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Kratos' Blade of Chaos up for sale, some strings attached
We know that there are a few cutlery enthusiasts out there who read that headline and immediately clicked the source link to purchase Kratos' Blade of Chaos from retailer BUDK. Before you do so, you should take into account a few facts: Kratos' weapons are being sold piecemeal on the site, so that $123.99 price tag only represents the cost of a single Blade. What's the point of having a single Blade of Chaos? Unless you're ironically cosplaying as Amputee Kratos, you're going to need two, so you should mentally jack that price up to $247.98. Replica swords are dangerous. Replica swords that you attach to your wrists with chains and then swing around like a madman are extremely dangerous.
Apple gives Vancouver Olympic visitors a rare treasure
For some fans of the Olympic Winter Games, it's all about the beauty and grace of figure skating. For others, it's the organized chaos of short-track speed skating, or the aerial bravado of the half-pipe. And for some, it has nothing to do with the sports of winter. Instead, they're intent on pin trading and collecting. While this may sound like an odd pastime, for some Olympic fans pin collecting is a huge deal. The official Vancouver 2010 website store lists 459 different pins for collecting and trading with others, but those aren't all of the pins that fans will find. Often, local businesses or organizations will make their own pins to give away or sell, and at these Winter Games, Apple joined in on the fun. TUAW reader Alan Waite was in Vancouver earlier in the week to attend the Games and visited the Apple Store at Pacific Centre. Much to his surprise, Apple was giving away a limited edition set of pins (see photo above) to store visitors to commemorate the event. Very classy, Apple! Waite noted that the Apple Store at Oakridge Centre had a special red iPod nano pin with the Canadian maple leaf on the screen. Custom pins like these aren't as common as the mass-market versions sold by the official Olympics website, so Alan not only has cool memorabilia from the 2010 Winter Games, but a relatively rare piece of swag as well.
Halo fan selling off huge collection of merchandise for two good causes
It's still a little early in 2010 to be handing out our "Human of the Year" award, but a Halo.Bungie.org forum poster by the username of Seraph XXVII is already high atop our list of candidates. In a recent post on the fan site, Seraph displayed his massive Halo memorabilia collection, seen above, and revealed that he'll be auctioning the whole lot off within the next few days. Half of the proceeds from the auction are going to Child's Play, and the other half will go towards paying the medical expenses of a fellow Halo.Bungie.org forumite, whose fiancee learned she had a tennis ball-sized brain tumor last week. Needless to say, both of these are great causes -- if you've got room in your home for six bajillion miniature Spartans, why not show your support once the auction goes live?
Sega replacing busted Facehuggers in AvP Hunter Edition
Is the "Facehugger" figurine that came bundled with your Hunter Edition of Aliens vs. Predator missing its tail appendage? That's an important component for the Facehugger's chest-impregnating ritual, you know. How else is the little guy supposed to keep his balance whilst tenderly inserting its glistening ovipositor into your larynx and filling your chest cavity with its ripe brood-seed? Fortunately, Sega's replacing the broken 'huggers -- just fill out this form using the map pack download code that came with the Hunter Edition, and wait for your new, skittering friend to arrive. We highly suggest picking up extra flamethrower fuel during the interim.
Lost Planet 2 action figures vs. your wallet
Capcom has inked a deal with Japanese toymaker collectibles purveyor Kotobukiya that will see the latter producing toys action figures based on the Variable Suits (i.e. power armor) featured in Lost Planet 2. Set to mech their debut in May, the two VS reproductions will retail for $39.99 each -- which seems pretty steep, until you consider just how detailed they actually are. Both figures will stand 6" tall and feature more than 20 points of articulation, plus functioning canopies and -- taking a cue from the game -- removable, interchangeable heavy weapons. It'll be up to you to provide the appropriate sound effects. Check out slightly larger photos of the itty-bitty bots after the break.
Wowhead store now open for business
A tipster named James sent us a pointer to store.wowhead.com a little while ago, and as a few people have noticed since, the Wowhead store is now open for business! Here's what they're selling: Official Wowhead merchandise (a t-shirt, a hoodie, and a mousepad, so far - does anyone still use mousepads?) WoW paraphernalia, like those steins, and some LapWorks and Steelseries hardware products. Some random gaming hardware that seems to have nothing to do with WoW, like Guitar Hero for PS2, and Xbox 360 accessories. It is at a discount, though, so that's cool. The Burning Crusade collector's edition. I guess they had some extra copies [now seems to be sold out]. One interesting feature of the store is "reward points." Every item you can buy gets you a certain number of reward points; the amount loosely correlates with price, but I couldn't determine a direct correspondence from one to the other. Basically they idea is: buy stuff, earn points, spend points on rewards. So far the rewards consist of the original WoW and the various Wowhead merchandise, and the points add up fast - as the site points out, a $30 Xbox controller nets you enough points for a copy of WoW, and almost enough for a t-shirt. For the technically inclined, I inquired about the underlying technology of the shop. The front-end work is all in-house, and so should hold true to the beautiful Wowhead aesthetic, but the e-commerce engine is the popular open-source platform Magento.
Replica tabards and banners from Windlass Studios
Blizzard has announced that they've partnered with a company called Windlass Studios to release real-life versions of a couple popular in-game banners and tabards. $40 will get you a banner of the Alliance or Horde, while $80 will get you a real-life faction tabard to wear. Each of the pieces is apparently 100% cotton, and silkscreened with the familiar faction insignia. Very interesting -- we've seen some nice fanmade pieces before, but these are commercial releases bearing official logos. The company has also released a latex rubber version of Frostmourne -- it's not quite as nice as the Epic Weapons metal version, but then again, it's $149, and the metal version is over $400. I still wouldn't spend over $100 on a rubber sword, but hey, if that's your thing, there you go. And speaking of spending money on rubber costumes, the Blizzard store is also chock full of Halloween costumes this year, and there are a few other masks, including Illidan and a new Draenei mask, floating around the Internet for purchase as well.
Safeguard your virginity with this limited edition Master Chief bust
Get ready to lie, cheat and steal because ONE2ONE Collectibles has revealed an insanely detailed Master Chief bust for the low, low price of $249. This "strictly limited," 1:2 scale bust of Halo's most popular playable character -- unless that gets topped somehow -- stands at 12 inches tall and 12 inches wide, and is set to be released during Q4 2009. If the Chief isn't your character of choice, ONE2ONE also revealed that busts of a Brute Chieftain and ODST Marine are on the way. Get those pocketbooks ready, ladies and gentlemen. This could be an expensive fourth quarter, after all.[Via TeamXbox]
Jake Gyllenhaal made plastic, portable, still dreamy
McFarlane Toys has announced that it's making a line of collectibles based on Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer's forthcoming Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time motion picture. The movie's due out next May, and as fate (or marketing) would have it, so are the toys. The toymaker doesn't have anything for us to actually look at yet, but there are plenty of details to be had on just exactly what we can expect to be taking up shelf space at your local toy store / comic book merchant / Jake Gyllenhaal fan club gift shop. Unlike many of McFarlane's figures, the 4" and 6" mini-Jakes and pals will be fully articulated. We're not certain, though, if the promised "battle horses" will be as limber. A playset (yep, they still make those) is also in the works, as is something wholly non-action-figure: A replica Dagger of Time, complete with "disappearing sand," LED lighting and -- because safety trumps cool -- a "soft vinyl blade." We imagine it'll be perfect for dealing with "huggable plush sand monsters" and "Tickle Me Nizam."
Ratchet & Clank action figures pop up for pre-order
Those DC Unlimited Ratchet & Clank figures we first told you about back in March have been dated for December release by Amazon, as relayed by Insomniac Games on Twitter. Four sets will be available on December 9: Ratchet & Clank; Armored Ratchet with Mr. Zurkon; Dr. Nefarious with Zoni; and Captain Quark with Scrunch.Each set carries a price tag of $19.99, so they're not cheap. But, if they're anything like the rest of DC's collectible action figures, they won't be cheap looking or feeling, either. Oh, and did we mention that Clank transforms and attaches to Ratchet's back? Maybe they could even teach Michael Bay a thing or two about remaining faithful to your source material.[Via VGBlogger]
Weta's Cortana statue unboxed, fabulous
About a year ago, Weta -- the studio behind the effects and sets in the Lord of the Rings films -- announced it was producing several Halo collectibles, including an awfully gorgeous Cortana statue. It looks like a Halo fan by the name of MsValentine has finally laid hands on one and, lucky for us, she decided to share the unboxing pictures with the whole internet. These things are going for upwards of $150, so, unless you've got the cash to throw around, this might be the only chance you'll have to actually see one.Our verdict: It looks pretty slick, apart from that distracting Master Chief hand.[Via HBO]
Sideshow Collectibles releasing 'premium format' Kratos figure, God of War dioramas
The show may be over, but more video game related news continues to emerge from this year's San Diego Comic-Con. This time it's word that Sideshow Collectibles has secured the rights to produce one of its trademark premium format figures based on God of War's Kratos. For those not familiar with them, Sideshow'sPremium Figures -- like these Star Wars ones -- are prized by collectors, stand more than 15" tall in most cases and usually sell in the $300-400 range. If the same holds true for Sony's property, that's a lot of money -- but also a whole lot of Kratos. Sideshow is also working on God of War dioramas -- sculpted multi-character scenes, such as this upcoming offering based on The Clone Wars. They're typically priced in line with the Premium Figures. Specific details on these have not been announced, nor has a time frame within which to expect any of Sideshow's God of War items. Given that God of War III hits next March, we can only imagine that Sideshow would want to ride the massive anticipation for the title and time its lineup accordingly. [Via Shogun Gamer]
Blizzard starts selling gold (coins)
I don't have a lot of detail on this, but the news from Comic-Con is that Blizzard is finally starting to sell gold! Collectible WoW-inspired gold, silver, and copper coins, that is. What did you think I was talking about? They'll come in both Horde and Alliance versions, and are being made by DC Unlimited. DC also handles the WoW comic, so that's unsurprising. If we hear anything more on pricing and/or availability, we'll be sure to let you know.
McFarlane drops first details on ODST toys
McFarlane Toys is expanding its already impressive lineup of figures and vehicles based on the Halo series with new additions from Bungie's upcoming Halo 3: ODST. Planned for release in October -- the game hits September 22 -- the Halo series 6 figure "The Rookie" stands 6" tall, comes packaged with an ODST medal and is hopefully not the only squad member from the game getting the poseable plastic treatment. (Hey, even if the basic figure's the same, there are still minor coloring and equipment differences.)Also, does it strike anyone else as odd that the only part of an ODST's body not covered in armor is his fingertips?[Via Video Games Blogger]%Gallery-66356%
Wizard 101 announces new update
KingIsle Entertainment has announced its latest update to Wizard 101, its free to play MMO aimed at younger players that also has an option to subscribe or purchase access passes in order to unlock additional content. Wizard 101, which recently passed a million players, has been receiving frequent updates including a new PvP area and the addition of voice to many characters.Highlights of this update include new high end spells available for players when they reach level 48. There is one spell for each of the seven schools of magic in the game, which are available through a quest. Another welcome feature is the ability to buy back a character's training points using Crowns, the game's micro-transaction currency, to allow them to be reused on new spells, which allows players to correct any choices that they are not happy with and try out new ideas. There are also new rewards for PvP, including a new pet to collect, and the friends list has been expanded to allow you to mark friends as "best friends."
First wave of Sackboy figures priced and pictured
Can you put a price on cuteness? Collectibles retailer Entertainment Earth certainly has -- for the upcoming LittleBigPlanet Sackboy figures from Mezco Toyz. Turns out it's $34.99 for three doses of the cute stuff.The set, listed as "Wave 1" (as in "more on the way!"), is slightly different from what Sony first gave us a glimpse of in February. The figures are still 4" tall with various accessories (each comes standard with a Pop-it Lasso) but the roaster has changed. It now includes plain ol' Sackboy, the pigtailed Sackgirl, "Sky," and the afro-sporting "Marvin." (Sky's spot was taken by a Chinese New Year Dragon Sackboy in the original lineup.)It looks as if the release of the line has been pushed back as well. Sony originally indicated a spring arrival, while Entertainment Earth -- which is usually reliable regarding ship dates -- lists them for September. We'll be happy just to get them at all. We'd be happier yet if they were somehow made from recycled plastic ... sacks.[Via Evil Avatar]
DC Direct prepping Ratchet & Clank action figures
DC Comics toy line, DC Direct, is adding a familiar (but non-DC) property its upcoming action figure lineup: Ratchet & Clank. Consummate comics blog Newsarama managed to snag a first glimpse of the line, which DC unveiled at today's ComicsPRO 2009 industry event.Prototypes of three series headliners -- Ratchet, Doctor Nefarious and Captain Quark -- have been shown thus far. What? Oh yes, Clank is a headliner, too. He's also one of three sidekick figures which we, er, figure will come packaged with their respective partners. DC Direct hasn't priced or dated the line as of yet, but you can see a high-res photo of its first (and possibly only) wave at the source link.
Custom Master Chief Transformer becomes Warthog, collector's item
The custom Master Chief Transformer we wrote about last year? It's so last year. There's a new green custom 'bot on the (auction) block, and it -- quite fittingly -- becomes a Warthog in vehicle mode. Its creator (and eBayer) built the 5 and 1/4" tall marvel out of a McFarlane Toys Master Chief figure, an Actionclix Warthog and an actual Transformers toy (Hound, in case you're wondering).Want this one-of-a-kind Halo artifact on your bookshelf? Be prepared to pony up a hefty sum. With 52 bids as of this writing, the figure is currently going for $320 -- with an entire week to go before the auction closes. Click through after the break to see it in Warthog mode.[Thanks, Rev Freakshow]
DC shows off Series 5 figures
DC has officially announced their latest series of World of Warcraft action figures, and while there are only four figures shown off so far, they look awesome. These are the same figures we saw in the coverage of the New York Comic Con -- there's Lo'gosh (better known as Varian Wrynn, the new King of Stormwind), Hunter Alathea Moonbreeze and her pet Sorna, a demon form Illidan (hot!), and Rottingham, a Ghoul. We've got pictures of all the new figures in our gallery below.Unfortunately, we aren't going to see this for sale for a long, long time -- DC has the date of release set as October 28, 2009. That doesn't really seem right to us (they only want to release four figures this year?), but that's what they say, so we'll go with it. Still, that Illidan figure looks awesome. The Hunter would be cute, and Lo'gosh would be nice to have if you're a fan of the comic book series, but Illidan is definitely the standout so far. Also check out all of our other DC figure galleries after the break.%Gallery-45214%
Capcom creates retro-mazing Mega Man 9 'packaging'
Your eyes are only slightly deceiving you. What you're looking at sadly isn't some sort of amazing, limited edition retail release of the upcoming Mega Man 9 for WiiWare, PSN, and XBLA; it's actually amazing NES-era replica packaging for the game's press kit, right down to an NES cartridge turned CD case.Both the box and cartridge sport the wonderful, intentionally awful MM9 art first seen on Capcom staff T-Shirts at this year's E3. These asset discs are intended for members of the press, but, obviously realizing that it had created something destined to be the object of unbridled fanboy lust, Capcom is considering releasing 200 or so to the public via its online store, along with a voucher for the game download. [Update: Thanks to Capcom's Seth Killian for sending along much nicer shots of the packaging – check out the shrink wrap and oodles of goofy text! – which you can view by clicking on the gallery links below.]%Gallery-32129%
