher

  Now that Danica Patrick’s up to speed on things like multiplayer and power-ups, she has the credibility to hold our attention through this tutorial on Blur‘s basics. Or maybe it’s just the winks, shoulder-shimmys, and lip gloss. Definitely lip gloss. Blur’s due out, like, pretty damn soon. Or May 25, whichever is sooner.

  By Owen Good Published May 12, 2010
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  U.S. Air Force Does Not Sound Pleased With The PS3’s Recent Change

  Last month, Sony nixed the option to install a second operating system to the PlayStation 3, one of the console’s original features. That angered some folks, particularly those who bought the console specifically for that feature, like the Air Force. Last year, the United States Air Force Research Laboratory bought a whole mess of PlayStation…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 12, 2010