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  Nintendo Patent Reveals Potential Paradigm Shift in Design

  Call it hints 2.0. Nintendo is working on a gameplay system meant to ease the pain of completing a difficult game, without watering it down so much that it turns hardcore gamers off. The new system, described in a patent filed by Nintendo Creative Director Shigeru Miyamoto on June 30, 2008, but made public today,…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009
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  Smedley: Half Of SOE’s Business Will Be PS3

  Sony Online Entertainment president John Smedley is in love with the idea of massively multiplayer games on the PlayStation 3, suggesting that one day the console will account for nearly half of the company’s business. Smedley made the statement during an interview with GameDaily regarding the evolving MMO space, explaining that the PlayStation Network’s 15…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009
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  ELSPA Celebrates First Anti-Piracy Raid Of 2009

  The Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association rings in the new year with news of their first anti-piracy raid of 2009, in which they seized computers and more than 1,000 illegally copied games. The raid occurred in Staffordshire, England, at a house that was running an illegal copied games business via online classifieds site Gumtree.com.…

  By Mike Fahey Published January 9, 2009
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  Halo Wars Play in the Snow

  This detailed glimpse of a bit of Halo War gameplay does more than show off the snowy terrain and unit design. We also get a chance to see how simplified they’ve made unit selection and description. I’m not sure if I love or hate that when you select a unit it tells you, clear as…

  By Brian Crecente Published January 9, 2009
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  Arcade Mania Now In Second Printing

  To: Crecente From: Bashcraft RE: Hellooooo CES Today my editor Cathy Layne passed the word that the arcade book I wrote, Arcade Mania, has gone into its second printing. I was rather flabbergasted as the book’s been available outside Japan since December. And in this cratering economy? It’s beyond flattering that people are spending their…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  Build Your Own Profanity-Filled Mario Level

  Retro Sabotage, back at it. Their latest work? This create-a-Mario tool, which allows you to customise a few lines of text that appear in-game as giant banners. Made of coins. So you can fill in your name, your mum’s name, a season’s greeting, whatever tickles your fancy. Your imagination’s the limit! Golden Words [Retro Sabotage]

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  A Sulky, Expensive Cloud Strife Statue

  Can’t appeal more directly to the soppy FFVII fan than this, a 13″ statue of Cloud standing, sword over shoulder, amidst “the protecting light of Aerith’s church with flowers of remembrance at his feet”. What, no bloody, lifeless Aeris corpse at his feet? You’ve gone soft, Sideshow Collectibles, you’ve gone soft.

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  Once Again, Microsoft Explains Why It Won’t Go Blu-ray

  Blu-ray won the format war. One HD game console (the PS3) already uses the format. The other one (the Xbox 360) doesn’t. Microsoft says it plans to keep it that way. We’ve heard this before. Microsoft isn’t going Blu-ray. Still, Robbie Bach, president of Microsoft’s Entertainment & Devices Division, lays out three years why the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  Killzone 2 Dated For UK, Europe

  It’s OK, geography fanboys. We know the UK is technically part of Europe. But we’re dealing with two different dates here – one for Britain, one for the continent – so cut us some slack. According to several British retailers, Killzone 2 will be out in Ol’ Blighty on February 27. Sony aren’t coming out…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  Lara Croft Sales Aren’t Meeting Eidos Expectations

  UK game publisher Eidos says Tomb Raider: Underworld sales are below forecasts. Eidos blames the cratering US economy. We blame the high kicks. According to the BBC, North American game retailers are already selling Tomb Raider: Underworld at a sizable discount — not a bad thing if you want to buy the game, but not…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  PAL PlayStation Store Update

  Slim pickings this week, as the PlayStation store warms itself back up after a frosty, lonely winter. Just the one demo, some rubbish music game tracks and some practical, if unheralded, PSP content. Pick of the bunch is probably the LotR Conquest demo, along with the PSP’s Go! Explore stuff, since if you have to…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  Pangya Golf Coming To PSP With 1,300 Costumes

  PC computer game Pangya is coming to the PSP and bringing a lot of costumes with it — about 1,300 costumes, actually. Like, this bikini outfit. Tecmo previously brought Pangya to the Nintendo Wii. Dubbed Fantasy Golf Pangya Portable, the PSP game allows up to 8 players for multi-play golfing. It’ll be out April 9…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  Not So Much Raptor Safari As Raptor Choplifter

  We’re big fans of Flashbang. Big fans of Velociraptor Safari. And big fans of the iPhone! Best way to combine all three would be an iphone Velociraptor Safari, but this is almost as good. It’s Raptor Copter (iTunes link), a new iPhone game by Flashbang that takes the spirit of 3D, jeep-based Raptorcide and moves…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  Chuck E. Cheese? Effed Up Violent, “Madness”

  Remember when you were a kid, and going to Chuck E. Cheese. Play some Pole Position, a little skeet ball. Back then, it was something Atari founder Nolan Bushnell could be proud of. Now? Now, now it’s not. According to PennLive.com, the amount of violence (among adults!) at Chuck E. Cheese continues to be high.…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  So, Which Games/Publishers Have The Best Resale Value?

  Let us find out. Video Game Price Charts have crunched the numbers to come up with which games, publishers and platforms had the best (and worst) resale values in 2008. Tracking the sale prices of games over both eBay and Amazon then comparing them to the original recommended retail price, VGPC’s results show that amongst…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  Valkyria of the Battlefield Goes Budget Priced

  Ask anyone with eyes, they’ll tell you: Valkyria of the Battlefield: Gallian Chronicles looks great. And now, it now only appease your pupils, but also your pockets. On March 5, the PLAYSTATION 3 the Best version hits Japanese retailers for ¥3,330 (US$37). Buy it, your eyes will thank you.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  Cave Story Wii Has A Little Extra Something

  Cave Story Wii isn’t the same Cave Story you already know and already love. For starters, it’s getting a graphical facelift, character art and all. But that’s not all; it’s also getting downloadable content. Yes, posted on the game’s official blog yesterday was the following: We’re still working away at Cave Story trying to make…

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009
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  Hilton Makes A PSP Game For Employees, Employees Play It

  Hilton Hotels — the PSP game. The Hilton Garden Inn developed an employee training tool called ULTIMATE TEAM PLAY (their caps, not ours.) Here’s a description of the game: ULTIMATE TEAM PLAY puts the player in control of key Hilton Garden Inn hotel roles including front desk, housekeeping, maintenance and food service. As players roam…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  Government Agent Leaks Xbox Game Proposal Online

  A government agent has accidentally leaked several gigs of personal, business and government files all over the internet, including business papers, possible insider schemes, horrid poems, pictures of ‘girlfriends,’ and an Xbox game proposal. Earlier this month, the Japanese bureaucrat opened several well-known trojans that are often embedded in files found in filesharing programs Winny…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published January 9, 2009
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  Bon Appetit, New Resident Evil 5 Screens

  New Resident Evil 5 Screens! That’s the good news. The bad news is that there are five screens and not a single one shows a zombie riding a dirt bike. Sloppy, Capcom!

  By Luke Plunkett Published January 9, 2009