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  PC Gaming Alliance: Piracy Has Been Good To Us

  While widespread PC game piracy is generally seen as a blight on the industry, PC Gaming Alliance president Randy Stude contends that the free exchange of games has definitely had a positive effect. In an interview with Big Download, Stude, president of the non-profit organization formed last year to promote and improve the state of…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 13, 2009
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  Anarchy Online Endgame Boosted By Legacy Of The Xan

  Funcom continues to support it’s aging massively-multiplayer online science fiction epic Anarchy Online, introducing Legacy of the Xan, a new expansion pack focusing on giving high level players exciting new content. With Anarchy Online approaching its 8th year of operation, developer Funcom is giving dedicated players a much-needed infusion of new endgame content with Legacy…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 13, 2009
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  Humming The Star Was Imperial March Makes The Baby Cry

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Storytelling Happy Valentine’s Day! It’s not Valentine’s Day yet in Japan, but I kinda spazzed out on a premature sugar high, thinking it is. It should be in like thirty minutes, though. Yeah, The Odyssey is great. Love Homer. Also big fan of Euripides. Euripides is awesome. Euripides’s Helen? Very…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  Rock Band and Wii Fit Drive Mad Catz Sales

  Mad Cats ended 2008, and their third quarter, with $40.8 million in net sales, and $10.5 million in profit. While that profit is down from the same period last quarter, at least they’re not bleeding cash. The company said they have Rock Band and Wii Fit accessories to thank for the big jump in revenue…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 13, 2009
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  Video Shows Pure Devs Working on New Title

  Tagged Burnout Paradise, and Pure, this "leaked" video seems to show a footage of a street racer in the works by Disney Interactive-owned Black Rock Studio. With off-road, over-the-top racer Pure and a slew of ATV and MotoGP titles under their belt, it looks like Black Rock wants to get into the street racing business.…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 13, 2009
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  Half-Life 2: The (Short) Movie

  A Half-Life movie based on Gordon Freeman would suck. But this short film – the first in a series – is not about Gordon Freeman. And, what do you know, it doesn’t suck, either. Directed by The Purchase Brothers, Escape From City 17 was supposedly shot with “no money, no time, no crew, no script,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  Ninja Blade Is Available In English Right Now

  Xbox 360 exclusive Ninja Blade may not have a North American release date yet, but that doesn’t mean you can’t own an English version. Right now. The Asia region has English language support (text and voice). It’s also region free. Interested parties, import away! Ninja Blade Ready In English, Just Not Here [Siliconera]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  Rock Band: Ten Million Served

  While it’s been overshadowed at retail by Activision marketing juggernaut and Guitar Hero’s brand recognition, that doesn’t mean Harmonix’s Rock Band has been a slouch at the sales register. It was revealed yesterday during parent company Viacom’s financial earnings conference call that the series as a whole – adding up all variations of the game…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  Be Scary, And Yes, Win F.E.A.R. 2

  The appropriately named King Frankenstein sends us this entry, writing only: “Hello Kotaku.” Creepy mask and short greeting — scary! We’re giving away a copy of multi-plat horror shooter FEAR 2: Project Origin. Here’s the contest: Masks are scary, so make a mask. You can make it out mask out of anything – but the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  Don’t Pay For Xbox Live, Pay For Designer Furniture Instead

  Continuing their recent preoccupation with sending out ill-advised press releases, Sony yesterday told the world how to best spend $50. You know, the $50 so many of you spend on Xbox Live Gold subscriptions. With the PlayStation Network being free and all, Sony figure that the $50 you’re spending on Microsoft’s online service is $50…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  Namco’s Chocolate Bugs Valentines

  Happy Day-Before-Valentine’s Day! Japanese game maker Namco knows what’s best for Valentine’s Day: chocolate shaped like bugs. De-licious. Namja Town, Namco’s food amusement park — yes, Namco has food amusement parks in Japan — is offering a set of four kabuto-mushi beetles made of chocolate. Priced at ¥4,500 (US$50), the set includes one Hercules beetle,…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  Cricket Coming Back To Consoles

  Ever since the Wii debuted, it’s been crying out for a cricket game. It’s got baseball, so why not cricket? And ever since Peter Moore took over EA, he’s been talking niche sports games. There’s no better way to bring the two together than with EA’s Cricket ’09, which has leaked into the public consciousness…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  Dead Space Was Developed For Xbox

  EA’s horror title Dead Space has had a long gestation period. The game was originally slated for the original Xbox. The above clip was shown during a presentation called “Creating Horror and Immersion with the Art of Dead Space” that was given by the game’s art director Ian Milham at this year’s Animex game and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  The Death Of Print: January 2009 Edition

  No question that print media is dying. Only question is how long it’ll hold out. In the interests of keeping tabs on things, then, let’s take a look at Future Publishing’s latest British circulation numbers. With the demise of Ziff Davis’ print empire in the US, Future are now top dog in the world of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  The World Is Ready For An $11,000 Diamond Mario Pendant

  Who said economic times are tough? Not the makers of this Mario pendant, who somehow feel that a global recession is just the right time to be launching a diamond-encrusted Mario pendant worth around $11,000. It stands 4.5″ tall, and is coloured to match Mario’s distinctive overalls and hat. The frame is made of 10K…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  PSP Reaches 50 Million In Worldwide Sales

  The PSP has crossed an important sales milestone. The Sony handheld gaming console has sold over 50 million units worldwide. The PlayStation Portable went on sale December 12, 2004 in Japan, March 24 the following year in North America and September 1 of that same year in PAL regions. Slimmer models have been introduced since…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  Taipei Game Show Gets Real Life PlayStation Store

  The Taipei Game Show is underway in, wait for it, Taipei. The Sony Computer Entertainment Taiwan booth even has a PlayStation Store. Yes, an actual PSN Store! People can even touch it. This Taipei Game Show store is packed with demo kiosks and Sony goodies available for purchase — goodies like Sony cats Toro and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  Microsoft Responds To January NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

  Microsoft sold over 300,000 Xbox 360 consoles in January. That’s cause for celebration in the halls of Redmond, as the company’s gloating presser boasts of not only strong software sales, but record Xbox Live numbers. Seems January 2009 was the “single biggest month ever for Xbox LIVE”, which leads us into a presser which sees…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009
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  What Do You Say To A Man Dressed As Chun Li?

  Well, if you are Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li star Kristin Kreuk, you knee ‘im the chopper, that’s what. During a Tokyo press conference for the upcoming Hollywood flick, comedian Suzuki Q Taro showed up dressed as Chun Li, saying, “I’m the real Chun Li.” Kreuk unleashed an actor’s attack, sending Q-chan through…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published February 13, 2009
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  And January’s Top 20 PC Games Were…

  It’s not just console NDP figures we’re getting today. There are PC charts, too, (though again sans hard numbers) showing which games sold the most at retail for the month of January. Will the results shock you? Of course they won’t. Of the 20 titles, eight were published by EA and five by Blizzard, leaving…

  By Luke Plunkett Published February 13, 2009