Of all the niches in video gaming, there are few I find more fascinating than players of the arcade version of Big Buck Hunter.

Why? Because I normally associate it with smoky saloons, men who have killed things and the stench of spilled bourbon, three things that normally (at least together) don't go with video games.

But they go with Big Buck Hunter, so much so that earlier this month there was a world championship for the arcade iteration of the game.

On September 24, IT worker Nick Robbins, of Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, beat out the competition in the 2011 World Championships to win not only $15,000 in cash, but also the coveted (?) "Pappy's Jug", the trophy awarded to the last man standing.

He was joined on the winner's podium by the game's first ever "Ladies Champion", Sara Erlandson of Beldenville, Wisconsin, who only won $2,000. Showing that there is a glass ceiling even in the world of competitive Big Buck Hunting.

Random fun fact: driving ace Travis Pastrana, who DiRT fans will be familiar with, entered the competition and placed 11th.

Of course, it was called a World Championship, but it wasn't really. Given where the machines are normally located and the fact they involve shooting defenceless wild animals, the contestants weren't really from all over the world. They were from the United States and Australia. And that's it.

And the 2011 Big Buck Champion is… [Arcade Heroes]

In Geek Girls, adult video game actresses talk about their favorite games. After that, they do other things.

"I'm into it because I don't know how not to be," said Misti Dawn, one of the film's stars, in an official statement (via Banana Syrup Company). "Gaming was engraved in me at a young age. I have some friends that work in the gaming industry and I immediately think they are hot based on that. Generally, just nerdiness turns me on."

These days, there are loads of pandering nerd porn, but Geek Girls features a handful of porn stars that appear to know their way around a controller as well as other things. Which, really, in this day and age shouldn't be a big deal! Yes, girls play video games—holy shit.

But how often do you tune into a dirty movie and see a lady talk about her Zelda tattoo or ramble on about Soulcalibur?

And I totally agree that DualShock controllers need stronger vibrations—though, for different reasons entirely.

Sister site Fleshbot has uncensored images from Geek Girls. The above trailer might be safe for work. It might not be.

Nerd Porn Gets Back to Basics (SFW) [Topless Robot]

Remember that Darksiders statue that was first unveiled all the way back in July 2010? It's finally finished and ready to ship. In Q4 2011.

For fans of the game (rich fans, at least), it looks to be worth the wait, both War and his trusty steed Ruin looking great, especially with all those badass fire effects going on.

It's $500, though, so you've got to love Darksiders a lot to pick one up.

UPDATE - Seems that while Sideshow will be selling it for a princely sum, other retailers already have the piece available and for a lot less cash. Pays to shop around!

The PS Vita is getting an array of memory card sizes. They range from a 4GB Memory Card (¥2,200 or US$29) to 32GB Memory Card (¥9,500 or $124).

With that in mind, will Sony be restricting download size? Initially, yes. According to Sony, 3G downloads will be restricted to 20MB a pop, but that could change in the future—like so many things do.

The PS Vita goes on sale Dec. 17 in Japan.

カード型ゲームメディアや専用メモリーカード採用の理由は？ [週アスキPLUS via ゲーム情報]

I love it when games are inspired by games that are nothing like them. Take sports games, and how they're up to their eyeballs in RPG mechanics like character creation and levelling. Or driving games.

Gran Turismo 5 is inspired by elevator music, for example, while it seems Forza 4 —according to Turn 10 creative director Dan Greenawalt, at least—is inspired by some unlikely video games.

"I tend to look at the other franchises that are not thinking about themselves as a competitive war in the marketplace—they think about a longer vision and the experience they want to provide to people."

"So, we take inspiration from Pokémon for our levelling systems and addictive layer rewards and variable schedule for rewards to get people addicted. World of Warcraft for our Auction House. Storefronts was from Yahoo Stores."

Hopefully Pokémon can return the favour next time that series swings around.

Interview: Forza Motorsport 4 Creative Director Dan Greenawalt [God is a Geek, thanks Bruce!]

Ninety-nine percent of buses are boring. But there's always one one percent of them too cool for school. This bus is one of those.

Wrapped in Fate/zero, this Tokushima City bus is for upcoming nerd event Asobi Machi.

Fate/zero is a light novel that's the result of a collaboration between Type Moon and game developer Nitro Plus. It's the prequel to Type Moon's visual novel Fate/stay night, which has spawned fighting games and a feature length anime.

More pics in the gallery below.

デフォルメキャラがお祭り状態の「Fate/Zero」 [Gigazine]

Club Nintendo goodies, rewards offered by the company for serious and long-serving fans, aren't usually that great (outside Japan, at least). But these Nintendo handheld cards, celebrating 31 years of portable goodness, they're great.

Available for 300 coins, there are 12 in the set, each individual piece measuring around 6x4 inches. They even come with a cool pouch to keep them all together.

They only went on sale yesterday, so if you're a few coins short, Skyward Sword should push you over the edge with time to spare. Unless they sell out! Which, given how cool they are, they just might manage.

History of Handheld Systems: Collectible Cards [Nintendo]

Maid cafes are a dime a dozen in Tokyo geek mecca Akihabara. They're totally normal. Cafe t.t.t. might be in Akihabara, but it's zip codes are way from normal.

Cafe t.t.t. is a kigurumi cafe. Literally, "Kigurumi" is a mash of the Japanese word "kiru" ("to wear") and "nuigurumi" ("plush toy"). In kigurumi cosplay, people—often men—don full body suits and cover their head with anime style masks, bringing 2D drawings into our 3D world.

That's why kigurumi is often cross-dressing. Nothing wrong with that, I guess!

At Cafe t.t.t., all the maids waiting tables are kigurumi bishoujo ("beautiful young girl"). As not to break character (and perhaps reveal that they're dudes), the staff only communicate with customers via body language and in writing.

According to Akiba Keizai Shimbun, the maids also play mini-games with customers. No doubt, they play games like paper-rock-scissors.

Food-wise, there are the maids' handmade cheesecake for ¥700 (US$9), omlettes and hotcakes for ¥1,000 ($13) each, as well as drinks like hot chocolate and cafe latte for ¥700 ($9) each.

Those who want to commemorate their visit to Cafe t.t.t. (and really, why wouldn't you?) can shell out ¥500 for a photo with one of the maids. The cafe also has maid photocards available for sale.

"We'd love lots of people to come and meet with our beautiful girl kigurumi," said Cafe t.t.t.'s manager.

Believe or not, this isn't the first kigurumi cafe in Akihabara. Last year, there was a temporary kigurumi cafe that was designed to be open for just a day. Likewise, Cafe t.t.t. will be a special, one-day only affair. It will be open on Oct. 10 from 10am to 4:30pm.

The other 364 days? They're totally safe.

LEGO builder extraordinare PLUM B has built this life-sized replica of a Gears of War Lancer rifle that doesn't just look the part, it shoots the part as well.

In the video above, you can see that you can slide magazines in. Then cock the rifle. Then actually shoot at stuff. And when the Locusts get too close, you can fire up the chainsaw, which (sort of) works.

Amazing stuff.

Lego Gears of War Lancer Assault Rifle with firing action and motorized saw blade [The Brothers Brick]

Valve boss Gabe Newell has, like many of us these past few months, taken EA's new Origin service for a spin. Hearing his thoughts on the thing are interesting, though, because he runs the company that runs Origin's dominant competitor.

"I think it does some things well" Newell told PC Gamer. "I think there are still some areas where, as a customer, I'd like to see it improve. It's not that different from any other system like this. There are positive things and negative things."

With the release of the Battlefield 3 demo this week, I've had to use Origin, and have hated every second of it. Mostly because it takes an eternity to get up and running, but also because when once running, there are always hangs or errors. Which for a service people have to use to play such a big game isn't good enough.

Asked later about competition for his own service, Newell raises a very valid point, saying "I and everyone at Valve know that you're only as successful as what you've done lately."

"So the idea that Steam is somehow the answer to digital distribution ignores the fact that every two or three years, something is going to change dramatically."

And this is why none of Steam's competitors, Origin included, can make a dent in Valve's domination of the PC download market. Steam is successful because it came in and did something new, damn near perfected it, and is now reaping the benefits. Instead of building something new, something that will replace Steam, other companies just keep making Steam clones that don't work as well as Steam does.

Gabe Newell reviews EA's Origin [CVG]