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Yakuza 3 Gets A New Box For Its Trip Stateside

As you’re no doubt aware, American publishers sometimes like to mess around with a foreign game’s box art before releasing it in the US. Yakuza 3 is the latest target of this practice. Gone is the stark white background of the Japanese cover, perhaps because – since it’s a trademark of a series people in…

Report: Final Fantasy XIII Composer Leaves Square Enix

Masashi Hamauzu, FFXIII composer, has left game company Square Enix, reports website Square Enix Music Online. He was an employee at Square Enix for the past 15 year. During that time, Hamauzu worked on titles such as SaGa Frontier II, Unlimited SaGa, Final Fantasy X and Final Fantasy XIII. The official FFXIII soundtrack will be…

Retailer Leaks Final Fantasy XIII Collector’s Edition Contents?

It would appear that GameStop’s Italian portal has jumped the gun and revealed the contents of Final Fantasy XIII’s hitherto-mysterious collector’s edition. Available now for pre-order at the price of € 80 ($110), the retailer says the pack includes a soundtrack, art book, prequel story, comic book and collection of art cards. While the game…

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Getting PSP Bundle

When the last Metal Gear Solid game, Portable Ops, was released on the PSP in Japan, it got a premium pack with a camo PSP. Another MGS game is coming to the PSP and guess what? Upcoming title Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker will be getting a special camouflage PSP when the game is released…

Sony Delays Launch Of PS3 Motion Controller

Sony has just announced that its motion control peripheral for the PlayStation 3 will not, as originally planned, be shipping in Spring 2010. “We have decided to release the Motion Controller in fall 2010 when we will be able to offer an exciting and varied line-up of software titles that will deliver the new entertainment…

These Days, Peter Jackson Enjoying Video Games More Than Movies

With The Lovely Bones out in theaters, filmmaker Peter Jackson might seems like his schedule has opened up. Not so, the director will be acting as producer on Steven Spielberg Tintin movie. There’s there The Hobbit. Video games, too. Jackson has been spending his free time playing through Modern Warfare 2. “I’m enjoying these games…

Even Activision’s CEO Knows Spider-Man Games Suck

We give Activision boss Bobby Kotick a ton of stick around here, mostly because he often says some pretty silly things. His latest comments on the Spider-Man series, however, ring as true as truth can ring. “Our Spider-Man games have sucked for the last five years”, he told Game Informer. “They are bad games. They…

In 2010, We Will Learn What Ken Levine Has Been Working On

Ever since production wrapped on BioShock, people have been keen to know what Ken Levine‘s next project would be. Seems we’re finally, years after his last game shipped, going to find out. With a “new” studio under his belt and rumours of an X-Com revival still hanging in the air, BioShock’s director feels the time…

Skate And Some Other Game Join Xbox 360 Games On Demand

The library of Xbox 360 games available “on demand” has expanded by two today with the addition of EA’s original Skate and Brave? Brave: A Warrior’s Tale? Something like that. Pricing on Skate (aka skate.), as I see it in U.S. dollars is $19.99. In line with budget pricing for Xbox 360 games, it seems,…

Kotaku Off Topic: Apple Corpse

Welcome back to Kotaku Off Topic, where things not necessarily video game related are discussed. Up for discussion tonight? Whatever you want. Actually, what do you want? My daily internet travels are often limited to a tiny subset of the internet, generally movies, music, world news, technology, general nerdiness. But what do you read on…

The Bestselling Game Of All Time In The U.S. Is Wii Play

The NPD Group has compiled fifteen years worth of video game sales in the United States, determining that Nintendo’s 2006 release Wii Play is the industry’s top seller, beating out Grand Theft Autos and Call of Dutys easily. And it did it on one platform, with its nearest competitor, Guitar Hero III relying on four…

No New Half-Life Coming In 2010, Says Game Informer

The latest issue of Game Informer magazine has a bit of potential bad news for Gordon Freeman fans, casting doubt on the release of Half-Life 2: Episode Three in 2010. Specifically, Game Informer’s rumor-centric Loose Talk column notes that there “won’t be any game from the [Half-Life] franchise in 2010, and what will finally come…

Super SFIV’s Juri Looks Lovely In Resin

If you love Super Street Fighter IV’s Juri as much as Crecente did, then you’ll be pleased to know that SOTA toys is working on a kickin’ resin statue of the character to help free you of your excess money. SOTA has done a lovely job capturing the likenesses of the boys, girls, and green-skinned…

When World Of Warcraft Influences Russian Cologne Ads

Blizzard’s sphere of influence knows no bounds as Swedish health care and beauty company Oriflame’s recent Russian shampoo men’s fragrance ad confirms. See if you can spot the World of Warcraft influence. If your memory is hazy, Blizzard’s epic frosty trailer for the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is embedded below. As egear points…

Super Monkey Ball And The Most Appropriate Cross Promotion Ever

When you have a game like Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll, which centers on collecting bananas, you couldn’t pick a better cross-promoting partner than the leading distributor of bananas in the United States, Chiquita. Starting next month, more than 180 million Chiquita bananas will feature stickers promoting Super Monkey Ball Step & Roll for…

LittleBigPlanet Is Also Playable… In 3D!!!

Sony was among the many home electronics makers getting behind the 3D revolution at CES 2010, offering a handful of PlayStation 3 games playable in 3D. The latest PS3 game to get the 3D makeover? LittleBigPlanet. Media Molecule’s DIY platformer joins games like Super Stardust HD and Gran Turismo 5 as one of many possible…

Fly Away, Fly Away, Fly Away Home

To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Suggestions My 20 hours in Los Angeles were blissful. Granted, I spent more than a third of it sleeping, but still: Blissful. The rain that has so confused and confounded Californians mostly stayed away and I spent the morning in the MTV offices shooting a segment with Geoff Keighley for…

Is Sony’s Motion Controller Now Named “Arc”?

Sony’s stab at motion control for the PlayStation 3 is currently known only as the PlayStation 3 Motion Controller, a name that likely won’t stick. But is the glowing magic wand ultimately going to be known as Arc? That’s what VG247 says, citing an unnamed but “concrete source” who outs the PlayStation Eye powered wand…

The Brink Character Customization Video That Almost Wasn’t

Bethesda passed me a package containing a pair of posters and this character customization trailer for its upcoming first-person shooter, Brink. Now that I realize the video exists, I shall share it with you, along with the story of how I nearly missed it. The package consisted of a long, skinny box, packed with foam.…

The Avatar Video Game Disappointment

I was ready to like Avatar: The Game, the official video game of the movie like I’ve liked no other movie-game before. I said so when I reviewed the movie last month. And then, well… I feel I owe readers of that review an update. How was virtual Pandora, you might wonder? Hey, I’ve been…