Robot Chicken's brand of geek humor gets a lot of mileage from imagining the messed-up stuff fictional characters get up to when they're not busy being all heroic or villainous. So, yeah, a breakroom filled with the cast of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale would be boiling over with all of the shame and neediness you see in the clip above. Oh, Nariko, will Sony ever bring you back?

Over the past 24 hours or so, a number of women working in the game industry (and some male colleagues) have taken to Twitter to share their stories via the hashtag #1reasonwhy.

They're not motivational tales. Instead, they're accounts of the rampant sexism and discrimination many have faced in the past, and are still facing today. The volume of the confessions, not to mention the important and prominent role of many involved, is sobering.

The tag's name is meant to suggest people are listing the #1 reason why there aren't more women making games. The scale and variety of responses obviously make a mockery of the whole "#1" bit.

If you're a guy, and have never really "got" why women face an uphill battle in many parts of the game industry—or why people make a big deal out of it—try and imagine it's you facing this kind of crap in your workplace. See how insignificant it would be then.

UPDATE - If this has got you down, the flipside hastag #1reasontobe is collecting the reasons women do want to be working in the games business.

Earlier tonight, a teeny-tiny image of the Wii Mini's box appeared online. Here's a better look at the console itself. And hot damn, it's lovely looking.

Smaller than the regular console, the Wii Mini has a red casing and a rough, matte finish with a Wii logo dead in the middle. It appears to be a top-loading console, because there are two buttons (one is a power button) in the corners.

However, the Wii Mini does not support WiFi or GameCube games.

Priced at US$99.99 and out December 7, the Wii Mini also comes with a red Wii Remote Plus and a Nunchuk.

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Update: It's official. The console will launch in Canada on December 7 for $99.99. Here is a photo of what is in the box, courtesy of Nintendo.com.

Just Announced: Nintendo Wii Mini [Future Shop]

People's Daily is China's newspaper of record. It's the paper of the Chinese Communist Party—a mouthpiece of the government. And today, it figured out that The Onion is not America's newspaper of record.

If you've been on the internet since forever, you know that The Onion is a humor site that satirizes the news. People's Daily didn't seem to know that when it ran a top story, stating that North Korea's supreme leader—and fellow nerd like us—Kim Jong-un as the "The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012". People's Daily apparently confused People with The Onion. Sure, that happens all the time!

As Twitter user Adam Minter showed, the snafu even made the People's Daily front page (not sure if the story made its way into the print edition).

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China's paper of record quoted this bit from The Onion:

"With his devastatingly handsome, round face, his boyish charm, and his strong, sturdy frame, this Pyongyang-bred heartthrob is every woman's dream come true. Blessed with an air of power that masks an unmistakable cute, cuddly side, Kim made this newspaper's editorial board swoon with his impeccable fashion sense, chic short hairstyle, and, of course, that famous smile," it said.

"He has that rare ability to somehow be completely adorable and completely macho at the same time," said Marissa Blake-Zweiber, editor of The Onion Style and Entertainment.

And boy is he ever sexy! He's sexy when he's looking at things, and he's sexy when he's on a horse.

As website ShanghaiIst points out, People's Daily showed off just how smexy Kim Jong-Un is with a fifty-five page gallery (FIFTY-FIVE) of the supreme leader. Here's a sample:

SO HOT. Of course, gamers will know that Kim Jong-Un was way sexier in the first-person shooter Homefront when a professional actor played him.

This is like an Onion article that's about an Onion article being turned into a real newspaper article.

North Korea's top leader named The Onion's Sexiest Man Alive for 2012 [People's Daily via ShanghaiIst]

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"Iwata Asks" is a regular online feature in which Nintendo president Satoru Iwata interviews developers. Some of the game creators are in-house and some work for outside companies. All of their games appear on Nintendo hardware. None of them feature hardcore pornography.

Instead of "Iwata Asks", Osaka-based erotic PC game company SoftPal launched a "Shacho Hears", or "Company President Hears", website to promote its latest erotic game, Ryuusei: Kiseki -Shooting probe- (流星☆キセキ ‐Shooting probe-). Behind the interview is AKOU, the game's producer-director and the game's "sub director", who is a plush toy.

Like the typical Iwata Asks interview, the game creator lists his role and talks about the project's conception. Unlike Iwata Asks, there are questions about virgin love and how this game is different from other sex games.

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Shacho Hears [SoftPal]

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While it's yet to be officially announced by Nintendo, Canada's Best Buy website has revealed the Wii Mini, a smaller, sleeker version of Nintendo's console.

There's no price information yet (or larger image), but it'll be out on December 7, and appears to boast a square form factor, a black & red colour scheme and comes with a Wii Remote.

Update: More details here.

Bet he's dealing with Mothula in The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I can see it on his angry, tortured face. (We've all been there!)

This is Link's "Angry Face" from Figma's new Skyward Sword figurine (read the Kotaku review). Please, let's make Angry Face Link a meme. Surely, there are more things that can tick him off!

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Link [Sixteen-Bit]

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The long pauses. The nervous gestures. They're not quite sure what to say, and thus, neither are you. Sometimes when foreigners interact with Japanese people, things can get awkward. Very, very awkward. Good thing there's anime to remind us how awkward!

Japan is around 98.5 percent Japanese. Within that, there are small groups of are minority groups like Korean-Japanese, Chinese-Japanese, and the Ainu indigenous people of Hokkaido, as well as religious minorities, such as practicing Catholics. Then, there is an ever growing number of Japanese of mixed Asian and Western heritage.

But Japan still isn't anywhere near the melting pot or mixed salad of other industrialized countries. Depending on where you live in Japan, you can go long stretches of time without seeing a Westerner. And then, even if you are a Westerner living in Japan, you might be surprised to see another Westerner. To be honest, I live in a somewhat rural place, and when I do see foreigners, sometimes I slow down my car!

More than anything, what can cause the awkwardness, though, is the language barrier. If you speak or understand Japanese, getting around the country and interacting with people isn't usually awkward at all—it can be enlightening, because you can understand the amazing things people are uttering, or even infuriating, because you can grasp the not so amazing things, too! But, you can understand what they're saying, and they can understand what you are saying, and that, hopefully, leads to smooth communication.

It's when there is a language barrier that things can get tricky—and this isn't only a phenomenon. Whenever there is a language barrier, communication can break down (though, there are some individuals—let's call them super communicators—who seem to get on with anyone speaking any language). Since, as mentioned above, Japan is 98.5 percent Japanese, when folks here see a Westerner, they might immediately think that the Westerner does not speak Japanese. Because, well, most don't!

But, there's a caveat: Context. If a foreigner is on a university campus, then the assumption might be that he or she does speak Japanese. Or, if they are in Japanese company or wearing a Japanese corporate pin on their business suit. Or, if they are with their family, and the kids are mixed. Or, they're really old and have lived in Japan so damn long that they have started to look Japanese. For better or worse, these are clues people tend to pick up on before making snap judgments. However, if the Westerner is on a subway or in a bar, those clues become more ambiguous.

The awkwardness often arises due to a fear of the English language. Many Japanese people are not confident in their English speaking and listening, since those are not practiced as much in school. Many people do wish they were better at English for a variety of reasons, whether that be professional (transferring abroad or getting a promotion) or personal (hobbies or travel). So when Japanese people see a foreigner, some might feel like, "Oh crap, now I have to speak English, and I cannot speak English." (Not everyone feels this way, obviously, and some people just prattle away in Japanese, and hope the listener gets it.)

Over the years, anime has shown just how difficult the language barrier can be. In the above gallery, there are clips from several different shows. Most of them are old, and some of them are just downright silly, but many of them underscore the difficulty of using English, whether that's spitting out a slew of English catchphrases that are famous in Japan ("Boys be ambitious!), regurgitating English class lessons ("This is a pen"), or simply freaking out. One of the clips, which is an infamous one from Abenobashi Mahou Shoutengai, started appearing on Japanese blogs this week for some reason, leading people to once again discuss the perception of foreigners in the country. The clip itself is more centered around stereotypes, but it does show the jaw-open reaction of machine gun English, f-bombs, and hot dogs.

English and Japanese are very different. Both are hard languages. If you've mastered either (or both!) as a second tongue, give yourself a pat on the back. With my own kids, I can see how difficult it must be for some Japanese people to pick up the language. My oldest son is nine years old, and his English is getting better, but he still seems somewhat uneasy when he has to use it. I can imagine how much harder it is for kids that don't have a parent who can talk to them in English. Whether it's in anime or real life, I can also imagine their surprise when they see someone speaking it.

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With Nintendo TVii, the Kyoto-based game maker is bringing streaming video to the GamePad. Starting on December 8 in Japan, gamers can watch the pictures as they fly through the air via the comfort of the Wii U GamePad. But if you want easy channel changing, you must barf up extra cash.

On December 8, Nintendo is also launching an addon for Nintendo TVii that gives Wii U owners the ability to switch channels via the GamePad. The Wii U GamePad can be used as a television remote control, but if you want to use that same function for Nintendo TVii, Nintendo is charging a ¥100 ($1.22) flat fee.

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Nintendo's video streaming service was unveiled this September in New York. Earlier this month, Nintendo delayed the service for the North American Wii U launch.

Wii Uのニンテンドーeショップで12月8日から100円（税込）/95円（税別）で販売いたします [任天堂]

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I'm still coming down from the experience that was The Walking Dead. Without getting into spoiler territory, that was... quite the ending.

To help cope, I've been talking to other people about their experiences, many of which seem to be similar to my own.

And then Kirk goes and shows me The Walking Dead Game Confessions, a site collecting people's thoughts and recollections of the game.

I'm still wrapping my head around the Ben love—maybe I'm not a teenage girl and just don't get it—but the adorable fan art and asshole confessions, that I can understand.

A kinda obvious warning: the site is FULL of spoilers.

The Walking Dead Confessions [Tumblr]