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Jada Toys' I-Playaz Volkswagen Beetle DAP speaker
To say that adding another iPod speaker system to the mix would be overkill is a gross understatement, but when the sound machine is housed within a chromed-out Volkswagen Beetle, we can't help but notice. For those who already ride dirty in that pimped out shopping cart and rock that gold microprocessor around your neck, Jada Toys' I-Playaz VW Beetle is sure to get your motor running. Sporting brobdingnagian spinning rims, 3.5-millimeter audio input / audio output jacks that double as an aftermarket exhaust system, built-in speakers, "multicolored lights," and an on / off switch to flip those block rockin' beats on at a moment's notice, this Chub City toy can shake, rattle, and roll to the rhythm of your favorite cuts. The car "moves and shakes to the beat" when your iPod (or DAP of choice) is pumping tunes through it, and there's even an built-in jam in case you want to boast about your toy while the 'Pod recharges. Although this isn't quite as fly as driving your riced-out Honda Civic around with a PSP, the bling factor here is surprisingly high for just $29.99, ya heard?[Via iLounge]
Sega Toys' unveils Movie Carrier camcorder for kids
If you're tired of shuffling through the myriad of grown-up camcorders out there, or just want to get your up-and-coming kid schooled correctly in the realm of technology, Sega Toys' has your device. The 68 x 85 x 40-millimeter handheld Movie Carrier has all the markings of a clichéd holiday gift, but the one difference here is that this bad boy actually records full-motion video. Sporting a CMOS sensor, 4x zoom, 1.5-inch flipout monitor, SD slot, TV outputs, and a kid-friendly pink / blue enclosure, Sega's toyish camcorder records 320 x 240 resolution video and even still pictures in the form of AVI / JPEG onto the included 32MB SD card. While the image quality here is likely to be just marginally above pitiful, you're sure to acquire a few priceless (albeit pixelated) home videos letting this loose in the hands of a youngster, and hey, giving your favorite child the means to catch that oh-so-mischievous one red-handed will only run you ¥13,440 ($114). [Via The Raw Feed]
"Dareway" Segway knock-off for kids
We're not sure how many kids have been begging their parents to get them a Segway but we're guessing they'd be pretty disappointed when they flipped over their brand new "Dareway" only to discover it has not two, but three wheels, and none of the Segway's fancy gyroscopic stabilization -- or stylish good looks, for that matter. It does look to be a surefire way to cause dizziness and vomiting, however, able to spin a full 360 degrees in place at speeds specified only as "a lot quicker than you would expect." All for just £149.99 (just under $300 US). Unfortunately, this one's only for sale in the UK and, you know, intended for kids, so you'll have to wait a bit longer if you've been hoping for a cheaper alternative to everyone's favorite human transporter.
Play GTA this fall... in toy form
Grand Theft Auto in your hands... sounds too good to be true, right? If for some reason, you want to ignore the impending release of Vice City Stories for the PSP, you can pick up these Kubrick toys. The set of five includes Tommy, Lance, Ricardo, Candi and Ken so that you can re-enact your favorite GTA scenes in the palm of your hand. Imagine how cool you'll appear to your co-workers as they see you screaming "It's time for the Lance Vance Dance!" while playing with these figures. They're available for only $35, a real bargain considering how some of my own most-wanted figures cost much, much more.[Via QJ]
Majora's Mask Fierce Deity Link figurine
There are two kinds of gamers in this world: those who favor Ocarina of Time and those who prefer Majora's Mask. Sure, the latter is a much smaller group -- easily dwarfed by Ocarina fans waving its 40/40 score in Famitsu magazine ("the first game to do so," they helpfully remind you) -- but First 4 Figures sent word that Majora's Fierce Deity Link would be the first in their lineup of Legend of Zelda figurines, undoubtedly beating out the much anticipated Ocarina Ingo figurine. At 14.5" tall, and $130, this thing is collectors only, we're afraid. Wouldn't want you recreating the epic showdown with Majora and busting your sword, y'know?See also: Colossal figurine ... at 1/150 scaleCollectible Metroid statue
Bandai's Gundam robot gets human-sized
Japan's largest toy manufacturer is about to get life sized with the unveiling of a 5-foot tall Gundam. Bandai feels the worldwide recognition of the hit show Mobile Suit Gundam will garner big interest from "20- to 40- year old men," i.e. fanboys, otaku, whatever you wanna call 'em. The 77 pound robot has 14 movable body parts right down to its finger joints, and emits a plethora of sound effects (yes, the Vulcan fires too) while you remotely control his fear-inducing flashing eyes. Marketed as a "sophisticated plastic model" (kind of like its companion to the left), Bandai hopes to ship over 1,000 of these behemoths to living rooms and anime stores everywhere when they drop this December. If this has instantly skyrocketed atop your holiday wish list, you may want to reconsider -- the ¥350,000 ($3,000) pricetag and the giant hassle of self-assembling over 250 parts might just deter all but the most hardcore fans who won't even get the pleasure of mounting up and wearing it around the house, shooting at imaginary Gundam Wings.
Another Spore model; get your own "for a fee" [update 1]
Randall wasn't the only Joystiq special correspondent to get his virtual Spore creation brought kicking and screaming into physical space. C.K. received his figurine and managed to throw 65 images onto his Flickr account. He writes:"I designed a Spore creature while I was at E3, and the nice people at EA were kind enough to make it into a little 3-D figurine like the ones they had sitting around their booth and ship it to me. It has two heads, one bird-like and the other more like a moose, with large fighting arms."Three readers also tipped us off to three separate works discussing the future availability of mail-order Spore creatures. Clayton sent in a link to a Discover Magazine article that reveals, "In Spore, a player can animate any creature imaginable; for a fee, it can be made into a three-dimensional reality." For a fee, eh? Darius pointed us to Next Generation, who speculate "it is likely that a model-making service (which will probably require payment) will be available when the game appears." So don't be jealous. If the stars align just so, we'll all have our very own Spore figurines come Q2 2007.Matt noted the following paragraph while readingThe Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More by Wired Magazine's Chris Anderson: "Will Wright, the legendary video-game designer, is putting the finishing touches on his next game, Spore. In it, you'll be able to evolve your own creature, imbuing it with traits and characteristics of your own design. If you like your work, you'll be able to upload your creation to the Spore servers. And then, for about $20, you can have it 3D printed onto a real action figure – colors, texture, and all. Each one is unique and will show up at your front door in a week or two." This is the first time we're seeing a price ... and $20 sounds reasonable to us. Does that include shipping, guys?[Thanks for the links, Clayton and Darius ... and Matt!][update 1: Added the bits from The Long Tail. Thanks, Matt!]
Our one of a kind Spore figurine
Some Joystiq readers will no doubt be jealous when we remind them of how Joystiq special correspondent Randall Bennett got to play Spore behind closed doors at E3. And again when he got to see Robin Williams crack jokes while making his own creature at that Wired party.Well, our jealousy was rekindled when, after some months, Randall's friendly neighborhood UPS guy rang his bell to deliver a Spore figurine identical to the character he had designed at E3. They should definitely have a service so consumers can order their own custom figurine. More pics after the break.
Sony files for the spiffy new Eye Toy
Remember that neat little "secret component" everyone was talking about last month in regards to some extra hardware? You know... the next-gen Eye Toy? Well here's the return of it as Sony has filed big number 2006-178948, which is the patent for a new camera that "will recognize every move and position of an object and will translate these actions accordingly to an object inside a game." What used to take multiple cameras now takes one, thanks to a patented mapping technique.It's like motion capture for the average Joe. But what ever happened to that Israeli company called Prime Sense? Weren't they supposed to come into the scene with their own interactive device which sounds a lot like this one? Well at any rate, Sony is on the move to get this camera inked in their name. Let's hope they don't step on any toes with this, because they haven't had the best of luck in the patent area lately.Could the camera also have videoconferencing features added into it as well? Thanks to Avistar and company (and the magic of licensing), this new Eye Toy could be your next long-distance video phone. Yet another testament to Sony's desire to bring the PlayStation brand out of "For gamers only" territory and into a wider audience.[Thanks, Fan]
Dogs love the taste of DS Lite
They say that a dog is a man's best friend, yet based on the image above, it would seem that statement is not entirely true. What kind of friend would do such a thing to a DS Lite? I guess the dog in question just enjoys the taste of plastic, or its owner's salty tears as they almost certainly hit the carpet in a flood when he arrived home to find his beloved gaming system destroyed. Nintendo, who were all kinds of understanding, decided they'd repair it for only 50 bucks.The real question, however, is not how kind is Nintendo, but rather should the owner of said DS Lite keep the dog and place his expensive toys out of reach of the bundle of gnashing teeth and fur that comprises his K-9 companion or take that puppy down to the pound for an extended stay?[Thanks Julian!]
Colossal figurine ... at 1/150 scale
We've been spending most of our free time feeding this dog radioactive kibble in a poorly thought out plan to make him 100 feet tall. Every night, we lay out an oversized bowl, filled to the brim with a dangerous concoction of kibble laced with some radioactive waste that Ludwig found out back. Every night the dog eats it and every morning he's the same size. Not sure that radioactive waste is radioactive at all. On to Plan B: We'll instead focus our efforts on shrinking ourselves and then ascend this 195mm (that's about 7.7", yanks) Shadow of the Colossus figurine and plunge our (now shrunken) swords into its dense resin exterior. 'Course we'll need to order the thing from Japan first and, at ,290 (that's about $90, everyone), it's not coming cheap. Compared to the rough numbers we've been putting together, it's the shrinking machine and not the figurine that's going to set us back. [Via NeoGAF]
Collectible Metroid statue; where's Samus?
The guys at First 4 Figures dropped us a tip to let us know about their upcoming Metroid Prime Hunters collectible, a 9" tall figurine of super-soldier bounty hunter Kanden. "Who?"Oh, Kanden. He's one of the six "hunters" in Metroid Prime Hunters. Yeah, the ones that most people thought were annoying in the otherwise stellar single-player game. What is cool about the statue is that it was recreated from the actual game data (like this guy), so expect a slightly less polygonal -- though highly accurate -- collectible. The website says the figurine will "feature an interconnecting base with the other upcoming hunters." Does that mean we will get a Samus? She's a bounty hunter! Samus is coming ... but not in just one suit. Oh no, we'll have four versions to plunk our would be gaming dollars down on, as well as all the other Hunters.As long as we're on the topic of the Hunters, am I the only one who thought their names sound sort of like American Gladiators: Noxus, Stylux, Spire, Trace, Weavel, and of course, Kanden?See also:Samus returns as... a Metroid paperweightSpore figurines at E3[Update: Noted that they're making additional figurines, including Samus. More info here.]
