5-minute episode 13 about girls’ bouldering gym visit ships on Blu-ray on May 24

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SyFy orders 13 additional episodes to air in 2014; game adding five new DLC packs.

SyFy has renewed post-apocalyptic alien TV show Defiance for a second season. 13 additional episodes have been ordered and will air in 2014.

The news comes just four episodes into the show’s record-breaking first season.

Not only will Defiance the TV show live on, but the game is also set to grow. Developer Trion Worlds announced this week that five downloadable content updates are coming to the game in 2013, the first of which will introduce the Castithan species.

This $10 update will allow gamers to play as the Castithan species and will unlock a new story mission line and a new Battle Arena game mode. The update also brings a new four-player “truck of doom,” as well as new pursuits and a Charge Weapons starter pack.

New Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 achievements and trophies are also up for grabs in the content. For a full rundown of content and features included with the Castithan expansion, check out the post on the game’s website.

Gamers who don’t wish to pay $10 for the Castithan expansion will still receive new content via an update. It will add access to a new open-world game mode called Sieges, as well as a PvP map titled Military Academy, among other things. Check out the full post for more.

Defiance launched in April and has seen over 1 million registrations to date.

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Sony ended new US console sales in January

Five months after being officially discontinued in the US after 13 years on the market to make way for the Playstation 4, GameStop has confirmed that it will officially end accepting trade-ins for the console, games and accessories next month. Hit the jump for all of the details and a rememberance.

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Poll consists of over 13,000 votes

Some of the best anime of recent years are adaptations from light novels. A bunch of Japanese anime fans ranked the 25 best of the best. Which made the cut? Check out the list after the jump.

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Series available soon digitally and on home video later this year

In addition to Flowers of Evil, Sentai also announced the acquisition of the first season of Uta no Prince-sama today. Plans for the 13-episode series include availability through select digital outlets soon, and a home video release later this year. More after the jump.

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Slant Six Games initiates temporary layoffs to trim operating costs, hopes to rehire all affected developers.

Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City and Galactic Reign developer Slant Six Games has initiated a round of temporary layoffs, the company has confirmed. The studio hopes to rehire all affected staffers once new projects or funding has been secured.

“We can confirm that there have been temporary layoffs at our studio today,” a company representative said in a statement. “This necessary measure has been taken to reduce the size of our team and to decrease interim operating costs while we continue to negotiate new business.”

“Temporary layoffs provide us with a time period to keep everyone’s employment position open with full benefits,” the statement goes on. “The intention is to reinstate all of the people affected when new projects or funding has been secured.”

Slant Six did not confirm exactly how many staffers were impacted, but told GamesIndustry International that the outfit currently employs more than 60 people.

This site points out that British Columbia law states anyone laid off will retain benefits and collect employment insurance for 13 weeks. Their termination will become permanent if they are not rehired after that time.

“Slant Six Games currently has multiple titles in development, and we look forward to the completion of these titles once publishing or funding partnerships can be secured,” Slant Six said.

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Pixiv artists collaborate on set of illustrations

The Magi anime might be off the air for a couple of seasons, but in the meantime, the fans on Japanese art online community Pixiv have begun assembling a set of themed tarot cards. A collaboration has put together 13 major arcana. Get a look after the jump.

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Federal Trade Commission undercover shopper study shows games beat out CDs, film, and DVDs at making sure content isn’t viewed by underage eyes.

A new Federal Trade Commission undercover shopper survey published today found that United States game retailers continue to be the most compliant with enforcing age-based ratings. According to the group’s data, only 13 percent of underage secret shoppers were able to purchase M-rated games in 2012. This figure is unchanged since the last study was published in 2010.

Meanwhile, 24 percent of underage shoppers were able to buy tickets to R-rated movies (down from 33 percent in 2010), while 30 percent of underage shoppers were able to purchase R-rated DVDs (down from 38 percent in 2010). The least compliant group was the music CDs contingent, which allowed 47 percent of underage shoppers to buy albums with explicit content.

The FTC conducted the study by asking groups of 13- to 16-year-olds to attempt to purchase R-rated movie tickets, R-rated DVDs, music CDs with warnings of explicit content, and games rated M for Mature while unaccompanied by a parent. The study was conducted between April and June 2012 at national and regional chain stores and theaters across the US.

Entertainment Software Rating Board president Patricia Vance commented on the study in a statement provided to GameSpot.

“We applaud video game retailers for once again demonstrating our industry’s ongoing commitment to parents. Enforcement of video game sales policies continues to be substantially higher than that for any other entertainment industry,” she said. “This success is due in part to retail partnership programs like the ESRB Retail Council, through which we regularly conduct our own mystery shops to help retailers maintain a high level of store policy enforcement. We will continue these responsible efforts with unwavering dedication to serving parents.”

Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot

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Plates and two glass designs ship in April

If you ever thought of staging an Evangelion themed candle lit dinner, character goods makers Movic has prepared just the items you’ll need. Spear of Longinus and Kaoru wine glasses and Eva porcelain plates are scheduled for April, with the former selling for 1260 yen ($13.50) each and the later going for 1365 yen ($14.65). Get a look after the jump.

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Source: Crunchy Roll

The Princes are taking over Japan in a new Shining Production campaign!

Uta No Prince Sama campaign posters are appearing around 13 different locations in Japan according to their home town (except for a few, who are not from Japan!). The campaign started on March 4th, Japan time and photos are coming in via Twitter. Click to see the new posters!

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Source: Crunchy Roll