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  Get A Present? Give A Present

  To: Crecente From: Ashcraft Gearing up for the big New Year’s holidays here in Japan. The entire country has already shut down. Last week, we sent out presents to family members who gave us presents for the Micro Bash’s birth. For celebrations here, you don’t really get presents (sometimes you do!), but rather, celebratory envelopes…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Best Game Ads? No, These Are The Worst Game Ads

  Sure, video game ads are (generally) a classy, expensive affair these days, but in previous days, things weren’t so high-brow. They were dorky, they were cheap, they were low-brow. Doesn’t mean they’re not worth celebrating, though! Which brings us to the fourth instalment of 1UP’s “The Best Worst Videogame Ads”, which this time around feature…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  Wow, Metal Gear Solid 4 Sold Out Today At Some Store

  Early Metal Gear Solid 4 reviews might have been too flattering, and the cutscenes might have been too long. But MGS4 is a solid title. And months later, it’s selling out today in Akihabara. Initial sales were strong, and while MGS4 is the biggest selling PS3 title in Japan, it topped off at 600,000 and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Sure, LittleBigPlanet Can Do First-Person, Why Not

  You may have heard whispers a few months back about LittleBigPlanet and the first-person perspective. Well, whispers be damned. Media Molecule already have the game running in first-person. Speaking with IGN, Media Molecule’s Alex Evans has – in response to questions about a first-person LBP – shown the site how the game’s levels can be…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  Former Capcom Employee Talks Sexuality of Street Fighter IV Developer’s President

  Developer Dimps is responsible for developing Street Fighter IV for Capcom. Dimps president Takashi Nishiyama? “Pretty sure bisexual,” outs former Capcom employee Yoshiki Okamoto. In an interview with newly engaged James Mielke, Okamoto (1942, Forgotten Worlds, Folklore) dishes about the Dimps executive, who lives in the same apartment building: Mr. Nishiyama used to work at…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Fallout 3 To Show 19 Other Nations What Post-Apocalyptic America Looks Like

  North America, Western Europe, Japan. Those are the three major gaming regions in the world. Fallout 3 being released there, no big deal. But Fallout 3 in the Balkans and Middle East? It’s a little more unique, especially when you consider many of the countries I’m about to name don’t often get dedicated “official” releases.…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  Joypolis, Your Official Arcade Theme Song (With Added Schoolgirl)

  SEGA’s Joypolis amusement arcade has a theme song. This is it. Japanese crooner "talent" Nezumi Senpai sings it. There are tons of versions, including this one. Popopopopooooooooo. It’s stuck in our heads. Now it’ll get stuck in yours. You’re welcome. Youtube: Joypolis themes [Insert Credit]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Resident Evil 5 Figures For Your Resident Evil 5 Playtime

  From emerging game figure POWERHOUSE NECA come these Resident Evil 5 figures. The first line will feature three characters, each of them 7″ tall, and should be out early next year. The three are stars Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar, along with that fat bloke with the GIANT axe/hammer that’s starred in most of the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  Lorne Lanning Vaguely Talks Hollywood CG Film Project

  Last we heard, Oddworld creator Lorne Lanning had inked a deal with Hollywood to bring his vision, sci-fi actioner Citizen Seige, to life in a CG flick. What happened? Lanning tells Gamasutra’s Brandon Sheffield: “We’ve got the Citizen Siege film in development. And we now have an even better idea of why they call it…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Halo Wars Features Royal Dancing, Party Games

  Halo Wars is an easy sell. It’s Halo, it’s real-time strategy, it’s on the Xbox 360. Don’t tell Amazon that, though. They’ve got their own idea of what the game’s like. This Amazon product pages list a game called Parent C. It’s got the Halo Wars box art and the description of…something else. Check the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  Xbox 360 Getting Lots of Shelf Space

  Before we start, things to keep in mind: This is at one store in Osaka’s electronics district, Den-Den Town. At this same store, something like ten people showed up for the Xbox 360 launch. Japanese otaku blog Ota Road points out the discrepancy between retailer Sofmap’s first floor in-store displays for the Xbox 360 and…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Luc Bernard Founds New iPhone/WiiWare/PC Company

  Last we heard from Eternity’s Child creator Luc Bernard, he was in a huff, and then out of a huff. Seems he’s past huffs altogether now, as he’s establishing a new game studio. While this studio (based in Florida) doesn’t have a name, it does have two games in the pipeline. One is an Advance…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  What DS Game Does Magibon Study Japanese With

  Ah, yes. Magibon. If you’ve been on YouTube, you’ve probably seen her blank, smiling face speaking elementary Japanese. Her vids have gotten millions of views and she’s even achieved some sort of online celebrity. PingMag‘s Jean Snow (who contributed to Arcade Mania) interviewed 22 year-old Magibon about making it big on YouTube. The gaming connection?…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Killzone 2 Cosplay Comes Home

  Sick of the bog-standard avatar outfits for Home on the PS3? You could always preorder Killzone 2, and do it through Amazon, because doing that will get you some new, free kit. Customers taking Amazon up on the offer will receive enough Home clothing pieces to fully outfit their avatar as either a Helghast soldier…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 29, 2008
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  White Knight Chronicles Sells 130,000 In Debut

  While we won’t get the official figures until later this week, the early word is that Level 5’s PS3 exclusive White Knight Chronicles has sold 130,000 copies in its first day. The game went on sale Christmas Day in Japan. Granted, this isn’t terrible for a PS3 title in Japan (or Xbox 360 title, for…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  Guy Gets Wii, Gets Totally Pissed Off, Gets Arrested

  Did you get everything you wanted for Christmas? Twenty-six year-old Heath Blom didn’t. He was given a Wii, got mad, and a fight broke out leading to a double arrest. Oh, the holidays. Blom and his 24 year-old girlfriend, Randi Young, were both arrested for misdemeanor “domestic-related” assault charges. An altercation broke out over Christmas…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 29, 2008
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  A Long December

  To: Luke From: Owen Re: Why Don’t You Like Gingerbread Men? Why? I’m not sure if I’ve ever been more ready for a month or a year to be over. In fact, I’d love to declare 2008 complete right now, by acclamation. Like a crap hand of Hearts, I’ll eat the rest of the cards,…

  By Owen Good Published December 28, 2008
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  Anyone Want to Buy Free Radical?

  TimeSplitters developer Free Radical Design is now officially up for sale, providing the end-all verification to a set of rumors about the company about a week ago. The word last week had Free Radical founder Steve Ellis setting up shop at a new studio, called Pumpkin Beach, taking with him some of his former company’s…

  By Owen Good Published December 28, 2008
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  Week in Games Returns Next Week

  No new releases to discuss — go play the ones you got for Christmas! See you next week.

  By Owen Good Published December 28, 2008
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  Sunday Funnies: 360 Origins, Console Reviews, Storage is Gangsta

  Here’s another roundup of multimedia laffs culled from the Interwebs. I make no representations of the freshness/expiration/ enjoy-by dates of any of this, only that I consider it gaming germane, and, at minimum, grimace-inducing. First up, a 4chan MS paint rage-meme cartoon figures out the origin of the Xbox 360 name. Oh Microsoft! You steal…

  By Owen Good Published December 28, 2008