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  Silent Hill, The Stage Play

  Konami’s scary franchise Silent Hill getting a Swedish stage send up. How frightening. Kidding! In the play’s official blog, there are images of the play’s unpainted cardboard props and painted props. Know what is scarier than any Silent Hill stage play? Series musician and producer Akira Yamaoka leaving Konami. Välkommen Till Silent Hill [Official Site…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  PlayStation 3 Cluster, Or Skynet?

  Last month, we told you about the United States Air Force’s plans to purchase around 2200 PlayStation 3 consoles to crunch some data with. Wonder what that kind of horsepower actually looks like? Here’s just a taste. This is the back room of the USAF Research Laboratory’s information directorate in Rome, New York, and these…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  Modern Warfare 2 Censored In Japan

  The Japanese version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 features a discrepancy in the localization — and content, it seems. In the section “No Russian”, the player is told, “Remember, no Russian.” Here, this means “Do not speak Russian,” a plot point for this scene. However, in the Japanese version, this is localized as…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  Machinarium Extends Its Reach To Retail Shelves

  Amanita Design‘s Machinarium, one of the year’s most charming (and sadly underrated) PC titles, has previously been available only as a digital download. Next year, however, it’ll graduate to a boxed, retail copy. Mamba Games have picked up the publishing rights to the adventure game, and will release Machinarium to stores next March in the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  Yakuza 4 Dated For Japan

  The latest entry in SEGA’s PS3 exclusive Japanese gangster franchise Ryu Ga Gotoku (Yakuza in the West) has gotten a release date. The underworld title features celebrities like former Morning Musume singer Mari Yaguchi (pictured). The game’s release is March 18, 2010, and it is priced at ¥7,980 — US$90. This past February, Ryu Ga…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  Ever Wonder How Much Money Has Been Sunk Into America’s Army?

  America’s Army may be the US military’s most super-effective recruitment tool, but that kind of effectiveness comes at a price. It’s been revealed today that since first beginning the recruitment-tool-masquearading-as-a-game project in 2000, America’s Army has cost the US military – well, really, the US tax payer – $32.8 million. That’s just a little over…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  R4 Vending Machine Will Be Removed From Osaka’s Den-Den Town

  Earlier this summer, a vending machine selling R4 devices appeared in Osaka’s electronics district, Den-Den Town. The vending machine will be removed from the area. The vending machine came in the wake of a crackdown on R4 cartridges which can be used to play pirated video games. As we posted previously, Nintendo announced that it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  Sam & Max Returning In 2010 (On A Spaceship?)

  Telltale Games put Sam & Max on hold for a little while there, tending to the needs of Monkey Island fans the world over. Now that series is done, however, it’s back to the dog & rabbit show. A new site has popped up over on Telltale’s domain, teased at the conclusion of the fifth…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  A Great Final Fantasy Artist Draws Final Fantasy XIII

  Yoshitaka Amano, known for his Final Fantasy character and logo designs, did not do character designs for FFXII — but did design the game’s now iconic title. But if he did draw the characters of FFXIII? The characters in Final Fantasy XIII were designed by Tetsuya Nomura, but Amano offers his take on the cast…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  What The Deuce Is Star Wars: Legends?

  There’s a listing over on the website of the Australian Classification Board for a game we’ve never heard of. It’s called Star Wars: Legends. And no, before you ask, it hasn’t been banned. The title was submitted for classification way back in June, and earned the game a Mature rating (for “fantasy violence”). Interestingly, it’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  Game Voice Actress Received Death Threats

  Yurika Ochiai, a voice actress with credits in visual novel ToHeart2 and Konami’s Quiz Magic Academy, has announced on her blog that she is the victim of several death threats against her. She has been notified about threats on seven occasions, and police have even visited her house a number of times. Ochiai has taken…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  EA Sports: One Billion Games Played

  EA as a whole may have been having a rough time of it lately, but EA Sports are doing just fine, as evidenced by the number of online matches the brand has played host to in 2009. Speaking with the Nightly Business Report, EA CEO John Riccitiello revealed that in this calendar year alone, “we’ve…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  DSi Gets Release Date in China, Packed With Nintendogs

  China’s iQue, which officially hands Nintendo releases in the territory, will be launching the DSi (iQue DSi) in China on December 15. The game will come pre-loaded with Nintendogs. There will be a line-up of DSiWare titles localized into Chinese, which should correspond with the DSiWare launch line-up in Japan. Players get a 1000 DSiWare…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  Europe: Army Of Two Was “Ridiculous, Tasteless”

  EA Montreal are currently at work on an Army of Two sequel, and as part of that work, have been looking at what was wrong with the first game. Like how Europeans hated it. “We had this whole market in the US that thought the tone was cool, but in Europe everyone thought it was…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 9, 2009
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  Yes, New Resident Evil Movie Is Delayed

  Never mind what Milla Jovovich said! It has been confirmed that upcoming 3D Hollywood flick Resident Evil: Afterlife, originally slated for August 27, 2010, will be released on January 14, 2011. Jovovich, the film’s star, tweeted that the movie had not been officially been pushed back, writing, “RE Afterlife IS NOT officially pushed. There have…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 9, 2009
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  More Dead Space 2 Art Dug Up From Beneath The Surface

  So far, we’ve seen two Dead Space 2 pics. One piece of stupid marketing, and the cover of a magazine. May as well make it three, with this new piece of concept art. Let’s see, what have we got…a Marker, a big hole in the ground, and another planet covered in rocks, only this time…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 8, 2009
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  How Sixth Graders See Video Games Like Metal Gear And Blazing Angels

  Graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier asked the 6th graders in the Afterschool Comics Workshop she runs to create a short comic on their favorite video game. The results are amazing. Glad to see those ESRB ratings are working out. Click through the link below for a few more. lifemetercomics: 6th Grade Submissions! [Live Journal via GameSetWatch]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 8, 2009
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  This is Battletoads?

  Machinima just can’t help itself. We’ve seen Castlevania, Mario, Contra, and now here we are with Battletoads as reenacted within Half-Life 2. Remember, this is Machinima (the site, and the titular genre), not a mod. So sit back and enjoy, you can’t literally play this. Although it’s hard to do so without imagining the impossible…

  By Owen Good Published December 8, 2009
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  WW2 Games Aren’t Dead, They Just Need New Digs

  As has been established by science, there are over 100 recent video games set during the Second World War. Yet for a war that literally spanned the globe, we sure do spend a lot of time in, and above, France. John Constantine over at MTV has written a piece today on alternative locations for WW2…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 8, 2009
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  Trophy List Hints at More DLC Coming for Borderlands

  Gearbox creative dude Mikey Neumann twitter-teased some sort of announcement yesterday that had to get pulled back, but it looks like PS3Trophies.org stole the show. Four new trophies tip off some coliseum-based DLC in the works. Here’s what we got. Haven’t seen these on Xbox Live (the version I play) yet. Take that for what…

  By Owen Good Published December 8, 2009