Link has been a hero since 1986 when he starred in The Hyrule Fantasy. In his debut, Link battled the forces of Ganon and rescued Princess Zelda from Ganon's clutches. Since the early years of the franchise, Link has gone on to feature in over 20 sequels, adjuncts, and related games. Link's up there with the likes of Sonic and Mario for the most recognizable characters in gaming.
Japanese manufacturer Sanei started preorders for two Link plushes earlier this year which were originally scheduled to ship in September 2007. They were delayed to early December but we have them in our grips now. The "Large" Link plush measures 32cm or 12.59" tall while the "Small" plush measures 18cm or 7.08" in height. Both plushes feature the same design however where Link seemingly looks to the heavens and his arms are lifted to the side. Sort of like a bird about to take flight. The photo shows Link seated but his legs aren't fixed in that position and they may be dangled if he's propped up in some manner.
In the early minutes of the Pikmin 2 video game, Captain Olimar found his employer in financial distress. Hocotate Freight was deep in the red and nearing ruin. With little prospects for a turnaround without emergency intervention, Olimar was asked to return to the world of Pikmin to raise a little wealth for the company. Ever the loyal and obedient employee, Olimar headed into space once again in a junky jalopy of a ship to marshal the Pikmin population for a greater cause: Capitalism.
Pikmin plushes have been great sellers whenever we've been able to import them. They're not easy to stock because even when we preorder, Japanese distributors generally can't fill all of the quantities we require for our retail and wholesale markets. Case in point, we preordered a total of five different Pikmin plushes a few months ago. We got one today. The White Pikmin with red eyes. We never took preorders for the Pikmin plushes because we sort of knew there would be shortages but the White Pikmin is available for sale today. The little guy measures 17cm or 6.69" tall and is pleasantly soft to the touch. The pink flower on top of the Pikmin's stalk is pliable and should be able to stay stitched even with a little rough housing. Pricing is set at US$13.50 and new orders are welcome.
If you're the type of international player who likes to stand out from the crowd, a Deep Red Slim PSP would accomplish those lofty goals nicely. Instead of going with glossy black or ceramic white like 99% of the PSP population, choose the Deep Red variant and be unique. Nevermind that the unit looks like a big hunk of cherry lipstick molded into the shape of Sony's portable wunderkind. The PSP Value Pack also includes a carrying case, a strap, a32M memory stick, and a cleaning cloth. Preorders will ship today and new orders are welcome.
Similar to last week, a bunch of toy shipments are slowly trickling in over the course of the day. Based on the preliminary proforma invoice, we should also be receiving and shipping the following toys to preorders this afternoon:
» Metal Gear 20th Anniversary Kubricks (Factory case of 24)
» Metal Gear 20th Anniversary Kubricks (Individual Figure)
» CoCoNa PVC Figure by Shunya Yamashita
» Dead or Alive Extreme 2 Ayane
» Final Fantasy Cloud Strife 1/4 Scale Statue
» FFVII Crisis Core Soldier Key Holder
» Halloween Musume
» Macross Zero 1/60 Scale QF-2200D-B Ghost Booster
» Tachikoma 2008 Calendar and Figure Set
» Winnie the Pooh Limited Edition Wristwatch
» Disney Fantasia Limited Edition Wristwatch
There might be additional toys arriving this afternoon other than what's listed above but we'll post full updates and photos tomorrow. Our suppliers also listed the "Dots Start" sets as being shipped. These were sold out earlier this year and they were apparently able to locate them for us again. Any backorders should ship later today if everything makes it in on time.
Squall Leonhart of FFVIII fame leads another quintet of toy figures based on Square's fabled Final Fantasy franchise. The other heroes featured in the Trading Arts Mini Vol. 2 set are:
» Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca - A princess turned freedom fighter
» Auron - The bruiser wearing shades and a red/black ensemble
» Basch fon Ronsenburg - Dalmascan knight with medieval mullet
» Tifa Lockhart - Athletic gal-pal of Cloud Strife in Final Fantasy VII
Preorders are scheduled to ship in mid-late April 2008 at $40.90/box.
The competition between Mario and Donkey Kong began way back in the day. All the way back to 1981 when a coin-op named Donkey Kong pitted a portly jumping plumber against a big ape for the heart of a non-descript lady named Pauline.
The rivalry heated up in recent years and came to a head in the recent Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis when Pauline chose a mini Mario toy over a mini Donkey Kong toy. Fireworks ensued with another kidnapping and Mario running to the rescue once more.
It took a while but Epoch finally capitalizes on the Mario vs Donkey Kong franchise by announcing Mario plushes based on the mini toys featured in the game. Three sizes and six different styles are on offer as follows:
» Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 Small Plush
Three different styles with each plush measuring 13cm or 5.11" in height. A little beaded chain is attached to the top of each plush for tethering to your keys or maybe to your book bag. Price: US$12 per plush.
» Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 Medium Plush
Two different styles with each plush measuring 18cm or or 7.08" in height. One plush is seated while the other stands at attention. $18 each.
» Mario vs Donkey Kong 2 Large Plush
The grandpappy of them all, the Large Mario Mini plush towers 33cm or 12.99" tall. Price: US$29 each.
Preorders are welcome to ship at the end of December or early January 2008. The plushes are apparently being released soon but the holiday next week will probably delay outbound shipments from Japan.
The Monster Hunter games are all about venturing out into the world and butchering helpless creatures big and small. When a bunch of docile vegetarian monsters are grazing on some leafy vegetables, a hero can charge in and wipe them all out with a few sword strokes and berserker-fueled rage. Y'know, get your KILL ON. Once decimated, the monsters can be carved into a bunch of tasty mutton chops. Nice.
Monster Hunter wasn't all about death however. In a marked contrast against the main gist of the game, there's also camaraderie with pet pigs known as Pugi. Since the Pugi in Monster Hunter can be dressed up in various clothing styles, it's only natural that toys based on dressy Pugi be released in Japan. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late March 08.
After tallying up all of the sales for GT5: Prologue from last week, over the weekend, and into this morning, it's safe to say that Sony's little car game represents our best selling Playstation 3 title to date. Remember the unadulterated madness of last year when the PS3 debuted and people were shelling out $1000 for a 60GB unit? We sold a lot of consoles but very few games. There were days when we'd be shipping out 150 consoles every afternoon and maybe 50 games. As in, 50 games total.
It's been like that over the past year although our domestic PS3 software sales have been spiking up on the strength of releases such as Uncharted and Kain & Lynch. In any case, the power of the Gran Turismo name was in evidence last week and continues this week. It also helps that the PS3 is region-free and we're able to ship the game to customers around the world since everyone can play it without restriction. We've restocked the game again today and new orders are welcome.
