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Today's Amazon Deal of the Day is actually deals -- discounts on a bunch of accessories. If you look through the pages of deals, you'll hit upon some highlights like the Mad Catz Xbox 360 Street Fighter IV Round 2 Tournament Edition FightStick for $105 andthe Hori PS3 Fighting Stick 3 for $30.

But our personal highlight is right there on the front page. Hori's wonderful Dragon Quest Slime Speaker Stand for DS, which is a DS stand with a speaker in it, that is shaped like a Slime from Dragon Quest, , is on sale for $30. All of these offers will be active through the end of the day or until stock runs out.

This is a big week in ModNation as we score two more award nominations and release a ton of DLC goodness.

ModNation Racers Nominated in IGN’s Best of 2010 Awards

MORE NOMINATIONS!

On top of our VGA nominations, we were very excited to see ModNation nominated for “Best Competitive Multiplayer” and “Best Quick Fix” games of the year.

While you’re at it check out IGN’s PlayStation 3 Holiday Buyers Guide. At $39.99, ModNation Racers is a great holiday value.

New Mods and Karts!

Mall Santa Mod and Sleigh Available Tomorrow

It’s not Santa. It’s MALL Santa! This Santa isn’t very merry so careful when cutting him off. His sleigh (and his breath) packs a punch!

Mall Santa Includes:

• Fake Beard
• Santa Hat
• Santa Jacket
• Santa Pants
• Santa Boots
• Santa Belt

Sleigh Kart:

• Sleigh Body
• Presents Engine

You can purchase Mall Santa and Sleigh Kart on the PSN tomorrow separately for $.99 each or as a pack for $1.75.

Super Mod and Kart Swoops in Tomorrow

ModNation gets its very own superhero this holiday. Outfit your own creations with his exclusive accessories.

Super Mod

• Super Mod’s Belt
• Super Mod’s Mask
• Super Mod’s Shirt
• Super Mod’s Pants
• Super Mods Gloves
• Super Mods Boots

Super Mod’s Kart

• Atlas Body
• Futuristic Wheel

You can purchase Super Mod and Kart on the PSN tomorrow for $1.99

Sly Cooper Mod and Kart Finally Arrive!

Starting tomorrow, Sly and his muscular Kart can be purchased as a bundle from the PSN for $2.49. The Sly Collection is in stores now!

December Only: ModNation 8 Pack Winter Bundle

Only for the month of December starting tomorrow, get four Mods and four karts for one low price!

ModNation 8 Pack Winter Bundle

Only for the month of December, and starting December 7th, get four Mods and four Karts for one low price! Score Mall Santa and his speedy Sleigh, the post-apocolyptic Nukular and his Mauler Kart, Lil’ Tinker and his Soapbox Kart, and Mouse Trap and his Cheesy Kart. It’s winter steal so grab it before the end of the year.

All Mods and Karts come with parts and accessories that you can use for your own ModNation creations.

Offer ends January 4th, 2011.

Holiday Pack Available

Add some Holiday spirit to your tracks with the Holday Pack ($4.99 on PSN).

ModNation Creations of the Week

Amazing creations in ModNation get shared every day and we are playing a ton of them. If you are interested in submitting your mod, kart or track to be a future “creation” of the week be sure to visit up on the official ModNation Community site and who knows? You might see your handiwork on the PlayStation.Blog.

With the release of all the new parts packs, we want to see your tracks with those new props in them.

Mod of the Week
Mod Name: Novacayne
Creator: villain29

Comment: Awesome creation! Looks like a space marine to me.

Kart of the Week
Kart Name: Ace of Diamonds
Creator: DeadCell34

Comment: Name says it all!

Track of the Week

If you have a video(s) of your track submit them to MNR’s YouTube channel, ModNation@Playstation.Sony.com, and we will include them in the blog if your track is showcased.

Track Name: Elite Festival
Created by: RockToonz

RockToonz says: This Track is a Thanksgiving gift for the ModNation community. The new Carnival props are awesome, and I think only the ticket boot prop is not included in my track. If you want a Bowling Game this is the track for you! This is very good for action races hope you like it all.

Ramone says: This track makes great use of the carnival pack and really has the feel of a state fair. The track is so awesome it’s in the Hot Lap Roster this week as well.

Track Name: Drillbit’s Const. Yard
Created by: Manlius 10A

Manlius 10A says: In celebration of my track Wildcard’s Stadium making track of the week this week, I decided to submit my second track of the stunt series. This is another simple yet fun track that offers plenty of earthen jumps, intersection points, traps, and mod bots without being cluttered. Last I checked this track had a solid five stars in-game (after a good amount of plays and downloads as well), so this may be my best track yet! Enjoy!

Ramone says: Manlius 10A’s Wilcard Stadium track was awesome enough that we decided to put another one of his creations in the track showcase for this week. Make sure to check out Drillbit’s Construction Yard, it’s another well balanced track and the traps are a nice touch.

Hot Lap Roster for This Week
Continuing with the trend we started weeks ago, this week’s Hot Lap roster features all new community created tracks.

Monday: The Scorching Desert, by StealthReborn–
Tuesday: Aquatic World, by SergioChileno
Wednesday: Elite Festival, by RockToonz
Thursday: Garbage Wasteland!, by grey_jeep
Friday: Cargo Expedition, by grey_jeep
Saturday: Mystery Track
Sunday: Mystery Track

More news next week, until then … see you in the ModSpot!

#kotakureader Welcome to the November 2010 edition of K Monthly, a look back at some of the best original video game coverage, including reviews, previews, features, and weekly columns, from Kotaku. More »

Impressive first week numbers for latest PSP Monster Hunter game.

According to an image from NicaGamerz of an alleged Killzone 3 preview build, the third Helghast murder simulator will allow for split-screen co-op -- a function that previous entries lacked. Sony of Europe gave VG247 an official "no comment" on the possibility, but also didn't deny the rumor. However, earlier this year at E3, president of SCE worldwide studios Shuhei Yoshida spoke to us about Killzone 3's 3D functionality, saying, "We were going to give players two screens anyway, for some mode ... for some gameplay anyway." Split-screen, perhaps? Given that Killzone 3 is a 3D title and its video is already being rendered twice for the 3D effect, the possibility of split-screen is a bit of a given.

As for whether the split-screen will allow friends to take the game online together is unknown, but it seems players will at least be able to shoot up yellow-eyed baddies on a couch together. Let's put it this way: we're giving today's news the "rumor" tag, but calling the possibility "very likely."

Get ready to squeal.

#gameface Foregoing a lavish, star-studded party, PopCap's Bejeweled 3 launch party was held in a North London living room, with only a secretary, a grandmother, a librarian, a banker, and a father in attendance, representing the series' diverse fanbase. More »

#downloadables Nintendo celebrates water in all its form and splendor in Fluidity, a WiiWare platformer and the star of this week's Nintendo Download. More »

Not in the beta? Don't sweat it, you can play with us.

International video game launch takes place in North London living room.

Major corporation cooperation news now, with a report from The Wall Street Journal's Kara Swisher announcing a "partnership" between News Corp's gaming megasite IGN and retail (and recycling) behemoth GameStop. While it's not clear how extensive this partnership will be, Swisher reports that IGN will be creating (and presumably selling) ads on GameStop.com; IGN editorial content will appear on GameStop.com; and, inversely, IGN.com will inherit plenty of GameStop.com e-commerce buttons.

Perhaps most notably, IGN and GameStop will merge their traffic, to better appeal to advertisers and further cement IGN's pole position amongst video game websites. GameStop has 7.2 million monthly uniques which will be added to IGN's 28.9 million, resulting in a post-rollup total of more than anyone else.

We've got notable questions regarding the businesses which overlap. For example, what happens to Game Informer, the GameStop-owned video game magazine and site that competes with IGN? And what about IGN's Direct2Drive PC gaming retail arm? And what about concerns that this extensive of a retail relationship is a little cozy for an editorial outlet? We'll update this post when we learn more.

#clips Gamers have just six days left to earn three new free cars for Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit. More »

Like World of Warcraft before it, Blizzard revealed its "public test region" program for StarCraft 2: Wings of Liberty, giving Zerg-rushers and Zealot-sneakers an early preview of patches yet to come. First up, patch 1.20 is available for PTR participants, giving players hands-on with Battle.net chat channels, editor improvements, and forthcoming balance tweaks (among many, many other things). There doesn't seem to be a limit to the number of SC2 players able to participate, though the FAQ stipulates "players must have an active StarCraft 2 North America game account created before November 11, 2010 -- the player's account must not be a guest pass account, suspended, or banned."

According to ShackNews, Blizzard's SC2 public test region program will "conduct public tests for most if not all future game patches." As for how long patch 1.20 will be available in preview? Like most things Blizzard, it won't be available publicly "until we feel the patch has been appropriately tested."

All Blacks Rugby legend lends name, likeness, and expertise to videogame.

Since the launch of the PlayStation Rewards beta, members have been benefiting from doing the things they love to do on PlayStation and progressing towards Select, Pro and Legendary. You may have even seen some of the members that have already reached a rewards tier showing off their status in the PlayStation.com forums or online via their exclusive PSN avatars.

When we announced the PlayStation Rewards program, we promised that it would continually be evolving. We have heard your feedback and today are excited to announce the addition of Quests to the program, which provide yet another fun way for members to participate and earn progress. Quests are PlayStation-related activities that you can complete to directly add to your progress meter.

For example, with Quests, users will earn progress for playing an eligible PlayStation Move game in the “Move It” quest, for watching PlayStation Network’s PULSE in HD on their PS3 system in the “Check Your Pulse” quest, or for visiting the Central Plaza in PlayStation Home in the “No Place Like Home” quest. Nine Quests will be released in the beta by tomorrow, and we’ll be adding crafty new quests throughout the year for your enjoyment.

We hope those of you in the program are enjoying it so far. PlayStation Rewards was made to recognize and reward members for doing the things they love – interacting with and experiencing the entertainment that PlayStation offers. As users play games, check out PlayStation Network’s original programming, review games and explore PlayStation Home, they will earn progress toward the program’s three tiers – Select, Pro and Legendary status. In addition, members of PlayStation Rewards will be eligible to win exclusive prizes and collectible memorabilia throughout the year.

When the PlayStation Rewards program becomes available to everyone in April next year, be sure to check out Quests as a fun way to get involved with all the things you love to do with PlayStation.

Win prizes, have fun.

#unboxing The World of Warcraft Cataclysm collector's edition made it to the roof of our New York offices today, as part of our series of rooftop unboxings. Is the $80 special Cataclysm worth it? Take a look. Bizarre twist ending included. More »

A new dungeon draws near.

Calling all shooter fans.

Call of Duty: Black Ops players on the PC -- assuredly tired of the care package glitch dominating their online gaming -- will be happy to hear that Treyarch detailed forthcoming fixes to the game's multiplayer. Beyond the forthcoming care package glitch fix, clipping on various maps is being closed up and leaderboards will soon reflect "all kills, deaths, and assists properly." This is far from the first patch that PC Black Ops players have received, with issues being reported in the game's single and multiplayer right out of the gate.

No ETA is given on the fixes, though Treyarch community man Josh Olin characterizes them as "in progress." In the meantime, well, enjoy your infinite SAM turret killstreaks!

Start celebrating now.

Finally, this WiiWare game has arrived -- one we've been reading about for months, that will allow us to experience a common natural phenomenon in a new way. We're talking, of course, about Fireplacing (formerly My Fireplace). Oh, also, Fluidity is out. If you download them together, will they cancel each other out?

Meanwhile, on Virtual Console, Capcom surprises us with a pair of games that weren't supposed to be out until next year!

Bejeweled 3 launched in North London living room.

Gran Turismo 5 ran out of gas after its debut week, dropping 61 percent in sales and into fourth place on Chart-Track's UK All Formats chart. The top three titles were Call of Duty: Black Ops, FIFA 11 and Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. The big premieres for the week were Donkey Kong Country Returns and Super Mario All-Stars 25th Anniversary at 13 and 22, respectively.

So, last week we almost neglected to mention Disney Epic Mickey, because it didn't make the Top 40. We thought its performance might have been an anomaly ... until it missed out again on the Top 40 and maintained its place at #11 on the Wii Chart. Not a good sign.

Comparatively, Ubisoft's Michael Jackson: The Experience, which debuted down at #38 last week, had a thriller of a second week, shooting up to sixth place. It's now holding hands with Ubisoft's stalwart Just Dance franchise, which had its numerical sequel in the fifth spot. Find the full UK top ten after the break.

#politics Elite Japanese politicians might have different politics, but they're joined by one thing: their love of "go". More »

#tombraider Developer Crystal Dynamics is working on a new Tomb Raider meant to be an origin story for Lara Croft, the studio said today. More »

Square reveals its new vision for Lara.

As we theorized last month, the January issue of Game Informer will, indeed, be showing off the latest iteration in the Tomb Raider series called, simply, Tomb Raider. Details are scarce, but we know it features Lara's first adventure in which she must struggle to stay alive (hence "A Survivor is Born," the tag line used to tease the release). You can see the rough-looking Lara after the break.

Though Darrell Gallagher, head of Crystal Dynamics, says we should "forget everything you knew about Tomb Raider" and that this is "an origins story that creates Lara Croft and takes her on a character defining journey like no other," it's not clear if this is a relaunch or just an origin story that takes place in the series' already pretty convoluted time line. Heck, we don't even know platforms, though PC, PS3 and 360 seem like safe bets. Soon as we all get our hands on the new GI, we'll hopefully all know much more.

As for the new, stripped down title, Gallagher said "We know there is a blog that has a significant games database that relies on individual tags for each game title, and we like making things hard on them." ... OK, he didn't say that. But you know he was thinking it.

Eidos reveals its new vision for Lara.

#burgerking For those who bought Whopper meals, Burger King and Microsoft gave away a Kinect every fifteen minutes in America until the motion sensor launched late last month. That's over 1,500 Kinects! In Japan, twenty Kinects will be given out. More »