Gamertell

Born as the entrepreneurial venture of Jusaburo Shimizu in 1947, Kotobukiya’s began as a single toy store for dolls. Now, Kotobukiya has developed itself to be one of the heavy-hitters when it comes to popular anime/video game/movie figures, busts, statues and model kits that include some big name licenses (Star Wars, Halo, Final Fantasy, Hulk, Dead or Alive and Indiana Jones to name just the tip of the iceberg). Always thriving for quality without exception, Kotobukiya is sharing the love with its English-speaking market by creating a website interface that is easier to navigate and feels very similar to…

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The latest news from TriForce Sales is a little bit creepy, and kind of delves into “obsessive super fan” territory. Epic Games has given TriForce permission to recreate life-size models of both armor and weapons from the Gears of War Xbox 360 and PC series. Yes, starting on July 8, 2008, loyal fans can preorder items at the official TriForce Gears of War website. No prices have been announced yet.

Prototypes of the armor and weapons were displayed at Wizard World Philadelphia, which was this past weekend (May 31, 2008). The items up for sale were displayed and a panel discussion with Garrand and Lester Speight (Gears of War‘s Augustus Cole) was held. The items will likely resemble the pictures of Garrand and the Nightmare Armor Studios team that appeared in a 2007 issue of Official Xbox 360 Magazine and on Kotaku on June 25, 2007. 

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According to a post at Joystiq, now may be the best time to nab a PS3 from Wal-Mart. The retail giant will be offering $100 gift cards to those who buy Sony’s console between June 1-7. Apparently, the following week, the gift cards (same amount) will go to purchasers of Blu-Ray players (which also includes the PS3).

As writer Alexander Sliwinski points out, the smartest deal would be to purchase the slick 80Gb Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle, and pocket the $100. Not a bad deal at all - I may even go for it myself, despite my ill will towards the ‘Mart. Then again, maybe not.

Read [joystiq]

After a long-ish drought, it looks like the Virtual Console is getting the goods again. With the recent news that SNES classic EarthBound is likely to land on the VC and today’s release of super-addictive N64 puzzler Pokemon Puzzle League, I’m happy to be a retro gamer again. Also on tap this week is NES brawler Renegade, but I’m going to be too busy with my Tetris Attack Clone to bother. All VC titles are available on the Wii Shop channel, with a fresh batch arriving every Monday at 9 AM Pacific time. Wii points can be purchased at a rate of $1 for 100 points. The new games bring the North American count to 223.

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Further demonstrating the increasing availability and decreasing price of memory, Target has put out a Speed Racer themed gift card that features a USB 2.0 Flash drive built right in.

The plastic promo gift card features a tiny USB cable (an inch long) that clicks flat into the card and can be ejected using a tiny mechanical switch at the bottom edge. It also has an activity light on the upper right edge of the card.

The internal Flash drive shows 62.8 MB total capacity with 51.6 MB of it filled with Speed Racer movie promotion items including a cheat code for the Wii version of the upcoming Speed Racer videogame…

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Sims fans who purchased SimCity Societies and SimCity 4 may want to sit down. Are you seated? Good. I have some bad news for you, but just buckle down, you’ll make it through. Of course it’s good news for other Sims fans who waited to get those games.

EA will be selling SimCity 4, SimsCity 4 Rush Hour, SimCity Societies, SimCity Societies Destinations and The Sims Carnival SnapCity altogether as The SimCity Box for $39.99. The big bundle will be available in June 2008. Oh, and according to Amazon, the box includes a trial version of the Spore Creature Creator…

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Title: Don Bluth Presents Space Ace
Price: $39.95
System(s): Blu-ray Disc player (eg. PS3)
Release Date: April 8, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Digital Leisure, Inc. (Bluth Group, Ltd.)
No. Players: 1
ESRB Rating: N/A
Pros: Amazingly clear and beautifully restored video, interesting interviews and the ability to watch the entire game as a short (although a bit spastic) film.
Cons: The game remains impossibly difficult to play and extras are a bit meager for the retail price.
Rating(s): One thumb up, one down; 75/100; C; **1/2 out of 5.

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M Network (actually Mattel Electronics) has released its first catalog of 11 games for the Atari VCS and, dude, does it look totally awesome.

First, the box art is choice featuring black and gnarly silver ink. It will certainly impress your friends when you go to pull out the cartridge. Second, these games feature way more colors than other games, even using multiple shades of…

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I just picked up the latest Atari Catalog (CO16725-Rev. E) at Sears. It lists 49 games, four of which are completely new from the previous catalog (CO16725-Rev. D). It also has a section in the back with a few accessories for storing games and a better picture of the Game Center storage case.

The last page also features “Coming Attractions” that include a yet-to-be-named football game that will have “life-like pro players,” a baseball game and a “jolly version” of video volleyball. Atari is also promising an updated version of Combat (Combat II or maybe Revenge of Combat?) and a “gripping” adventure game in two installments in October and November 1982.

The four news games are…

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Were you a fan of the hilarious Robot Chicken: Star Wars send-up from last June? Well, the special will be receiving a DVD release this July. Warner Home Video and Adult Swim will release the half hour-long special (with several bonus features) on DVD on July 22, 2008, for an MSRP of $14.97.

A list of bonus features, from the press release:

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