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  Leisure Suit…Lenny?

  Alright Ashcraft. I’ll see your Japanese schoolgirl drumming and raise you a one-man band, who is named after a classic 80’s/90’s adventure game series from Sierra. This is Lenny, a musician from my home town of Canberra, Australia who between gigs in actual bands sometimes plays a one-man show. And when he does, he becomes…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  Square Enix And Yahoo! Japan To “Change Japanese History”

  Japanese history is voluminous. And there have been huge changes. Just look at the past century! But domestic game company Square Enix and Yahoo! claim it will change Japanese history. The gall! A teaser site on Yahoo! Japan reads: “On May 21, we’ll change Japanese history.” So when you buy a Japanese history book in…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010
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  Report: Sir Richard Branson Gets Back Into Video Games

  Virgin, the company owned and run by British gazillionaire Sir Richard Branson, will soon be getting back into the video game business, according to a report on trade site MCV. Branson will apparently use E3 as a springboard to reveal his plans for an online-only games service that spans “the leading console formats and feature…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  Bow Before Your Lord, Mario

  An oldie, but goodie. As seen by はちま起稿

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010
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  Assassin’s Creed II Bundles Game With Downloadable Content

  Assassin’s Creed II, one of the games of 2009, is to be repackaged and resold as a “complete” edition, bundling the game along with its downloadable content, some of which is good, others, not so good The pack will include a copy of Assassin’s Creed II, the Bonfire of the Vanities downloadable content, the Battle…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  Red Dead Redemption PS3 Versus Red Dead Redemption Xbox 360

  The great thing about multi-platform games is that owners of different consoles get to play the same game. But what about when the game isn’t exactly the same? As it has been pointed out (via website CVG), the Xbox 360 version of cowboy game Red Dead Redemption runs at 720p, while the PS3 version runs…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010
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  Gee, You Guys Must Really Hate Using Credit Cards

  According to retail research firm the NPD Group, the biggest-selling accessory in the United States is not a controller, memory card or chatpad. It’s a pre-paid points card for an online gaming service. Yes, for the months of both March and April, the top-selling accessory was a 1600 point Xbox Live card, the equivalent of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  Dragon Quest IX Enters The Guinness Book of World Records

  And it’s not for sales, but for something else entirely. Dragon Quest IX has a “Chance Encounter” mode that allows players to share data with players they bump into in the real world via Nintendo WiFi. In dense Japanese cities, there’s a good chance of bumping into another person with Dragon Quest IX in their…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010
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  How’s Final Fantasy XIV Coming Along?

  Not bad, not bad at all. Upcoming massively multiplayer role-playing game Final Fantasy XIV won’t be out until later this year, but here’s a look at in-game city-state Limsa Lominsa and it’s landmarks: self-descriptive Fishermann’s Bottom, culinary capital the Bismarck and armory Coral Tower. The game has been penciled in for the PS3 and is…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010
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  First Shots Of Cataclysm’s Female Worgen

  When World of Warcraft expansion Cataclysm launches, it’ll bring not only new environments, but new characters as well. Like this female Worgen! Previously, we’d only seen male Worgens, but as you can see, there are ladies as well. How can you tell it’s a lady Worgen? Why, because she’s in a dress, of course. Cataclysm…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  We Might Get Yakuza 4 After All

  Having campaigned for months for a localised version of Yakuza 3, many fans of the series feared that releasing the game so close to other big PS3 titles – like Final Fantasy XIII – would hurt its sales. Nope! While Sega won’t disclose official sales figures, which is always a shame, the company has provided…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  It’s Like God of War Meets Bayonetta…

  …meets a big ugly dude with white hair. Say “hello” to Knights Contract. Slated for release in 2011, this is the upcoming hack-and-slash action game from game company Bandai Namco. It’s multi-platform — getting released on the PS3 and the Xbox 360. The game features a scythe-slinging knight named Heinrich and spell casting witch named…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 20, 2010
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  Aussie Xbox 360s Get Cable Television

  Australian Xbox 360 owners will later this year get access to what Americans would call cable television, with a deal struck between Microsoft and Foxtel, a provider of satellite TV. While exact details like pricing and, more importantly, exactly what channels are available are thin on the ground, we do know that for a monthly…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  Why Is Steam On Mac?

  It’s because there’s money to be made there. Valve disclosed today that in the week since launching its Steam service on Mac computers, 11% of all purchases on the digital shopfront have been made for Apple’s platform. That’s a massive boost to the company’s bottom line, and also helps lend the Mac some credibility in…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 20, 2010
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  No More Heroes Creator Wants To Turn This Into A Nintendo 3DS Game

  Goichi “Suda 51” Suda, the man behind oddball games like Killer 7, No More Heroes and Contact, has ideas already a-brewin’ for Nintendo’s next platform, the Nintendo 3DS. His idea? Force training. “I hope for the realization of a training remote like Luke Skywalker used for force training in Star Wars Episode IV: A New…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 19, 2010
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  Kotaku Off Topic: Fox News

  What seems to be the trouble, ma’am? No, Kotaku Off Topic? Well, we can fix that in a jiffy. Let me just take a look under the hood here… Oh, sorry, was that printed on the site? Anyway, it’s the end of another long day and I’ve got custom pizzas to make, maybe with a…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 19, 2010
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  Fourth Pack for Xbox Live Game Room is Now Available

  Konami’s Time Pilot headlines the latest Game Pack release for the Xbox Live Game Room, which just went live today. It’s joined by Asteroids, Space Duel, and four other Intellivision and Atari 2600 titles. With Game Pack 4 you also get Activision’s Stampede and Grand Prix, Intellivision’s Shark! Shark! Shark! and Atari’s Demons to Diamonds.…

  By Owen Good Published May 19, 2010
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  LEGO Fanatics Plan Massive Modern Warfare, Vic Viper Gatherings

  This year’s gathering of some of the world’s biggest LEGO fans—they call themselves Adult Fans of LEGO—at Brickworld 2010 will combine their brick engineering talents for two major video game themed collaborations, one adorably Call of Duty-themed. Brickworld 2010 organizers are planning a total of four sci-fi collaboration displays, but two caught our attention. One…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 19, 2010
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  Rock Band 3, Just How Big Is It?

  Music game maestros Harmonix have already promised to “innovate and revolutionize the music genre” with Rock Band 3, but even in the face of that hyperbole, the designers believe “you’ll be surprised at just how big this game really is.” Not only is Rock Band 3 “the next big leap in music gaming,” it’s “the…

  By Michael McWhertor Published May 19, 2010
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  Code Required for UFC Undisputed Online Play

  UFC Undisputed 2010 has joined the “Project $10” bandwagon – at half the price – walling off its multiplayer content behind a one-use code that costs $5 to anyone without it, i.e. those who rent or buy the game used. The game’s street date isn’t until Tuesday, but someone already has the Xbox 360 version…

  By Owen Good Published May 19, 2010