Nightmare Before Christmas iPod

Go ahead and add "Nightmare Before Christmas" to your scorecard for special edition iPods (you have a collection, don't you?). Between the TiVo edition, Hello Kitty edition, Neon Genesis Evangelion edition, Star Wars edition, U2 edition, HP edition, and probably a slew of others, the special editions don't seem so special anymore. Runat has announced the release of the "Nightmare Before Christmas BOX," which includes a 20GB iPod with Jack Skellington on the case, a few wheel stickers, and a Nightmare Before Christmas-themed carrying case. Oh yeah, and a free T-shirt! All this for a mere 52,500 yen (~$475 USD). Of course this is Japan only, don't you know they're the ones still obsessed with Burton?

[Joe Smith @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

More special edition iPods than regular ones.

[Andy Barker @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Money for old rope and floging a dead horse spring straight to mind.

Give me a creative Zen (any model) anyday. Better sound, better battery, more kudos. Sorry Apple you products may appeal to the image orientated people but for us who care about the quality of sound you just dont cut it, You never have.

[nathan Ziarek @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Andy -
I just have to disagree. While I do think the iPod is in need of a serious update, my mini lasts almost 19 hours (that's an hour more than Apple say it willl) of continuous use. That puts the Zen or Zen micro's ~12 hour to shame.

As for sound quality, I won't judge, since I've not spent extensive time listening to my music collection on a Zen.

Then you miss a large part of the equation: iTunes & iTMS. I have spent a lot of time using Napster & Yahoo Music, and in terms of ease of use, slickness and integration, iTunes is top of the pack, bar none.

When it comes down to it, I don't think Apple's products are for "image conscious" people (heck, it is the Zen that features a mesmerizing blue glow). It is for people that like simplicity and items that just work. Part of that is having a lack of choice. If you can accept that those two things go hand in hand, Apple becomes a relevant & excellent option.

[Jack Jackington @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Champ,
you're so image orientated that you're letting everyone know how you wont carry the iPod because it's image orientated. You posted a two sentance blurb about your image, on a gadget message board.
enjoy your zen,
you counter culture hero you

[Andy Barker @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

> enjoy your zen,
> you counter culture hero you

hahahaha Superb. Cheers mate i Always will.

but in all seriousness, I just prefer the Zen touch. I take my music extremely seriously an want the best possible sound. I've had an iPod and ebayed it as soon as i tried out the Zen touch. The sound is just so much better. The iPod is like spending thousands on quality hi-fi separates then using the standard white / red interconnects to hook it all up. The Zen is the same system with gold interconnects and decent speaker cable

[mikeyp @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

HEY, I AGREE WITH YA ANDY!!!

my zen micro kills my cousins ipod mini hands down!

[Eric Doggett @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Hey guys - anyone have an idea on if this product is available for english speaking people? I know someone who is a NBC fanatic, but alas, I can't read Japanese :)

[Marilyn @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

I think I'll just send my existing iPod to these guys and see if I can get a full Jack on the back on mine ;-) http://www.etchamac.com/ipod.php

[happy gilmore @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

itunes & itms? what is that crap?

doesn't everyone just download their music off the newsgroups anymore? :p

[ty @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

475 USD for a 20gb mp3 player?

Repeat after me:

STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL

[Peff_D @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Burton ROCKS!

[consumer_q @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Eric Doggett.
While I am sure you could it imported for a price, there is a cheaper alternative to getting Jack Skeleton on your iPod:
http://www.etchamac.com/

cheers!

[xVariable @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

You know what would be REALLY cool? Go to tatoo artist, and collborate with him on a truely orignal, signed creation. Then take it to an engraver and have it etched into you DAP (signature and all. You know, for that artsy-fartsy touch...).

Or you *could* just buy Apple's overpriced droid dongle, sure...

[grimfandango @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

i'd never pay 500ish bucks for one, but w00 skellington w00

-grim

[Baumann @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

"Repeat after me: It's not uncool to be an individual"

Anyone else see the irony there?

[Arthur barnhouse @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP! Can we have one post, just one, about Creative or the iPod that doesn't turn into a flame war? Do you creative fans understand you sound like a bunch of Apple zelot rejects?

[Ken @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

wow, these look lame. i want one!

really, i don't - why would you pay for an ipod that just has some crappy little stencil on the back?

if they are going to make cool custom special edition ipods - especially of nightmare before christmas - couldn't they do something better? perhaps make the case itself have a custom form ans possibly resemble characters from the movie, at the very least change the case to some anodized black or something!

[JeffDM @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

It's pretty unfortunate that stories about portable audio players turn out to be such troll-fests. I say give it a rest. We all have our favorites, and trolling like this isn't going to win any "converts". There aren't any coolness points in being mean either.

For one, it seems like way too many people are wrapping their identity up in their favorite device, or even in just being "pro-" or "anti-" iPod.

No device is perfect, and no device is for everyone.

[stingraze @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

You know, this was around for a while.

[Dereck @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Er.... yes... The Japanese are the only ones still obsessed with Tim Burton. That's why WE are the ones who have had new Nightmare Before Christmas products such as action figures, tshirts/other aparrel, keychains, decorative paper scrolls and other new items manufactured for sale here. And that's why we have the upcoming movie The Corpse Bride... and the Nightmare Before Christmas special at Disneyland that was responsible for 3 hour long lines at the themed Haunted Mansion which ran from november until New Years. Not only that, but the event was brought back since the year 2000 until just last year, in 2004. Next time, TRY to sound more informed about what you're writing, okay?

[Johnny @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Dereck -- I disagree; Liam was spot-on in the post. Wallscrolls and Disneyland specials do not an obsession make. The amount of merchandising firepower and general pop-cultural cachet attributed in Japan to this 12-year-old Burton flick is astonishing.

Liam never said that NBC isn't still well-liked stateside, so there's no need to be offended. It's just that the film's combination of "goth" and "cute" has been embraced by an entire generation of Japanese fans, to a degree unheard of on these shores.

[Styles @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Now.. I just bought an Ipod and I am rather anoyed with the sound quality. I expected much better for my money and my individualism. Now.. as much as I do like being an individual.. I like the wireless headphones that have come out for it. So, I had been mused into the Ipod. If zen has beter quality music and has some wireless headphones.. I am all for sending my Ipod back....

As for this model of Ipod.. What the hell. It's a little sticker. If they re-modeled the thing and made it black, grey and white.. then maybe.. just maybe, it would be worth it.
Also, I love Burton and I'm not Japanese, am I a freak?

[Dereck @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Johnny,
Where is it that you get your information? How is it that you know that Japan has a superior amount of fans, as compared to America? What is it that makes you believe that the craze in Japan is stronger there? Disneyana is a term which relates to any official Disney merchandise, but especially includes the limited and rare items. Nightmare before Christmas items are very high in demand, from the customers in the United states. It's called Disneyana. Just about everything Disney (with a few exceptions) has become an obsession to many of the country (as well as others). Now I'm not saying its popularity in japan is predominant (especially when comparing percentages of population), but seriously. There is no proof of your belief that Japan's "generation" of NBC lovers dominates that of America. Among my generation, Nightmare Before Christmas is quite well loved, and Tim Burton fans are rampant ( Director of Beetlejuice, Batman/Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, Mars Attacks). Let's not forget the recent box office hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. To state "don�t you know they�re the ones still obsessed with Burton?" is an enormously false statement. I'm not angry, or offended. I'm not a raging fan either, I just happen to know my facts, and no, Burtonmania does not reside entirely in Japan.

[Dereck @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Oh, yes. And nowhere in my post did I mention wallscrolls. I meant a collectors scroll of paper sold solely at Disneyland, and I don't think I need to tell you how popular souveniers and other Disneyana are.

[Johnny @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

Wow, Dereck, let's take it down a notch or two. I just came back from living in Japan for a year. My information comes from personal experience. There is indeed ample proof of Japanese teens and 20-something's pervasive love of NBC. You can find a great deal of NBC schwag in practically any toy or department store in Japan, and pins, keitai straps, etc. can be spotted all over. You don't have to go to Disneyland to find it -- you only have to go around the block.

I don't doubt the popularity of Disneyana, and I'm aware that Burton is an accomplished, widely admired director. In the particular case of NBC, though, it is just far more pervasive in 2005 Japan it is in 2005 U.S. I don't see why this should be such an affront to American fans -- it's a tribute, after all, to the lasting charm of the film.

I was just trying to politely point out that if you don't take Liam's remark literally -- it was a joke, after all -- he does has a valid point about the relative cultural currency of NBC in Japan and the United States. I think that is borne out in the fact that, Disneyana collectors aside, an NBC iPod would be met by a collective "WTF?" by the mainstream American market.

As an NBC fan, you should head to Japan if you ever can. There's a ton of stuff over there that, like the iPod, is only-in-Japan. (But unlike the iPod, it's not all so extravagant.) You could make some great additions to your collection, and you could probably pick up some extras and make a killing on the American collectors' market. Hope you get the chance.

[Dereck @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

I get the sense from your non-afflicted response that you're a really great guy and I apologize if my replies came off testy at all. In any case, I'm not a particular collector. I just happen to be a little savvy with how intense the Disney collector fever is.

There are hundreds of things to go to Japan for, but NBC would be pretty low on my list if I were to want to go. There's always the food, the various attractions, and I always imagined that markets would carry all sorts of quirky things you would never see here, even in a Mitsuwa. I'm kind of a food buff, so I suppose trying out all the specialized local cuisine would be a high priority, even before historical sites and buildings.

[Johnny @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

If you're a food buff, you should definitely go. Shoot me an e-mail if you ever decide to make the trip, and I'll try to point you in the right culinary directions!

[spear @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

"475 USD for a 20gb mp3 player?

Repeat after me:

STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL
STEVE JOBS IS NOT A GOD
IT'S NOT UNCOOL TO BE AN INDIVIDUAL"



are you on crack?!?!?!

the 20 GB costs 300$ u retard

[bufu @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

ah yes Styles, i would highly recommend that you try out the zen series of MP3 players, theres the touch, micro and the new Sleek 20gig(looks like the touch replacement)add a set of good headphones and you'll drool and wonder why the hell you ever got an ipod in the first place.

(i recommend you use "smart sound" by Cre^tive)

[Josh @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

For everyone who says you don't like the sound quality of the iPod:
Encode the music at a higher bit-rate. It's not the iPod that sounds bad, it's low bit-rate songs, and the iPod is so true that you hear the flaws. Maybe the Zen just can't reproduce the songs as true as they are.

[robin @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

I heartily agree with Josh, with 192 kbps songs the ipod plays a lovely unbeatable tune. Many people download songs off kazaa or napster without checking their quality and they turn out wretched when better versions are available.

[robin @ Dec 19th 2005 2:28AM]

p.s. Tim Burton's the man! I can't wait for his "corpse bride" movie with depp.

while 479 is hardly a price I'd be willing to pay, if it were relatively cheap to etch skellington onto my ipod I'd definitely do it. why not? why wear a baseball cap?