Here’s the latest from Kotaku‘s official reader-written blog, Talk Amongst Yourselves: Weird Theory: Has Mario been lying to all of us? – What The Banner Saga Reminded Me About Gaming – Games You’re Angry People Haven’t Played TAY Classic—TAY Open Forum—Beginner’s Guide To TAY Follow them here.

Gabe Newell Says He’ll Do A Reddit AMA If Charity Reaches $500k

When Valve head honcho Gabe Newell posted on Reddit yesterday, the community freaked out. And although some people were interested in the racing link Newell submitted, most Redditors want to ask questions about Valve that have been on their mind for years, like “Where’s Left 4 Dead 3?” and “How long did it take you…

Devoid of Details, Japanese Still Want Persona 5 So Damn Bad

Atlus proves that sometimes, name value is all you need. The 2014 game lineup is looking pretty exciting so far. With the upcoming release of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Japan, Japanese gamers have a lot to look forward to. Japanese gaming magazine Weekly Famitsu asked its readers what games they were looking…

Impressive Tech Demo Pits 10,000 Spaceships Against Each Other

Oxide Games, a group composed of industry veterans from Microsoft and Firaxis, are currently working on Nitrous, which is gonna be a next-generation engine for strategy games. Calling it impressive, honestly, is a bit of an understatement. The team recently released a demo video showcasing Star Swarm, which is a technology demo built using the…

Xbox One Will Suit Japanese Rooms Just Fine (Apparently)

2014 is here. Seriously, when is the Xbox One coming out in Japan? Apparently there are some issues Microsoft needs to address first. Microsoft has previously expressed their commitment to the Japanese market. However, with the complexities involved with different cultures, customs, standards and regulations, they have been hesitant to make any definite statements on…

Guess what Hideo Kojima is doing? That’s right, he’s showing off Ground Zeroes again—this time, demonstrating the Xbox One version’s second screen capabilities on tablets and smartphones. Check out his photos above and below. Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3 [Twitter] Questions? Comments? Contact the author of this post at andras-AT-kotaku-DOT-com. Kotaku East is your…

In Japan, Being Mickey Mouse Is a Part-Time Job

With those Kingdom Hearts games and with new Mickey Mouse cartoons, you’d think being the official Japanese language voice of Mickey Mouse would be a full-time job. For one university professor, it’s not. Takashi Aoyagi’s full-time gig is being a professor at Tokyo Seitoku University, studying Japanese Heian culture, classical Chinese poetry, and Japanese poetry…

One Thousand Japanese Gamers Polled about the PS4

The PlayStation 4 isn’t out in Japan. The whole world is playing the console, but Japan isn’t. So how enthusiastic are Japanese gamers for the release of Sony’s black monolith next month? Japanese gaming mag Weekly Famitsu put out the call this week, asking 1,000 gamers for their thoughts on the upcoming PlayStation 4 release.…

Mecha Hello Kitty Is Ready To Destroy You All

Hello Kitty is getting a “super robot” toy. Bandai released a trailer for said toy, and it includes a robo Kitty-chan anime. As previously mentioned, the figure is around 4-inches tall and has several different “modes,” like “Underwater Mode” and “Flying Mode.” Kitty-chan even has a “Rocket Punch” that shoots her fist-like missiles. Part of…

Live-Action Kiki’s Delivery Service Getting a Computerized Cat

What’s the point of making a live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service if the cat is going to be CG? No, let me rephrase that. What’s the point of making a live-action Kiki’s Delivery Service? Recently on Japanese television, the first images of the movie version of Jiji, the black cat, were shown. If you have never…

DriveClub Delayed, Won’t Make the PS4 Launch in Japan

Slated to be a PS4 launch title in Japan, DriveClub has been delayed and won’t make its planned February 22 release in Japan. The reason for the delay? Website Inside Games quotes the press release as saying, “Various circumstances.” The game’s release date is now TBA for Japan and will be announced at a later…

Steam Machines Can Support Up To 16 Players In The Same Room

The Steam Machine’s controller – and that’s a prototype shot of its new design up top – isn’t designed to be a loner. Indeed, if developers want to push the limits, it’ll be part of a multiplayer experience not seen in almost a decade. Flying in the face of a rush towards online multiplayer, people…

Forklift Balancer Is More Fun Than Shenmue

This is Forklift Balancer. It’s a game on – wait for it – Geocities. And I’ll be damned if it’s not keeping me from working/eating today. All you’ve got to do is tip a forklift without actually spilling the contents. That’s it. But man, these controls, they’re smooth as butter. Forklift Balancer [Geocities, via @terrycavanagh]