plushies
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YouTube gamers are getting their own 'Minecraft'-inspired figures
If you head down to your local toy store today, you'll likely find that the shelves are dominated by video game packs and figurines. Franchises like Minecraft, Disney Infinity and Skylanders mostly dominate proceedings, but their popularity also encourages rivals to cash in on the latest craze. One such toy maker believes that fusing YouTube and Minecraft could be the answer, so it's created a new range of "Tube Heroes" toys that immortalize some of the video service's most popular gamers as Minecraft-like figures and plushies.
ArcheAge details its upcoming update, PTS, and holiday events
What do stockings, a vengeful sea goddess, and a dragon have in common? No, it's not a titillating new fantasy paperback. It's ArcheAge's next update. Version 1.2 Build 4.6 (as it is officially known) heralds the introduction of the Red Dragon to Erenor, an insane ancient Wyrmkin that will test the mettle of the strongest adventurers. Additionally, the jealous sea goddess Dahuta will make traveling the waters near her domain even more treacherous. Other update tidbits include a five-second forced delay between land claim attempts "in order to disrupt rapid spam-placement attempt tools" and the sale of the Comet speedster for 800 gilda. Players can test these new experiences out on the newly launched public test server. More information on all this and instructions for installing the PTS can be found on the official site and the PTS FAQ. This update also introduces the Winter Maiden Festival for the holidays. Featuring buff-giving trees you decorate and stockings you assemble all from loot drops, the event sees players decking the mobs with swords and staffs all through the season. Plushie collectors have the chance to acquire seven new snowman plushies to decorate their homes.
Hello Kitty X Street Fighter plushies, figurines, coin purses for pre-order
The Hello Kitty versions of your favorite Street Fighter characters (or the Street Fighter versions of your favorite Japanese spokescat) are up for pre-order on at least one site, with more coming soon, Capcom says.Big Bad Toy Store has Hello Kitty Chun Li, Ryu and M. Bison as plushies, coin purses and figurines, though the figurines are sold as a pack that includes Cammy, Zangief and E. Honda for $40. The 10-inch Chun Li plushie from San Diego Comic Con 2012, which runs $63, is already sold out on Big Bad Toy Store.Capcom specifically called out Hot Topic, Toys 'R' Us and and Sanrio as places to buy Street Fighter X Hello Kitty products, so keep an eye out at your retailer of choice. If you don't see the Street Fighter character you want right now, don't fret – this is only Series 1 in a line of toys from Sanrio and Capcom.
Hello Kitty X Street Fighter plushies heading to a Hot Topic near you
The Chun Li Hello Kitty plushies available at Comic-Con last weekend were sold out by Saturday morning, but there is still hope for the thousands of remaining fans clamoring to get their hands on one. The Hello Kitty Ryu, M. Bison and Chun Li plushies pictured in their Comic-Con display above are soon coming to "as many stores as we can get them into," a Capcom booth employee told us. He mentioned specifically Hot Topic, Sanrio stores and Toys 'R' Us as possiblities for the plushies, which are "Series 1" in a planned line of Hello Kitty X Street Fighter toys.
Microsoft Office for iOS gets blurrycam treatment in weird party-room
What you see before you is a single image purporting to be Microsoft's new Office app for iOS. We can certainly believe such an app exists, and according to The Daily, the UI is similar to OneNote with an added dash of Metro. You'll be able to produce and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files locally and online, but the app is still to run the Cupertino's approval gauntlet. The report also claims an Android version is isn't in the works and but that a Metro-styled refresh of OneNote is due in "the coming weeks." That said, we're not sure what sort of place doesn't take the plastic off its carpets, leaves big "product of Spain" crates lying around with leopard-print plushies and USS Enterprise logos hanging on the wall -- but perhaps we've underestimated Redmond's capacity for a good party. Update: We incorrectly reported that an Android version was forthcoming, we've edited to correct our mistake -- please accept our sincere apologies.
Angry Birds to ride Russian rockets into space, follow iPads bound for bored cosmonauts
Slingshots and unbridled rage might be enough to launch Rovio's furious fowl across the battlefield, but they'll need some outside help if they hope to break free of Earth's atmosphere -- it's time to call the cosmonauts. Two upcoming Russian space launches are scheduled to ferry a pair of iPads and a plush Angry Birds toy to the International Space Station. The twin tablets will fly on an unmanned resupply vehicle early next week, and the irritated avian is playing the part of a jocular gravity indicator in a manned mission next month -- part of a russian tradition of hanging a toy by a string to signal when the vessel has escaped the Earth's gravity. NASA told collectSPACE that the iPads are only slated for recreational purposes, but mentioned that various tablets were being evaluated for future use. The plush bird? It's coming home; cosmonaut Shkaplerov's five year old daughter can't be expected to give up her toys forever, can she?
Square Enix to host Wakfu panel at Anime Expo 2011
Do you like a little tactical strategy in your MMORPG? Are you planning on attending Anime Expo 2011 in Los Angeles? Then boy howdy do we ever have an announcement for you. Square Enix, publisher of the upcoming turn-based tactical MMO Wakfu, is slated to host a panel at the massive California anime convention. Producer Franko Fonseca will be present at the panel to discuss the upcoming title and reveal new information on the game's development. To top it off, panel attendees will have a chance to win some adorable Wakfu plushies. So if you're looking to attend Anime Expo 2011, be sure to swing by the panel and let us know how it goes (and win us a plushie while you're at it!).
Quaggan SMASH: Guild Wars 2 reveals its most cute -- and deadly -- race yet
Look at that guy up there? Isn't he just the cutest thing ever? Oh, ignore the teeth -- Quaggans are big softies, really. ArenaNet is back with another exposé on the races of Guild Wars 2. This time the studio's focusing on the Quaggan, which it calls "our most cuddly race." But what do cuddles and creatures that look as though they should already be sold as plushie dolls through the ArenaNet gift shop have to do with the rough-and-tumble fantasy world of Guild Wars 2? While the peaceful and polite race wouldn't normally make waves, the Quaggans have an interesting ability to "hulk out" and go on rampages when they get mad. As the saying goes, "Do not make Quaggan angry. You would not like Quaggan when Quaggan is angry." Therefore Quaggans have to be mellow to avoid a non-stop WWE battle royal -- although at times, unleashing their inner aggression can save their hides. It's this dynamic ArenaNet latched onto while fleshing out the race's place in the world. You can read more about the dolphin-like Quaggans over on the ArenaNet blog.
Plushie Photo Contest Winners
We have our winners! We tallied your votes for our Plushie Photo Contest and here is how you voted: Plushies in the Wild First Place: Jowell Second Place: Thatshot Third Place: Richard Plushies in Captivity First Place: Muzz Second Place: Alice Third Place: Dany The loot codes have already been sent to the winners. Thank you all for participating. The galleries have now been updated with all of the entries. Plushies in the Wild %Gallery-88261% Plushies in Captivity %Gallery-88260%
Reminder: Vote for your favorite plushie photo
Have you voted in the Plushie Photo Contest yet? Today is the last day to choose your favorite Plushie in the Wild and Plushie in Captivity. As of this writing, Muzz is currently in the lead in the Captivity contest and it's neck and neck between Jowell and Thatshot in the Wild contest. Time is running out for you to affect the outcome. Vote now in the polls after the break.
Vote for the Plushie Photo Contest winners
We asked you to show us your plushies and many of you sent in entries to both the Plushie in Captivity and Plushie in the Wild contests. We have narrowed down the finalists for you to vote on in each category. Once the votes have been tallied and the winners announced, we'll put all of the entries in the galleries for you to enjoy. You have until Friday, March 19th to vote for your favorite in each category. Galleries and polls are after the break.
Photo Contest reminder: Show us your plushies
The Spawn got her Wind Rider Cub on Friday and it has since been slept with, rained on and taken for a ride with Barbie. His name is now Lionel and he has become good friends with Murky the Murloc. Together they embark on great adventures and battle the nefarious deeds of the Darth Vader Happy Meal toy. (Don't get me started on the fact that McDonalds believes that Star Wars is for boys and iCarly is for girls. Seriously.) Have you shown us your plushies yet? We have some really great entries already, but yours could be even better. You have until midnight, March 10th to send us your photos of your Plushie in the Wild and/or Plushie in Captivity. WoWTCGLoot.com has generously provided the loot codes for the prizes. All of the contest details are after the break.
Wind Rider Cub and Gryphon Hatchling image gallery
Though it took longer than expected to receive them and FedEx decided it was a wise idea to throw them into the mound of snow next to my well-shoveled porch rather than placing them on the porch or (gasp!) ringing the doorbell so I could accept them myself, my house now has two new guests. The Gryphon Hatchling and Winder Rider plushies now have resting places atop my significant other's desk, where they stand vigilant to inflict cuteness on whoever may need it. In the gallery at the bottom of this post, you'll find a number of pictures of them, held by my little sister because there simply wasn't enough cute in the plushies alone. Like most licensed Blizzard products, these plushies are very high quality. I was almost surprised by the amount of work put into the little details. The necklaces (bibs? zoo-tabards?) worn by the plushies are embroidered. They're not screen-printed felt or anything like that, so I don't expect they'll come apart anytime soon. The plushies also shipped in individual drawstring bags to carry and store them in, so they're not exposed to the elements when you inevitably shove them in your closet because really, are you going to keep these on display forever? Probably not! I do still think that $25 price tag for a stuffed animal is incredibly steep, but considering what people were willing to pay for in-game pets alone, it's not anymore expensive than what you would usually pay for a Blizzard product. Keep an eye on the site, because we might have a pair of these to give away in the coming weeks. %Gallery-86639%
WoW Insider Show live today at 3:30 PM Eastern
Every week, we broadcast live from several places worldwide to present you with the WoW Insider Show podcast -- an hour's worth of WoW community discussion, covering everything from the week's top stories here on WoW.com to emails from our readers to what's been going on with our particular characters in Azeroth. Along with your hosts, WoW.com editor Michael Sacco and contributing editor Matthew Rossi, we also feature rotating guest hosts, whether regular WoW.com contributors or personalities from other sites. Today's WoW Insider Show features: Guest hosts: Lore columnist Anne Stickney and UI/addon columnist Mat McCurley News from the Twitter dev chat Cataclysm world events in the Patch 3.3.3 PTR files The ridiculously cute (and, marketing-wise, ridiculously clever) WoW plushies Reader emails And more! Want to participate? Join in the conversation in the chat channel on our Ustream site while the show's broadcasting! Want to have your question read on the air? Drop us a line any time at theshow@wow.com! Just want to listen? Follow the jump.
Plushies are now available in the Blizzard Store
We first mentioned the upcoming plushies a few weeks ago. The Wind Rider Cub and Gryphon Hatchling are two stuffed animals that will inevitably steal the hearts of women and children. And big, manly WoW bloggers who didn't even cry at the beginning of UP! Nope, not one single tear. That being said, we thought we'd point out that the plushies are currently available in the Blizzard Store. There's no word on what the availability is going to be like, so I highly recommend that you trot over immediately and pick up your new best friend. However, the site does say they're only available or a limited time. So really, hurry. Don't worry about us -- we've placed our order. I certainly wasn't sitting here spamming Refresh while I waited for them to become available. Nope, not at all. %Gallery-85155%
Breakfast Topic: Here, plushie plushie plushie...
My wife and daughter love their Murky and Kwurky murloc plush dolls that I got for them during last year's BlizzCon. In hindsight, I really should've gotten a Lurky plush for myself. I mean, you gotta admit, those suckers are cute! Blizzard apparently knows it, too, and they're about to release two new plushies soon with the added bonus of including a code for an in-game pet! Those wyvern cub and gryphon hatchling models have been in the game files for a while now, but we've only just found out about where to get them. Blizzard has already hinted at this kind of merchandising, noting when the Blizzard pet store was announced that plushies with codes for in-game pets would be introduced soon. I'm likely to pick up a plush wyvern or two to join our murloc brood, and I'll get the added bonus of getting an in-game pet for myself (take that, Lurky!). Do you plan to pick up a plushie, either for its real or pixel cuteness? Which one interests you? It's highly likely that Blizzard will introduce more plushies in the future -- what other stuff do you think they'll come up with? Plush Deathwing, maybe? A plushie Yogg Saron might not sell too well, I think. Future plushies should expectedly have equivalent in-game pets, so the possibilities are pretty exciting... %Poll-41543% %Gallery-85155%
Custom WoW plushies look adorable
Debbie sent us a note about these plushies that she made, and as you can see, they look pretty awesome. The funny part, however, is that she doesn't know anything about World of Warcraft -- her mom's friend asked her to make a Troll Priestess, and since she makes these dolls on commission (prices start at $60 plus shipping and handling), people have asked her to do a Troll Shaman as well, and she's currently working on a Draenei Paladin. Very cool.You'd probably have to negotiate with her if you wanted something custom made, since these are definitely not coming off of a factory line. But even if you're willing to pay the money for a doll like this, they do look cool. We don't know what it is about Shamans and their little totems that seems to make them perfect for plushie form, but there must be something there. Somehow, we're not sure a plushie Warrior would cause the same fascination. But hey -- be sure to prove us wrong. If you catch any great WoW crafts around the net that we haven't seen yet, drop us a tip.
SackBoy plushies available now on Play-Asia
SackBoy plushies have been the object of desire for LittleBigPlanet fans for a very long time now; however, such a prized possession has yet to be made commercially available -- until now, that is. Japan is getting the official SackBoy squeeze toys this month and they're already available for purchase off Play-Asia. Currently, the online retailer carries four versions of SackBoy: Normal, Pirate, Soldier and Sunflower. They're the 4" dolls we've reported on before, and they're actually cheaper than we thought at the price of $9.90. Import them today, or just wait for those North American plushies that we know are coming.
One Shots: Do they turn into gremlins?
Today's One Shots isn't one of a game -- it's of one of the most popular virtual worlds out there, Second Life. This particular screenshot was one of the first things our Senior Editor, Elizabeth Harper found after she had decided to jump into Second Life and check it out. We're not entirely sure what the story is behind this particular display, but we do know that it's terribly cute. We're also curious just what would happen if one were to theoretically feed the plushies. Would they turn into gremlins? Or perhaps they're just on a low-fat plushie diet after being fed too many snacks for being too cute. Have you seen anything in your travels that made you stop and giggle? We love to laugh along with the rest of them, so if you've seen something silly or fun, please send it to us here at oneshots AT massively.com so we can share it with the rest of the readers! %Gallery-9798%
LittleBigPlanet: Story mode, private level sharing, PS Eye use and Sackboy Plushies confirmed
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation/LittleBigPlanet_on_story_mode_adult_content_sackboy_dolls'; Media Molecule's Mark Healey has given our friends at PS3 Fanboy quite the news-splosion. In the latest PS Nation podcast, Healey let loose on LittleBigPlanet details, including: There's "a whole heap" of levels that come with the game. "They are strung together in the form of a story," said Healey. "A very loose story, but incredibly funny at certain points." You can make private levels and give keys to friends. In terms of riskier, user-made content, Healey said there is a post-grievance system involving sending screenshots to the powers that be. He declined further on what that might mean for the sure-fire controversial level, LittleBigPenis. Sackboy plushies confirmed! Said SCEA PR Brandon, "It's on the way. Details will be emerging shortly." PlayStation Eye support confirmed. "For example," said Heley, "you can wear a cardboard box and put a sticker of yourself there. And presto, you have a little creepy version of yourself walking around in the game. So yes, you can absolutely do that." The full audio interview can be found in tomorrow's PS Nation podcast, but for now, you can check out a text transcript of the highlights.%Gallery-1943%
