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Presenting some sweet Viva Piata swag
The package pictured above showed up on Gamertag Radio's doorstep yesterday. The box had a copy of Viva Piñata, a "passport" to Piñata Island, some purple Easter grass, and of course, the piñata. A sweeter piece of game related swag we haven't seen in a long time. Yes, we're afraid that it even tops RoboBlitz T-shirts. Sadly, packages like this rarely make it past the automated Nerf turrets outside Fanboy Towers -- they're not lethal, just really annoying. It's too bad really, because it's a nice bit of kit we could have given away. Speaking of Viva Piñata, has anybody picked it up yet? Is it any good?
Up-close with the Metal Gear Solid pre-order case
TGBus.com has some very revealing pictures of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops pre-order case. If you didn't know, you get this swag for free by pre-ordering the upcoming PSP-exclusive action game at Gamestop. It appears that it actually latches onto your PSP in a snap-on fashion. While it looks cool, it doesn't appear to protect the PSP's screen... defeating the purpose of a case? Regardless, it looks good, and Metal Gear fans won't want to miss this.[Thanks, Joel!]
Post-E3 swag shopping on Ebay
If you thought selling your E3 swag haul on Ebay was going to pay for your bus ticket back home or, fancifully, your $600 PS3, consider the frustrating law of supply and demand. Currently a luggage bag worth of junk is going for around around $50-$70. Smaller lots are fetching far less, while single PS3 lanyards -- the pennies of the E3 swag economy -- are going for a mere $.99. (Sony distributed these things with the zeal of Hare Krishnas doling out flowers on doomsday -- their apparent substitute for an accessible PR operation). Adopting a Marxist perpsective, making the gullible fanboy proletariat pay for swag is a cruel capitalistic joke anyway. If, like me, you believe free crap should remain free, stick around. Joystiq will unload it's treasure trove of cheaply-produced, Chinese-made chotchkeys to our loyal readers in due time.
Busted: Meet the Joystiq E3 crew
GamerScoreBlog posted some pics chronicling the embarassing amount of time (from a media ethics perspective) the Joystiq crew spent on or near the Xbox 360 Blogger Bus. Did I say crew? Maybe it was just me eating those Peanut M&Ms. For the people who don't know who the hell we are, try to match names with faces. Here's a hint: I'm the good-looking one.
E3: Free furniture for fastest reader [update 1]
Thanks to the folks at the Microsoft blogger bus, we've an unusual E3 swag giveaway. The first reader to come to the bus -- parked outside the West Hall -- can take away this collection of garden furniture. Simply come along and mention Joystiq to get your very own beige chair, table, or the entire lot; good luck fitting that in your suitcase.Note: the bus will only be here for a few hours, so get here quick!
The jacket that says "I can afford a PS3"
E3 is well know for the plethora of free swag that finds its way into attendee's backpacks. Of course, there's also the swag you have to pay for, which technically makes it not swag, but over-priced junk. Why is it that a free t-shirt is a treasured keepsake, while one that costs $20 dollars only makes you think of the downtrodden third worlder who manufactured it for slave wages? At least buying a $200 collectible E3 2006 leather jacket makes it clear to other nerds that you can easily blow $600 on a PS3.
E3 literally in the bag for Microsoft
Unlike Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft doesn't have much signage outside the LA convention center or in the lobby, choosing instead to pour their efforts into several 18-wheelers' worth of booth. However, they did sponsor the swag bags pictured above, ensuring everyone will think of the Xbox 360 when they dump their haul at the end of the day. Shrewd. Ignoring the Joystiq poll slanted by raving Nintendo fanboys, is it now safe to say MS has E3 in the bag?
What's in the Engadget swag bag?
Ever wonder what kind of swag Engadget writers tend to get attending all those press conferences, media revues, and promo cocktail parties? Well, you'd be surprised by the fact that it's not often good -- but we do tend to amass a huge amount of promo stuff (including the occasional real product). Since we can't give away all this stuff one at a time, we're giving away a collection of it.First person to guess one of the goodies in the Engadget swag bag wins it and its, uh, "bounty" of contents. It's kind of like the grand prize winner going home with a fat load of crappy parting gifts -- about 25 pounds by our rough estimate. It's big and heavy, so we ask only US residents to enter -- and you can only enter once (i.e. one guess), no cheating! (Yes, we're checking thoroughly to ensure fairness -- members of the press are not allowed to win!) You have to be specific -- you can't just say "a press kit!" or "a flash drive!" and expect to take this wretched abomination of media relations home. If no one can guess something that's inside it by noon EST tomorrow we're going to pick a someone at random who entered, and ship it to 'em anyway, whether they want it or not.Ready? Start guessing what's inside the bag, and be prepared to be underwhelmed by the swagginess of it all.
Bungie's Master Chief bottle opener
How does a battle-hardened Spartan soldier kick back and relax after fragging Covenant all day? With a crisp, cool, refreshing New Mombasa Ale. And how does s/he open it? No, not with their teeth, but with their authentic Bungie.net Spartan keychain! Sure, it looks like a regular keychain with a Spartan helmet on it, but our in-house beer-ologist (me) has confirmed the dimensions are indeed correct for maximum beer-opening functionality. Other Bungie Store updates include a Halo cup (to pour your beer in), and a Spartan Messenger Bag (to carry your plasma grenades in...and also beer). *Kids, please replace all references to beer with root beer. Thanks! [Thanks, hooters; store update via Bungie.net]
Halo.Bungie.org T-shirt and raffle
Behold, the official Halo.Bungie.org T-shirt. Buying one for a mere $11.29 enters you in a raffle for some sweet fan art posters and an invitation to HBO's E3 LANfest.
