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  This Transforming Stick Wants to Change the Way You Play Fighting Games

  While other hardware manufacturers focus on releasing high-quality arcade fight sticks that follow the same basic formula, Nyko allows players to change everything with the Free Fighter, a $179.999 programmable fighting game controller with a singular look and a unique modular design. Though it features the same Sanwa Denshi parts all the arcade stick kids…

  By Mike Fahey Published June 12, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  Here’s Why Japanese Gaming Is Not Dead

  At the 2009 Tokyo Game Show, Keiji Inafune, creator of Mega Man, Onimusha, and Dead Rising uttered the following: “Man, Japan is over. We’re done. Our game industry is finished.” I hope Inafune was watching E3 this year. It’s true that over the past half-decade Japanese and Western gaming markets have gone in different directions.…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  In Korea, People Are So Pissed about Diablo III Server Woes, They Might Sue Blizzard

  While many Korean gamers might be excited about Diablo III, Korean net cafe owners aren’t exactly thrilled. Sure, the game is a big boost to the country’s net cafe industry. That is, when it can get online. Website Daily Game reports the PC bang (net cafe) owners could file a class action lawsuit with Blizzard…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Rip-Off the Art of Others, Get Axed

  Artist Sou Miyata was probably best known for his work on Muv-Luv, the PC game turned manga and anime. That is until this week. After this week, he’ll be known as the artist who got axed after being accused of tracing the work of others. To promote the upcoming Muv-Luv summer anime, which is dubbed…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Insensitive Jerkwad Connects Stabbings with Japanese Geek Culture

  This Sunday, two individuals tragically lost their lives in a senseless attack. And yesterday, a well-known Japanese journalist tried to connect the stabbings to otaku (geek) culture. Well, that didn’t take long. On TV Asahi’s Super J Channel, freelance journalist Akihiro Otani said, “The location where the stabbing happened is close to a known otaku…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Tokyo Jungle‘s Twisted Take on the Lion King

  Playing the story mode of Tokyo Jungle, I took control of a lot of different animals: deer, cats, and dogs, just to name a few. I helped a lonely Pomeranian survive in this new human-less world and played both sides of a war between Beagles and Pit Bulls. One mission even had me as a…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  This Summer, Nintendo Is Cutting Bonus Pay

  More and more Japanese companies are feeling the pinch—Nintendo included. After posting its first annual loss in donkey’s yonks, the Kyoto-based game company is reducing its employee summer bonuses by 20 percent. #firstworldproblems Last year, full-time Nintendo staff got the average of approximately 4.4 months worth of their salary as summer bonus. This year, it’s…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  If You’re Going To Dress Like Diablo III, Do It Like This Please

  When Diablo III launched in South Korea, the country’s most famous cosplay collective, Spiral Cats, was on hand. Spiral Cats’ member Tasha pulled off a wonderful Demon Hunter—a character she revisits in this photo set. “I believe that we can project our love for the character that we cosplay through our pictures,” Tasha previously told…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
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  Kotaku East

  In This Urban Jungle, Bears and Gazelles Fight To Survive

  Tokyo Jungle is set in a world where humanity has disappeared and the animals of Tokyo battle to find their own niche in the urban environment. The goal of the game is simple: survive. To play, you pick an animal—anything from a house cat to a T-Rex—and start in front of Shibuya Station. You are…

  By Richard Eisenbeis Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  How Many Fists Fit in Pikachu’s Mouth? Japanese Children Find Out.

  Poor Pikachu. The character shows up for a Pokémon “quiz rally”, and a bunch of Japanese kids stuff their fists into his mouth. The nerve! The official (and current) Pikachu costume worn at events features the character with an open mouth, presumably so the wearer can see out and not so children can stuff their…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
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  Di-gi-mon, Digital Monsters ♪ Are Ready for Multiplayer Fighting on Your PSP

  Bandai Namco Games has released new information on the upcoming PSP game, Digimon Re:Degitize. The game will be released to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Digimon series. Let’s have a look! -Multiplayer The game will have a multiplayer mode where you can have up to 4 people fighting a free-for-all, or a 2-on-2 battle.…

  By Toshitaka Tachibana Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Pikmin 3 Won’t Have Online, Because, Um, Because…

  Just when you think Nintendo finally gets the internet, the Kyoto-based game maker does stuff like this. In a recent interview with website IGN, game designer Shigeru Miyamoto revealed that the upcoming Pikmin 3, a launch title on the Wii U, will not have online. Because? According to Miyamoto: You have to be very careful…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Inside This Girly Bodysuit, There’s a Lady

  “Dollers”, as they are called in English, are traditionally men. They are men who wear full bodysuits, frilly dresses, and anime heads. But Miina is no dude. Miina is a female, but just don’t call her a doller. “I think that the dollers dress up as dolls by as an extension of cosplay and I…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
• Kotaku East

  Kotaku East Starts Now!

  Kotaku East runs from 4am to 8am Eastern. For more info about Kotaku East click here

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
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  Curious? You Can Blow $10,000 on this In-Game Clicker

  Game designer Peter Molyneux is launching a series of video game experiments. The first one is called “Curiosity”, and it has players chip away at a black cube to see the “truly amazing, absolutely unique” object inside. Molyneux is even offering a US$77,000 downloadable tool to help chip away at the cube. Even though “Curiosity”…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
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  The 3DS’ Circle Pad Pro Gets a Very Attractive Makeover

  Nintendo’s official 3DS Circle Pad Pro extension is, well, it’s not very pretty. It’s also getting hard to find. Thank the maker for Nyko, then, who have not only produced the world’s first third-party alternative, but have come up with something that looks much nicer than Nintendo’s offering. For $30, the Nyko Power Grip Pro…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 12, 2012
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  Uncategorized

  This Guy’s Portal Gun Actually Works, Turns His House Into a Test Chamber

  Jason Craft recently purchased a Portal Gun from Aperture Laboratories. Not a toy. A real one. You can see it in action in this video, where he tests it out with a few friends. Sure, it might look like fun and games in the game, but in the real world? These things are dangerous POrtal:…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 12, 2012
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  It’s-a Me, Sexy Mario

  If you thought porn star Ron Jeremy was the only sexy Mario, you are wrong. There are other Marios, sexy Marios who like to preen and pose for the camera in overalls and with mushrooms and fireballs. Hot. Say hello to this sexy Mario, who goes under the clever nickname “Sexy Mario”. All the photos…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published June 12, 2012
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  Former NFL Player Recovers From Video Game Addiction, Returns to Pro Football

  Former All-American defensive tackle Quinn Pitcock was, in 2007, a high profile rookie on the Indianapolis Colts’ roster. By 2008, he was out of the NFL, not because his body was damaged, but because he was addicted to playing Call of Duty No, seriously. Pitcock’s inability to stop playing his Xbox 360, in particular Activision’s…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 12, 2012
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  Our Lady of the Mushroom Kingdom Turns Mario Into Religious Iconography

  French artist Soasig Chamaillard has taken some standard images of Catholic worship – statues of Mary – and jazzed them up a little, adding a pop culture focus to something that was once purely spiritual. While some may rightly find these a little offensive (you have been warned), others will find them oddly charming. Except…

  By Luke Plunkett Published June 12, 2012