thinkgeek
Latest
April Fools' Alert #10: Wii Sports on iPhone and utter obsolescence
ThinkGeek is certainly on a roll today with the April Fools hijinks. Not only do we have Super Pii Pii Brothers (and its bizarre peripheral), but now we have Wii Sports on the iPhone, as well as a conduit for shuffling between dead video formats.The Wii Sports on iPhone gag is nothing more than an unclickable banner ad, making us wish the joke was taken a bit further. The Betamax to HD-DVD converter, on the other hand, is quite the stroke of genius. The idea alone is brilliant, made even more so by the "promotional" video, viewable after the break.
April Fools' Alert #5: Super Pii Pii Brothers
ThinkGeek has a proud history with April Fools' Day gags, even going so far as to make one of its jokes into reality after it snowballed in popularity. This year, the gang is pretty much guaranteeing that won't be the case with its super-exclusive Wii title ... Super Pii Pii Brothers. And yes, as you've probably already guessed, it's a game about peeing on cats. They have a ton of other great gags you can check out here.We've put the video for it after the break. We're not sure if it's NSFW, but we hope you work in a place where this sort of thing isn't acceptable. Unless you're that "Two Girls One Cup" guy, then this is the height of érotique.
ThinkGeek is selling Mana Energy Potion if you want it
Just in case you couldn't wait to get your hands on one of those extremely gross real-life Mana Energy Potions we posted about a while back, now's your chance: ThinkGeek is selling them at a reasonable price (even though actually drinking them probably isn't reasonable at all). As mephron points out on WoW LJ, the nutritional stats are atrocious: B12 is definitely good for you, but putting 6667% of anything's daily allowance in your system just doesn't seem right. And Robin was right -- these have a ton of caffeine in them. ThinkGeek says there's 160mg of caffeine in each bottle. That's not exactly lethal, of course (the lethal dose is about 150mg per kg of body mass), but finishing off a six pack of these over a weekend of gaming will not be good for us. Still, if you want them after all that, there you go.
GDC08: Thinking outside the virtual world
Tuesday afternoon, Michael Acton Smith, CEO of Mind Candy, presented attendees at the GDC's Worlds in Motion summit with an interesting look at the confluence between real goods and virtual worlds. For some background on where Smith is coming from, Mind Candy "creates games and puzzles that span multiple media.... [they] use all forms of technology to tell stories and interact with... [their] audiences." They run Perplex City, an alternate reality game that uses clues puzzles in the real world combined with web-based resources to create a unique type of gameplay. Their upcoming game Moshi Monsters is an adoptable pet game geared towards kids. Smith says it's a "new type of virtual pet experience." The pets will be very alive with their own emotions (driven by a behavior engine which will cause your pet to act different ways depending on how you treat it) that will be reflected in the pet's animations. The game will also incorporate a number of social tools, so both you and your pet monster can hang out with friends. And, of course, there will be toys, oh glorious toys. (Some already available, though the game itself is still in beta and closed to the public.)%Gallery-16441%
April Fool's 8-bit tie now available
Back in the April of '07, we spent one long weekend dealing with the multitude of April Fool's tips we received -- one of those tips is now real. Although ThinkGeek created the WiiHelm as their big joke, it was their subtle 8-bit tie that got people upset who tried to purchase the item and ThinkGeek said they'd actually start making it. Now the 8-bit tie is available in all its glory for purchase.The ThinkGeek site says the item is made of a "very silk-like microfiber." Due to the item being handmade there will be slight variations on the edges, but for a $20 tie we're really not going to complain. So go out and rock the 8-bit tie.[Thanks Pedro]
Gigantor 15-inch digital photo frame brings the value
We've seen a lot of digital photo frames try to make an impression, tacking on every possible feature from WiFi to 20GB hard drives to SideShow in a bid to capture the public's imagination, but really the only feature that ever stands out is a big-ass screen -- which is exactly why the Gigantor 15-inch frame caught our eye. With a decent 1024 x 768 resolution, expansive memory card support, IR remote and the ability to hook up a USB hard drive for even more storage, the Gigantor has a pretty middle-of-the-road feature set -- until you factor in that huge display and $249 pricetag. Looks like the age-old debate of features vs. size isn't getting settled anytime soon, eh?
April Fool's Alert #5: WiiHelm and the WoW tinfoil cap
The WiiHelm by ThinkGeek is a great April Fool's Day joke in so many ways. The item even fooled Dave Rudden, an editor at Games.net, who was ready to put down $25 for the accessory when he was greeted by a "Fooled you!" Although the production values on this item are great, with the video just knocking it out of the park, the best detail is the "4 frontal LEDs illuminate your surroundings while gaming in the basement at 3 am." There is a lot to love here.Rudden writes, "Well, they knew their audience and their product and picked something that was slightly insane, but within reason. Just about every site and mag that's tried that this year hasn't. Sadly, I would've paid good money for that wonderful, wonderful helmet. Wouldn't you?"Blizzard brought it again this year with double duty. First, for World of Warcraft players, there's the tinfoil hat with the tag line: "Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get you." The hat protects the wearer from various forms of inspection in the land of Azeroth. The other goof is Blizzard selling Warcraft III with a completely different title. Warcraft: Heroes of Azeroth ... or "WHoA," is the prequel to the World of Warcraft. The whole page is written in a style of lame marketing class 101. The joke being that those who jumped on the WoW bandwagon never played Warcraft III, so it's new to them, why not cash in? Even the pictures of the boxes just have a sticker over the Warcraft III logo with the new name. One of the best lines being, "WHoA comes in *four* different box covers (that's TWICE as many as WoW!)" ZOMG! Rush out and get yours today! Update: ThinkGeek snuck in a subtle one with the 8-bit tie, we were actually hoping to wear this at our next power lunch. Blizzard also has the Black Temple Attunement, which looking at the flow chart looks perfectly reasonable for the average hardcore WoW player.[Thanks Dave]
Cuddle up to your iPod Pillow--and listen
ThinkGeek.com, vendor of things freaky, strange and just cool, has a huggable, squeezable, squishy iPod-shaped pillow for sale for twenty bucks--or at least it will as soon as they restock. Before you run away, saying to yourself that you have enough huggable squeezable squishy iPod-shaped pillows in your life, consider the fact that this pillow can actually play music from its internal speaker. Hook it up to your iPod (or other portable media player) or play back the built-in FM radio. (FM Radio!? It's like having your own Zune!!) What's more, the large, plush buttons on the pillow actually work. Which brings the pillow to a new level of just plain weird. If there exists a subtribe of the infamous Furries that specialize in technology, this would make the perfect holiday present. As for me, I'm trying to convince myself to pick one up because I know my three-year-old would just go wild about it.
USB fan for DIY 360 cooling
Xbox 360 Fanboy o0 Spartan 0o sent us in a shot of his solution for cooling off a steamy 360: a simple USB fan. He explains:"Buy an inexpensive USB fan, plug it into the rear USB port of the 360, and aim it near the 360's exhaust. I've done a quick test and it really keeps the air moving and the 360 a lot cooler (the air it takes in is not warm, therefore the whole system is cooler). Also, if you are using the USB port for the WiFi adapter, you can plug the fan into an outlet with a USB iPod charger."Not a bad idea if you have your 360 jammed into a stuffy entertainment cabinet in need of some circulation. We found a similar fan at ThinkGeek for $11, or you might have one lying around.See also:Use iPod charger to refuel your 360 controllerStill skeptical of Pelican's 360 stand360 cooling stand; but what about the PSU?[Thanks, o0 Spartan 0o]