Post Holiday Blues

The "B" team and possibly the "C" team are in force today at UPS and Fedex. This means the regular workers and drivers are still on vacation and an army of temp workers are handling the holiday shift.
One of our import shipments from Japan arrived this morning which contained things we didn't need but everything else is still somewhere out there. According to tracking updates this morning, our remaining import shipments are all "Out for Delivery" so there's a good chance that we'll receive the rest later today. Til then, we'll twiddle thumbs, collectively stare at the north wall, look outside through the frosted windows, and if we're really lucky - shingle the roof in freezing temperatures.
In related news, please note that UPS is not picking up GROUND or 3-DAY shipments today. They'll only be picking up and shipping out 1-DAY and 2-DAY packages. As such, UPS Ground and 3-DAY packages will ship out on Monday.

Club Nintendo Platinum Member Exclusives Available from NCS

Nintendo reaches back a few console generations, grabs the Super Famicom controller, and retrofits it for use on the Wii’s Virtual Console. Preorders ship in April 2008 at US$30 each.

The second Club Nintendo exclusive item available for preorder today: Enjoy the jingles and tunes of Super Mario Galaxy without a Wii with the Original Soundtrack Platinum version which contains two CDs featuring a total of 81 tracks of aural majesty. Preorders ship in January 2008 at US$33.

Kanu Unchou and Alice in Wonderland - Preorder

Griffon has started preorders for a 1/7 scale Kanu Unchou Limited Deluxe version figure where the mighty warrior kneels nearly nude and appears to palm her own boob. Preorders are welcome to ship in late December 2007.
On the other end of the spectrum, Alter starts preorders for a new rendition of Alice in Wonderland where the pipsqueak curtsies. Sort of. Preorders ship in March 2008.

Wecle Ats Special Production Offers - Preorder

Japanese manufacturer Wecle Ats is soliciting preorders for two special figures. Once we place our order, production of the figures will be completed and ready for delivery within 1-2 months.

The first figure is a Tweety X Roen Jeans resin figure which measures 55cm or 21.65" in height. Two color variants are on offer - a banana yellow version or a monochrome model.

The 9th Anniversary Mickey Mouse is also made of resin and measures 65cm or 25.59" tall. A color and monochrome version are available for preorder. Please note a $250 deposit is required.

Akumajou Dracula X Chronicles Konamistyle - Arrival

Email notifications for the Dracula X Chronicles - Konamistyle bundles have been sent and confirmed orders will ship today. The items in the first bundle are as follows:

» Akumajou Dracula X Chronicles game
» The Dracula X Chronicles strap with puffy sticker attachment
» The Dracula X Chronicles PSP carrying bag with drawstring
» PSP screen protector (inside the plastic bag with the carrying bag)
» Dracula X Chronicle Artbook (Hardcover, 32 glossy pages)
» The Dracula X Chronicles poster

The illustrations in the book are by Ayami Kojima who's been the default artist for the series since the olden days. The first section features full-page character artwork from Rondo of Blood and the second section brims with familiar works from Symphony of Night.

We also imported the most complete version of the Konamistyle bundle which includes the aforementioned six items but adds the following:

» The Dracula X Chronicles coin purse with zipper closure
» The Dracula X Chronicles Original Soundtrack (2 CDs; 56 tracks)

Similar to other Konamistyle product bundles, please note that there is no special retail box which holds all of the goodies in a compact manner. Everything's stuffed into long cardboard shipping containers and we assemble the bundles together ourselves. We should have some bundles available for sale tomorrow but we'll give everyone on our reservation list 24 hours to confirm their preorders. If there are any cancellations, we'll post up which bundles are available tomorrow along with shopping links.

Push! Helicopter - Preorder

Back in the day when we were punk kids growing up, toy helicopters were not readily available. What was available cost upwards of $500 and higher. As technology progressed and China became the manufacturing stage for the entire globe, toy helicopters started trickling out a couple of years ago for the general consumer market. They've gotten so cheap that Taito will use them as amusement center prizes in Japan next year. We've got a bead on a few manufacturer cases and we'll post reviews once we receive them. Toy dimensions: 20cm x 15cm x 5cm. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late March 2008 at US$19 each.

Sesame Street Full Ponpon Coat Mascot - Preorder

Tykes around the world have grown up with Sesame Street characters and a bounty of related goods are released in Japan each year. Omron recently announced six Sesame Street products but we're only importing one of them - the SS Full Ponpon Coat Mascots. The characters are in baby incarnation and wear fluffy coats as follows:

(A) Elmo - (B) Cookie Monster - (C) Big Bird

Even as a baby, Cookie Monster has crazy eyes. The Sesame Street mascots measure 8cm or 3.14" in height and preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late Feb 2008 at US$16 for the complete set of three.

Ragnarok Online Poring Mascot Keychain - Preorder

The Poring product barrage continues in March 2008 with a collection of four reasonably sized plush Poring Mascot Keychains. From the upper left and rolling clockwise, the beasts are as follows:

(1) Poring - Bright eyes, pink patina, and a crooked smile = love.
(2) Arc Angeling - Aqua-blue color to match the heavens above
(3) Poporing - A green teardrop shaped beastie
(4) Drops - Golden-wheat colored beast with a pained expression

A quaff of prune juice might relieve Drops' malady. The Poring keychains measure 6cm or 2.36" in diameter and preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late March 2008 at the price of US$16 for the complete set of four.