Toy manufacturers have used Nintendo's brands and characters in various dot graphics toy, strap, and keychain offerings over the past couple of years. The products have invariably been popular and sold well which has encouraged further merchandising attempts.
Square Enix gets into the dot graphics trade by announcing the Dragon Quest Dot Monsters Sets. A total of 16 magnets are featured in the collection along with 6 trading cards. Each magnet measures 3cm or 1.18" and SQEnix throws in 2 magnets and 1 card per retail box. Stick the magnets on your refrigerator and use the Slimes to hold up "To Do" and shopping lists. Pricing is set at JPY300 or US$3.50 per set. To order a factory sealed case of 12 toys, please enter a quantity of 12 in your shopping cart.
Spiky-haired Ichigo Kurosaki leads another quintet of Bleach characters in a new plush set from Banpresto. Each plush measures 15cm or 5.90" tall and the characters are as follows from the left and moving to the right: Rangiku Matsumoto, Ichigo Kurosaki, Renji Abarai, Ikkaku Madarame, and Toushiro Hitsugawa. Preorders ship in mid-late February 2007.
When a new Dragon Quest game is released in Japan, lines of anxious gamers may be seen snaking around the block outside LAOX or Sofmap shops as harried employees inside prepare for the queue. It's good then that most Japanese patrons are mild-mannered and mob mentality is rare. Although the DQ games sell like hotcakes, Dragon Quest toys receive a more tempered reception from the fan base. Square Enix's DQ Figure Collection Legend may change all that with its gathering of beautifully sculpted 7cm PVC figures which are based on the heroes and heroines of the Dragon Quest games through the years. Preorders are scheduled to ship in mid-late Dec 2006 at US$4.50 per randomly packaged figure.
The sixth series of Naruto plushes feature five familiar faces and throw no surprises or new characters at the fan base. As such, NCS predicts poor sales for this particular set. The fighters featured are as follows from the left and going right: Gaara, Naruto, Neji, Kakashi, and Shikamaru. Each plush measures 18cm or 7.08" tall. Preorders ship in mid-late Feb 2007.
Mickey Mouse is generally known as a jovial sort of rodent with a sunny disposition and a squeaky voice. Things weren't so in the "Runaway Brain" 7-minute movie where a misguided doctor named Frankenollie exchanged Mickey's brain with the crazed brain of a monster named Julius.
The Runaway Brain Mickey vinyl figure from Medicom was originally released in the spring of 2005 but a new production has been announced to ship in mid-late December 2006. Mickey sports bloodshot eyes and clenches the ground with his mitts as if his life depended on it. The snarling and vicious demeanor won't win him any congeniality awards. Runaway Brain Mickey measures 15cm or 5.90" in length and is packaged in a blue card box box with window for easy viewing of the monster within. Preorders are welcome to ship in December at JPY4800 or US$49 from NCS.
The latest Pokemon games (Diamond and Pearl) ship in Japan next week but in an apparent lack of logistical planning, Banpresto won't release the Pokemon Diamond and Pearl plushes until January 2007. The plushes measure 15cm or 5.90" tall and five types are on offer but we don't see Munchlax amongst the quintet. On the top row and going from left to right, we have Naetoru, Hikozaru, and Pochama which are perfect plush representations of their video game incarnations. On the bottom row, Dialga and Palkia sort of look like their video game counterparts. Preorders are scheduled to ship in mid-late January 2007 at US$10.50 per plush.
When Mario bops his noggin underneath a bonus block, a jingling chime sounds out to indicate his reward. That, or a big old mushroom leaps out and starts to vamoose. Banpresto exploits their seemingly perpetual Mario license by announcing two big and beautiful Mario-themed plushes which measure approximately 23cm or 9.05" in height and nearly that much in length. The plushes appear to be standard toys but they're fitted with a sound chip and speaker inside which make sounds when bopped. For example, punch the bonus block and listen to the classic Mario coin jingle or bop the Goomba and listen to "Hekoshi." Preorders ship in Feb 2007.
Toy manufacturers have used Nintendo's brands and characters in various dot graphics toy, strap, and keychain offerings over the past couple of years. The products have invariably been popular and sold well which has encouraged further merchandising attempts.
