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  A Man Walking in the Desert. What Could It Mean?

  And Sony even has a stupid countdown clock. [Desert]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  An Arcade Cabinet for Small, Plastic Gamers

  In 2005, Namco released a idol simulator in Japanese arcades called The Idolm@ster. The game ended up being a nerd smash hit, spawning Idolm@ster Xbox 360 and PSP games. It’s 2011, and now the arcade cabinet that spawned it all is getting memorialized—as a 1:12 scale model. The cabinet is a snap-fit type model, so…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  Uncategorized

  Eleven Million Deaths Have Never Looked so Beautiful

  Here are the deaths of eleven million Just Cause 2 games, caused by bodies smashing into solid ground, visualised on a map from the heavens. Please, watch it. Deathmapping: Just Cause 2′s 11m Casualties [Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
• Culture

  The Sweet, Yet Slightly Creepy Art of Alice: Madness Returns

  A PC cult classic returns (and on consoles this time, too) next month when Alice: Madness Returns hits shelves. The first game was batshit crazy, and beautiful to boot. So it’s little surprise, then, that the sequel looks to be continuing that tradition. In these pieces of concept art for the game (some you may…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Some Parts of Dragon Age II “Must be Improved” In Dragon Age III

  Dragon Age II was, for many, a bit of a disappointment. Too many recycled environments, too many cheap waves of bad guys to chop through. It was, you could argue, a bit of a rush job If it makes you feel any better, developers BioWare have heard your complaints. On the company’s forums, writer Mike…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Left 4 Dead Creators Now Working With THQ

  Turtle Rock Studios, the group responsible for the creation and much of the development of Left 4 Dead, has “got the band back together” after shifting away from Valve’s ownership and will be releasing its next game for publisher THQ. Having worked with Valve for years, first on the Xbox version of Counter-Strike and then…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Kojima Productions Announces An Announcement

  On a recent Kojima Productions Podcast, the Metal Gear studio announced that it would be announcing announcements at E3. It also announced that it would be announcing “something special” (an announcement?) next week before E3 starts. [VideoGamer]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  There Are No Safehouses in the Mushroom Kingdom

  And shotguns won’t work, either. Your best bet is a star, though, that may be how this whole mess started in the first place… I’M-A-GONNA-EAT-YOUR-BRAINS! [Dan Hipp]

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Win Prizes Like These at Japanese Arcades

  In arcades, claw and craw-based redemption machines give gamers the chance to win crap they probably don’t need, but want anyway. The 24th Prize Fair recently kicked off in Tokyo, showing off new goodies gamers can win. Prizes range from Monster Hunter to Kamen Rider gear and so much in between, with anime getting a…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  One of the Fathers of the Xbox is Back In the Games Business

  Seamus Blackley, formerly of Looking Glass and one of the key men involved in Microsoft’s original Xbox project, has quit his job at a talent agency and will be coming back to the games business. Not that he ever really left, as in his time at Creative Artists Agency he helped manage clients like Call…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Uncategorized

  Only One Man Can Explain the Zelda Timeline

  And that man is not series creator Shigeru Miyamoto. Nor is it current overseer Eiji Aonuma. It is Doctor Emmett Lathrop Brown. As a public service announcement, give the video a minute (literally) to warm up and get where it’s going. You’ll know when it’s got there, and then you’ll know why he’s the only…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  PSN Returning to Japan Tomorrow

  Today, Sony revealed that starting on May 28, the PlayStation Network and Qriocity will gradually resume in Japan, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. South Korea and Hong Kong aren’t quite ready to get back online just yet. [Sony]

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  SimCity is Coming Back (But You May Not Like How)

  SimCity is a series beloved by millions, and one that’s sadly been neglected of late while the Sims franchise went supernova. Now, according to MCV, it’s coming back. Only, you may not like what comes next. It seems that EA is bringing SimCity back as a Facebook game, hoping to steal a share of the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Uncategorized

  Christina Aguilera Is a Huge Gamer

  Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, popstar Christina Aguilera revealed her love for classic arcade games, saying she even has a mini “old school” arcade in her house with Donkey Kong, Mario, and Galaga “I’m a huge gamer,” Aguilera repeatedly told Kimmel. She sure is.

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  Has Sony’s NGP Been Gutted Before Release?

  According to a report on French tech site 01net, in order to cut costs and compete with the price of Nintendo’s $249 3DS, Sony’s upcoming NGP handheld has been the victim of a little slash-and-run. The piece states that the NGP, which was originally intended to ship with 512MB RAM, will now only ship with…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  When You Have Too Much Money, Questionable Judgment, and Like Idols

  There’s a good reason this gentleman is covering his face. If you just spent a hundred thousand bucks on girly pop music, would you show yours? Last December, Japan’s most popular idol group AKB48 released a PSP game. There were several bundles, including one that cost ¥36,729 (US$453) and came with 48 PSP battery covers…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published May 27, 2011
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  Don’t Get Too Excited About Zelda Universe

  A lot of people are getting hot under the collar over a listing on the ESRB website for something called Zelda Universe. It’s down as an “online” title, which considering the publisher and the franchise sounds interesting Only, it’s not. Zelda Universe is listed as “online” because, as is pointed out here, it’s a website,…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  Sony’s Boss Wasn’t Told the PSN Had Been Hacked In 2008

  While it’s important to remember Sony (and all PlayStation Network users) are the victims of a crime when we talk about the PSN attacks, it’s also important to know why Sony has come in for criticism over the affair. It’s been accused of acting too slowly in alerting customers, but perhaps just as damning is…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  CultureTotal Recall

  It’s OK, Everyone, It’s Time to Talk About the Wing Commander TV Series

  Yesterday, we waded through a lot of painful memories talking about the awful (and mercifully forgotten) Wing Commander movie. So let’s make amends today, and cheer everybody up by talking about the awesome Wing Commander cartoon series instead. A few years before the movie, and right about the time the game franchise was coming off…

  By Luke Plunkett Published May 27, 2011
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  DRM Means Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition Will Have ‘Limited Offline’ Functionality

  Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition will use Games For Windows Live to administer the game’s DRM, says Capcom’s Christian Svensson, and while the game will not require an always-on Internet connection to be played, it’ll have a “limited offline” mode for those with no uplink. That means those who live in regions that aren’t…

  By Owen Good Published May 26, 2011