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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.
The Daily Grind: Would you play a truly evil faction?
You know what bugs me these days? How superhero movie villains have to be portrayed as sympathetic -- good guys, really, who have an understandable stumble into darkness. No longer do we see truly evil characters who are kicking puppies for the heck of it; no, a dog has to, like, eat his family and bark all night to turn this tortured soul into Dr. Doompuppy. It also slightly bugs me that MMOs don't let you play as evil, not really. Sure, some titles like City of Villains or EverQuest II might offer an "evil" faction, but they're not really that much worse than the good guys, and they're downright saintly when pitted against the demonic forces that plague the game world. Darker factions are mostly for flavor and discounts at Hot Topic, methinks. But what if an MMO allowed you to be part of a truly evil faction? Would you do it? Would you be part of the rampaging armies of death that are sweeping over the land? Would you be the name that all stouthearted heroes curse daily? And would you -- this is important -- kick puppies if you got XP for it? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Fruit Ninja shirts appearing at Hot Topic
Halfbrick Studios' iOS game Fruit Ninja continues to grow -- the Australian company announced that it has inked a deal to sell Fruit Ninja-flavored apparel in Hot Topic (the clothing store at the mall that's about as tacky as it gets). The deal was put together with licensing agent HAP Consulting, and there are four shirts available now (featuring slogans like "slicing fruit like a boss!" and "Fruit Ninja addict!"), with more on the way. It's cool to see a big iOS property do well, but do they have to be that ... obvious? I'd like to see a more subtle kind of t-shirt, maybe just a few splotches on the front, or just a sliced watermelon emblem over the pocket. Maybe I'm just getting old -- I don't really want a T-shirt that's louder than, you know, my own voice. If you don't share my concerns and want to show off a little Fruit Ninja love, the shirts can be picked up in stores, we're told, or on the website.
J!NX releases exclusive shirt designs for Europe
They already get self-cleaning public toilets, over a thousand distinct kinds of cheese and Kelly Brook. This time around, Europeans get more cool things by way of J!NX, those purveyors of geek couture, who have released three new World of Warcraft shirt designs exclusive to Europe. One design features a poster promoting an arena match between a gnome and a tauren in the style of a bullfight. It's nice and funny, but probably not something I'd mind not being available in my region. On the other hand, the two other designs feature the upcoming new races of Cataclysm -- the worgen and goblin, complete with claw scratches for the former just to add a little more badassness. If you're a fan of the promotional art for these two new races, this probably isn't good news if you live in one of the other six continents. For the Europeans, the shirts are available for ordering at €17.99 to €20.99, depending on your size. The shirts are available only in black in both men's and women's sizes. For everyone else -- or everyone else in the United States, anyway -- get back at the Europeans by walking into a nearby Hot Topic and pick up an exclusive Save the Murlocs shirt. Sorry Asians, Africans, Australians, South Americans and even that one lone dude living in Antarctica -- we'll have to make do with all the basic stuff.
Hot Topic introduces new WoW merchandise, cute model
Following on the heels of J!NX's new winter line of WoW merchandise, Hot Topic has released a new line of Blizzard-themed apparel just in time for the holidays. Included among the many newcomers to the line are "spray-painted" Alliance and Horde logo shirts, faction insignia wallets, Starcraft II and Diablo III shirts, hoodies with a neat piece of art depicting an Alliance/Horde battle (replete with male model rocking a worrisome mustache) and, for the ladies in your life, a cute purple "Fight Like a Girl" t-shirt with a set of the highly feminine night elf hunter and blood elf paladin. That's right -- now you too can have a qtbelf on your chest, or the chest of a female WoWer near and dear to your heart. As long as she's a size small or medium, anyway. The other sizes are sold out. Speaking of near and dear to my heart, that model! Aye aye aye. For her, if that shirt was available in mens' sizes, I'd buy it even if it said "I play as a female character in World of Warcraft." I mean, I do. Several of them, but. You know. Still. All the new pieces are available at HotTopic.com or at your local Hot Topic store. Remember, those places are guarded by level 14 elite scenesters. Bring friends.
Sackboy tees on sale at Hot Topic
While you'll have to fight through tweens at your local mall, you'll want to check out Hot Topic to get your hands on this brand new LittleBigPlanet shirt. The shirt, which retails for $19 ($21 for XXL size), features a hidden code. Didn't figure it out? "Sackboy means "LOVE." How clever.For a store listing, you can click here. Or just buy the shirt online.[Via PlayStation.Blog]
MGS4 becomes a hot topic (t-shirt)
UNIQLO isn't the only place to pick up Metal Gear Solid 4 tees. Hot Topic has not just one, but two, t-shirts for your perusal. The first (pictured, right) proudly displays the dissolving Snake used in the game's various promotions. The image is supposed to represent Snake at the end of his journey ... going back to the DNA that created him. Powerful stuff.The second features Shinkawa's art of Old Snake's old mug. Both shirts are available for $19 each (unless you need a super-extra large size. Then you pay more!).[Thanks, Daniel C.!]
Age of Conan's quest for fresh duds
When your character isn't sporting a shawl stitched together from the hides of his enemies, he probably laments that he hasn't a thing to wear to the local tavern. And it's always embarrassing when you show up wearing the same loincloth-and-bracers outfit that someone else does. What's the fashion-forward barbarian to do?Enter French clothing company Inno-Wear, who create duds based on game properties such as Trackmania Nations and Devil May Cry 4. Their latest rights acquisition is, naturally, Age of Conan. It's not known at this time whether that means you'll get to wear the same things your character wears, or simply street gear branded with various AoC logos. We could make a case either way, and both would probably find a home at your nearest Hot Topic.[Via Big Download]
Clothe yourself with Xbox 360 wearables
We're happy to announce that showing off a fanboy's true passion for the Xbox 360 just got a little bit easier. Our buddies over at Hot Topic are ever so kindly offering a variety of Xbox 360 branded and game related tshirts. Have monster cravings for 360 gaming? Simply purchase the tshirt showcased to the right. Feeling all tangled and confused? Then buy this retro Xbox tee. Not only are there Xbox branded offerings, but you can also get your hands on tshirts featuring games like Gears of War and that rockstar in training simulator Guitar Hero II. We say empty your wallets (or sell your cat) and show off your Xbox 360 love with pride! Or you could just duct tape a controller to your chest. It'll get the point across all the same.
Get Halo 3 apparel at Hot Topic
Our fatherly figure Joystiq uncovered some gaming related goodies over at Hot Topic. No, not jewel encrusted black leather wrist straps silly, but Halo 3 apparel! Yup, black tshirts sporting that sexy H3 logo we enjoy so much ... yum. And I have a little different opinion than Joystiq about video game apparel for a game that won't be released for months. It's Halo 3, we fanboys friggin' love it! The apparel isn't just about the game or it's future release date, but is about the franchise, our excitment, and support for the game. Dare anyone question Halo 3 swag a year before launch ... if so, I banish you to a different fanboy site for all of 2007![Via Joystiq]
Ask Joystiq: Hot Topic and Warcraft
Yesterday we received a letter from Ryan, a perplexed Hot Topic shopper and Warcraft addict-to-be. He writes:"Hello. I was at the mall yesterday. I happened into Hot Topic while lookingfor an awesome Halloween costume and came across a $1.99 14-daytrial DVD of World of Warcraft. I thought, What the hell. Everyone else is addicted, why not me? So for 2 bucks I picked it up. I haven't installed it yet but, what I wanted to know was if you have seen these and if I only get it for the 14 days and then have to go buy a $20 box copy, or if I get the 14 day trial and then just have to sign up for an account? There seems to be a bunch of back and forth on this on the message boards. I tried to search your site but didn't find mention of it ... (I wish Weblogs inc. would upgrade their search engine). Anyway, thought it was interesting also that Hot Topic was selling WoW, it not being a game store and all. It begs the question, how long before my local 7-11 sells MMORPGs over the counter."Check out what we discovered after the jump.
