Imports In

Got 'em. All preorders for PS3 Armored Core 4, PS3 Sonic the Hedgehog, PS2 Seiken Densetsu 4, and X360 Sonic the Hedgehog will ship today. Some more packages are supposedly on the way and we'll update accordingly if they make it in in the next few hours. We'll update game synopses and scans before 8PM EST today.

All preorders for X360 Lost Planet will include a bonus Visual Book. Unfortunately, we didn't receive enough bonuses to include with new orders submitted today.

Waiting on Imports

All of our import flights made it into JFK earlier this morning but we're still waiting for the packages to be delivered. The high overall shipping volumes this week has delayed processing and flight clearance for all of this week's arrivals. We'll update again once everything's in stock. As long as our shipments are delivered to us before 4PM EST, we'll be able to ship everything out today.

If our deliveries arrive after 4PM EST, we'll try to get as many packages shipped out as humanly possible in the short amount of time we have to work with. We should have an update by 3:30PM EST and we'll post it up on this page.

General Updates

Import Shipments Delayed Due to what we can only assume to be crushing holiday shipping volumes, some of our Japanese import shipments have been re-scheduled until tomorrow. All preorders for PS3 Armored Core 4, PS3 Sonic the Hedgehog, PS2 Seiken Densetsu 4, and X360 Sonic the Hedgehog will ship tomorrow. Playstation 3 Official S-Video cables are also scheduled to arrive on Friday. The remainder of this week's imports such the PSP Metal Gear Solid Portable Ops Bundle are scheduled to arrive on Tuesday of next week due to late release in Japan and the Christmas holiday on Monday.

BD Blu-Ray Remotes Another batch of PS3 remotes arrived today and all backorders placed prior to Dec 21, 2006 at 05:31AM EST will ship this afternoon. New orders placed after that date and time are expected to ship on Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Since the USA version of the Blu-Ray Remote is expected to arrive in mid-late January 2007, we'll likely stop stocking the Japanese version after next week and after all demand has been filled.

Parappa the Rapper PSP Pouches Two Parappa pouches that were released in Japan last week will arrive tomorrow. PJ Berri sleeps like a log on one of them and Parappa lounges on the other. Similar to the LocoRoco pouch from Sony, the Parappa pouches follow the slim design of the standard PSP pouch included with the Japanese Value Packs. We'll post photos on tomorrow's update.

Japanese Wii Accessories Restock Classic controllers are available for US$29 and the Nunchuk is on stock again at US$35. Pricing for Japanese Wii consoles are expected to drop to US$345 next week after the holiday rush.

Bomberman Bakuhatu Plush

The Japanese word "Bakuhatu" means "Explode" and that's what Bomberman's bombs do. To capitalize on the decades old Bomberman craze, Banpresto has started preorders for a plush bomb which sports a lit fuse on top and a sound chip inside. When the chip is triggered, various sounds roar forth from the innards of the plush which are meant to recreate explosive video game aurals. For example, the product solicitation mentions that each plush makes two sounds: "BOOMB!" and "POM!" which are lovingly sampled from the Bomberman games. We'll perform the obligatory sound recordings once the Bomberman Bakuhatu Plushes are in stock. Two color variants are on offer and preorders are welcome today.

Nintendo T-Shirt Collection

Other than the Dolce & Gabbana Mario T-shirt, official Nintendo-themed clothing isn't widely available. Knock-offs are a dime a dozen however. We've seen misshapen caricatures of Mario and his brethren on t-shirts sold in China and on assorted sites across the web where the concepts of copyright and intellectual property are anathema.
Banpresto bolsters the cause of properly licensed Nintendo clothing by announcing three tees with retro Nintendo themes as follows:

(A) Marios stand facing each other in a 6 x 4 array on a navy blue shirt
(B) A stencil of the original Family Computer atop a red crewneck shirt
(C) Stars, mushrooms, and flowers join a lone Mario on a black shirt

Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late June 2007.

Yua Aida Trading Cards

The top JAV idol at production studio S1 is Yua Aida, a 22 year-old whose hobbies include tennis and oil painting. When Yua Aida poses for candid shots, she frequently throws out the victory sign or waves for the camera. When posing for professional photo shoots however, she's all business and the hand jive is banished. As in, banished by the photographer. To celebrate Yua Aida's skill at dressing up and appearing photogenic, a set of glossy trading cards have been announced which feature Yua Aida in different settings and in various stages of dress and undress.

The preorder solicitation mentions that 114 different cards are in the set and the cards are packaged 7 per pack. Each factory case includes 12 packs for a total of 84 cards in each case. The types of cards in the set are:

» Regular Cards [72 types] » Clear Cards [18 types]
» Clothing Card [17 types] » Autograph Signature Card [3 types]
» 1/1 Checkicard [1 type] » 1/1 Film Card [1 type]
» Kiss Imprint Card [1 type] » Secret Card [1 type]

Pricing per pack is US$4.50 and preorders ship in Feb 2007.

Animal Crossing Card Case

Yujin releases Nintendo DS game card carriers which feature peachy Animal Crossing themes. Six styles are available and each case opens up like a book and holds three NDS games in transparent sleeves inside. Each Animal Crossing card case includes a sheet of stickers which may be pasted on the case or upon any other suitable surface.
Since the AXing card cases are so petite, gamers may store their monthly rotation of NDS cards (figure about 12 games spread across four carriers) in the little leaflets and throw the lot of them in a gym bag, a satchel, or a man-purse. The red one with polka dots. Preorders ship today and new orders are welcome.

Super Mario Bros Towels

Apparently, the first batch of Nintendo-themed towels that shipped in May 2005 weren't enough to slake Banpresto's lust for retro Ninty exploitation. To fill the coffers labeled "Towel Revenue 2006," the company releases a trio of Super Mario Bros themed towels which measure 35 x 72 cm or roughly 14 x 28" in area. That's enough moisture-soaking cotton to dry any rain-soaked wanderer or any beach bound vagabond. While the black "Game Over" towel might not send the right message with the two plumbers seemingly in their death throes, the other two are cheery enough to use in a public beach or at the local pool.

The towels are as follows:
(A) Mario climbs a vine
(B) Game Over
(C) Bonus!!

Every towel is packaged in a flimsy cardboard cube that's designed to look like a bonus brick block from the Super Mario Bros games. Since the towel inside offers no solidity or resistance to outside pressure, the cardboard cubes are easily crushed so we'll pack them carefully. Preorders will ship today and new orders are welcome.