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  BioShock 2 PC’s Missing Gamepad Support Also Pissing People Off

  The lack of true widescreen support in the recently released BioShock 2 isn’t the only shortcoming that has PC gamers steamed. The lack of gamepad support, including the Xbox 360 controller, isn’t sitting well with the typically keyboard-and-mouse loving crowd. The official 2K Games forums (and the Kotaku tips line) is teeming with unhappy PC…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  New Borderlands Achievements Hint at New Level Cap

  The achievement list for “The Secret Armory of General Knoxx” – Borderlands’ third DLC package – indicates the level cap in Borderlands has been raised to at least 61. Rumors also have it that the level cap raise will go to 70, which sounds plausible. It’s unlikely Gearbox would stop on an odd number. There…

  By Owen Good Published February 10, 2010
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  Disney Eyes “High-End” Consoles For Marvel Games, Wii & DS For Disney

  Now that Disney owns comic book company Marvel, what will become of the video game output of the two companies? Sounds like more Marvel games heading to the Xbox 360 and PS3, more Disney games to the Wii and DS. Disney CEO Bob Iger said during a quarterly earnings call that the home of Mickey…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  The 2010 Console War, According To Activision

  Publisher Activision Blizzard is hoping for a better year for the video game industry in 2010, expecting retail and digital sales to up 8 percent in the U.S. and Europe. And it’s calling the Wii to perform strongest this year. Activision is expecting the Wii to outsell its competitors, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3,…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  Final Fantasy XIII Gets Title Sponsorship of NBA All-Star Event

  “The 2010 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game Presented by Final Fantasy XIII.” That’s a mouthful of marbles, and we’ll get to hear ESPN announcers say it a bunch on Friday thanks to a promotional pact Square Enix inked with the league. Square Enix announced the sponsorship in a statement put out today. In addition to the…

  By Owen Good Published February 10, 2010
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  X10

  To: Ash From: Crecente Re: Tomorrow morning I have to get up at 4 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. flight to San Francisco so I can meet with Ubisoft and then spend the rest of the day covering Microsoft’s big X10 event. It’s going to be a PACKED day. Packed with news, hands on…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 10, 2010
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  Take Blur For A Test Drive In March

  Bizarre Creations’ luminescent racing video game Blur, its first title for owner Activision, will be getting a beta test in March, the game’s publisher announced today, giving drivers a chance to take it for spin in advance of its release. Activision CEO Mike Griffith announced the mutiplayer beta test for Blur today, but didn’t offer…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  This is the Last Dance for NCAA Basketball

  EA Sports has confirmed that it is discontinuing its NCAA Basketball franchise, which next year will leave the sport without a video game for the first time in 12 years. NCAA Basketball was left out of Electronic Arts’ list of key releases in a financial filing on Monday. Today, in a statement to Game Informer,…

  By Owen Good Published February 10, 2010
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  World of Warcraft: No Growth Since 2008

  When we last checked World of Warcraft subscriber numbers in December of 2008, the game had 11.5 million. In March, Vivendi According to Blizzard’s Mike Morhaime, today’s numbers are exactly the same. Has the mighty MMO plateaued? During Activision’s calendar year 2009 conference call today, Blizzard top dog Mike Morhaime spoke of the stability of…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2010
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  Activision Has Call of Duty 7 Loaded For Holiday

  Given the “disproportionate contribution” that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 provided to Activision Blizzard’s well-padded bottom line, it won’t come as a surprise that the next Call of Duty game is coming this holiday season. See? You’re not surprised. Activision Blizzard confirmed its plans to “continue annualizing” the first-person shooter franchise with the still-unnamed…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  Activision Narrows Music Focus To Guitar And DJ Hero

  Having released 25 different rhythm game SKUs in 2009, Activision narrows the focus in 2010, with only a new Guitar Hero and DJ Hero 2 slated for release in 2010. During Activision’s 2009 financial results conference call, Activision’s Mike Griffith explained that while 2009 saw Activision increasing its share in the rhythm genre to 51%,…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2010
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  StarCraft II Closed Beta Launches This Month

  Finally, for real, the StarCraft II beta is about to begin. Activision Blizzard president Mike Morhaime announced today during a company earnings call that the closed beta of the highly-anticipated real-time strategy game will launch this month. The beta will be offered in North America, Europe, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand and, of course, the place…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 10, 2010
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  New Tony Hawk, With Board, Is Coming In Late 2010

  Activision Blizzard isn’t going to let poor reviews of Tony Hawk Ride get them down. Sticking to its schedule of annual skateboard releases, the company announced today that it would release a new Tony Hawk game, using the board peripheral. Activision CEO Mike Griffith said in an earnings call today that the new Tony Hawk…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 10, 2010
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  iPhone’s World at War: Zombies Getting Verruckt Tomorrow

  Solid iPhone first-person shooter Call of Duty: World at War: Zombies is getting its first new downloadable map tomorrow, Activision told Kotaku today. Map pack Verruckt will come with the same extras that were included with the console version of the downloadable content. That means a Perks a Cola machine loaded with player perks, new…

  By Brian Crecente Published February 10, 2010
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  Hey Little Sisters…BioShock 2 is Here

  Take a peek at a slice of the BioShock 2 universe filled with breathtaking action set against the backdrop of a decaying underwater Utopia, where Big Daddy searches for his Little Sister. Game trailer after the jump! We will be reborn. BioShock 2 out NOW.

  By Gawkercreative Published February 10, 2010
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  Activision Boasts $1.56 Billion, Better Than Expected Q4

  Despite doing business in “difficult times,” super publisher Activision Blizzard had a better than expected holiday quarter, with $1.56 billion in revenue during the company’s Q4, bringing the yearly haul to $4.28 billion. How did Activision do so well? Activision Blizzard CEO gives props to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the “#1 best-selling title…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  Samurai Shodown Sen Makes It To North America

  Originally slated for release last November as Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny, the 11th game in SNK’s weapons fighting franchise will be released this spring in North America as Samurai Shodown Sen for the Xbox 360. We’ve been wondering about the fate of Samurai Shodown: Edge of Destiny ever since original North American publisher Ignition…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2010
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  Battlefield Bad Company 2 Impressions: The Tougher Battle

  If EA wants its upcoming Battlefield: Bad Company 2 to begin wresting military first-person shooter dominance away from Modern Warfare, excellence in multiplayer is only one mission objective. How important is the campaign and can it be as good? Yesterday, I played portions of two missions from Bad Company 2’s single-player campaign on an Xbox…

  By Stephen Totilo Published February 10, 2010
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  Pre-order Yakuza 3 And Bowl Like A Japanese Gangster

  Sega has announced the increasingly common pre-order bonuses for the North American version of Yakuza 3, a downloadable quartet of additions to the PlayStation 3 exclusive gangster game. Want to Battle for Survival and get more bowling challenges? Pre-order! While the pre-ordering bonus business may induce feelings of consumer ickiness, plopping down a few bucks…

  By Michael McWhertor Published February 10, 2010
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  Speak-Up On Kotaku: Damaged Packages, Missing PS2s, Bad Science, And Cheating

  In this week’s installment of Speak-Up on Kotaku, Pykestein, Jimmuhpage, Sazzrah, and WhiteMåge is in fact a boy take on packaging woes, PS2 availability, cheat devices, and Jo Frost. Don’t like the gallery layout? Click here to view everything on one page. About Speak-Up on Kotaku: Our readers have a lot to say, and sometimes…

  By Mike Fahey Published February 10, 2010