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  And the Winners of the First Annual Speak Up Video Game Awards Are…

  Commenter GiantBoyDetective has posted the winners of the 2011 Speakys, the unofficial video game awards of our Speak Up forum community. Now all that’s left to do is vote for Game of the Year. Most Underrated Game of the Year Winner – Rayman Origins (Multi) Runner-up – Ghost Trick (DS) Best Indie Title of the…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 28, 2011
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  Futurama’s Dr. Zoidberg Versus Spider Spider-Man in a Skyrim Battle Royale

  Perhaps these Dr. Zoidberg modded Skyrim mudcrabs aren’t as freaky as the contorted spider Spider-Men, but their screams of agony when you kill them are pretty spot on. Also, thanks to XtremeScope we get to see the two doing battle. Someone really needs to do a full-on Futurama mod for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

  By Brian Crecente Published December 28, 2011
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  Talk Amongst Yourselves

  Has anybody else been farming Steam for coal and presents? Even as a Mac user, I’ve found most of the games that are part of the contest are compatible. So for all you Mac users that feel left out of the Steam loop, this week is for you. So far I got Portal,Theif, and 1..2..3..…

  By Chris Carolan Published December 28, 2011
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  Is Nothing Kotaku‘s Game of the Year?

  This may sound off-key coming from the guy who nominated the 12th edition of annual sports franchise for overall GOTY last year. But I’m inclined to say “None of the above,” this year. I prefer for these honors to truly mean the game, at minimum, was the best at what it did. This year’s big…

  By Owen Good Published December 28, 2011
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  Nintendo To Host New Year’s Eve Video Telethon on Your 3DS

  Nintendo plans to kick off a two day video New Year’s telethon starting the last day of the year and running until the morning of Jan. 2, the company said in a note sent to 3DS owners. “Mark your calendar for the first-ever Nintendo Video New Year’s Telethon,” the note reads. “Wondering what you’ve missed…

  By Brian Crecente Published December 28, 2011
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  Winter Is Still Coming

  Winter Is Coming | Ned Stark’s second career is much safer. Available on Ript 2011, a Year In Disappointment Throughout 2011, we’ve been blessed with some extraordinary games and some memorable events. But life is not all ups. For every up there must be a down, or in this case, a downer. These are, according…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  The People (Well, Mugshots) of Skyrim

  Artist Darwin Yamamoto, whose video game portraits made November just that little bit more special, has completed another set, this time specifically for the game of the minute, Skyrim In this series, each of the game’s races are represented. Some as normal citizens. Others as porn stars in plate armour. getdarwin’s Skyrim [Flickr, via Rampaged…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Hideo Kojima: The Wonder Years

  Just in case you ever wanted to know what Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima looked like as a wee lad, well, now you know, courtesy of the man’s own Twitter account. [@Kojima_Hideo]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  The Great Nintendo Family Portrait

  Artist Luis Carrasquillo sent us this amazing piece to share, which includes just about every major Nintendo hero (or hero appearing on a Nintendo console) there’s ever been. At 4000x, it’s only wallpaper for the more hardcore among you, so for everyone else, it’s like a Where’s Waldo/Wally. Only, with Marios everywhere. If you want…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Culture

  Some of the Prettiest Game Trailers In the Business

  Blur Studios. You may have heard of them before (like in this feature we ran on them last year), as they’re responsible for some of the biggest and best cinematic video game trailers around. So it’s cool today that we get to look at some of the work of Heikki Anttila, CG Supervisor at the…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  There’s Already an Ocean Marketing Comedy Video

  Boy, the internet works fast these days. It’s barely 24 hours since the whole Paul Christoforo/Ocean Marketing thing blew up and already there’s surprisingly enjoyable comedy videos of the mess available. Warning: this is a little NSFW

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Battleduty Modernfield 3 is a Real Thing, Costs $0.99

  Battleduty Modernfield 3. It’s a game, sort of, that you can play. Barely. It’s also pretty damn great. Taking the whole “trolling of copyright” thing on the iPhone to a hilarious new extreme, this parody title takes static screenshots of both Battlefield 3 and Modern Warfare 3, overlays a crummy gun and adds some “pew…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  Man Plays Dance Dance Revolution For Over 16 Hours, Lives To Tell the Tale

  While most people spent yesterday sleeping off food hangovers and trying not to do any real work, 17 year old Alexander Skudlarek from Rochester, Minnesota was getting letters from the Guinness Book of World Records confirming he now has the title for “longest video games marathon playing Dance Dance Revolution”. He actually set the record…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  This is the Most Batshit Insane Nintendo Trailer I’ve Ever Seen

  Kiki Trick is an upcoming Wii game from the team behind the WarioWare series. This is it’s trailer. So, yes, not only is there FMV in a Nintendo game, but it is amazing [via @markmacd]

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  2011, a Year In Disappointment

  Throughout 2011, we’ve been blessed with some extraordinary games and some memorable events. But life is not all ups. For every up there must be a down, or in this case, a downer. These are, according to us at least, 2011’s biggest video gaming disappointments. Now, before we go any further, know that few of…

  By Luke Plunkett Published December 28, 2011
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  College Student Bought an Xbox 360 with Fake Money. He Got Arrested.

  Twenty-one year-old Christopher Moore swung by his local Game Stop in Norfolk, Virginia. He paid cash for an Xbox 360. The store manager, however, thought something was odd about the hundred dollar bills. They looked funny. According to The Virginian-Pilot, the manager turned the bills over to the police, who then gave them to the…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 27, 2011
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  The Gaming Gifts I Gave This Holiday Season

  As a gamer that regularly reviews big titles and otherwise has the means to procure his own video game entertainment, it isn’t often I get to experience the joy of a thoughtful video game related gift. Instead, I give things to my family and live vicariously through them. What did they get this year? Perhaps…

  By Mike Fahey Published December 27, 2011
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  PR Trolling “Ocean Stratagy” Out of Business, Avenger Controller Maker Asks For Forgiveness

  The PR tempest in a teapot born of one misused gamer and shockingly bad customer support seems to have mostly run its course, leaving a one-man PR firm in apparent shambles and a unique video game controller accessory struggling to survive. The issue came to light today when emails between Kotaku reader Dave and Paul…

  By Brian Crecente Published December 27, 2011
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  Braid Creator’s The Witness Gets an Intriguing Architectural Update

  When we last saw the upcoming game from Jonathan Blow this summer, The Witness already looked like an intriguing experience. The way that Blow’s game design interwove puzzles and environmental cues created a hypnotic level of immersion where you had to pay attention to a gameworld like never before. As a result of updated designs…

  By Evan Narcisse Published December 27, 2011
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  This Chinese Hotel Is an Odd Homage to Japan and Anime

  Spend any time in Japan, and you’ll see them: Chinese tourists. While tensions do flare between the two countries, there are Chinese who are infatuated with Japanese popular culture. Thus, the Chinese province of Anhui has this: a newly opened “anime” themed hotel. Japan, alert your lawyers. According to an ANN News report (via Japan…

  By Brian Ashcraft Published December 27, 2011