Nippon Ichi Japan has just announced two new Prinny-themed sports towels for their online store. One features a pink Prinny silhouette, appropriately named the "Silhouette version," while the second is a done in comic style in blue and white, aptly named the "Comic version."
The towels (like the rest of the merch available on the Japanese store) are not eligible for shipping outside of Japan (at least I couldn't find a way to ship them out), making them all the more alluring.
People want stuff they can't have. It's how it goes.
That being said, RosenQueen often brings over strange trinkets, especially if they are Disgaea-themed, so it is possible that you may be able to get them one day. Maybe.
If you live in Japan, or are import savvy, you probably have your hands on a copy of tri-Ace and Square Enix's Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope, which released today in the region. Though those of us in North America have another 5 sleeps before release, we can take a minute to be happy for our friends on the other side of the Pacific.
To commemorate the release of the game, Square Enix is holding a Release Commemoration Campaign. Gamers who picked up the game already can trot over to the official SO4 website to check how to register their game and get entered into a draw for some official SO4 swag.
50 people will score a nicely bound art book signed by character designer Katsumi Enami, 5 people will receive the game's official original soundtrack signed by composer Motoi Sakuraba, and 2 people will receive a full script of the game signed by the voice cast. In addition, another 1000 people will score an 11-piece SO4 poster set (one for each main character), and 1000 more will score SO4 faceplate stickers.
The registration is unfortunately only available to those with a Japanese address, so even if you imported the game you aren't eligible for this draw. Which kind of sucks.
It would be nice if a similar draw were opened for North America, but since we don't even appear to be getting a limited edition, I would say such a possibility is very near zero.
Though not much condolence, check out the final Japanese commercial spot for the game and take whatever comfort you can in the fact that you only have to wait 5 more sleeps. (Unless you're waiting for the European release, in which case, I am truly sorry.)
Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope is available today on the Xbox 360 in Japan. The North American version will be available on February 24, 2009, while the European version will be available on April 24, 2009.
If there is one thing that new Capcom is all about, its breaking in to the Western market. And largely, with titles like Devil May Cry, Resident Evil, and other non-RPG titles, they are doing an admirable job.
But where does that leave their very traditional Japanese series, like fan-loved JRPG series Breath of Fire? Unfortunately, according to Keiji Inafune, the outlook is not bright:
"There are currently no plans on making a new Breath of Fire game. Apart from that, regarding RPG titles, they are very popular in Japan, but only certain RPG titles sell so Capcom doesn't really need to even consider making these titles as an option."
It's no secret that the series has underperformed since BoFIII, and Dragon Quarter, having released over 5 years ago, received mixed reactions from critics and fans alike.
However, not all hope is lost. Said the Inafune:
"There's a low possibility that we'll be making one in the near future. But, I realize that there are fans of the series, and we have staff who are interested so it's not out of the question. We actually have a lot of titles in a similar situation, where there's an interest by users and our staff, but where we just don't have the resources."
So, basically, it's not completely impossible. Just mostly impossible. Not very reassuring, but I guess we'll take all the hope we can get.
Rest in Peace, Breath of Fire, you will be missed.
If you like game-related swag (I do) and live anywhere besides Japan, prepare to be upset.
The online shopping site Lalabit Market (owned by Bandai) is selling limited edition Tales of Vesperia t-shirts in 5 different varieties: the white "Kishidan" (Order of Knights) (pictured), the black "Teikoku" (Empire), the violet "Madoushi" (Mage), the grey "Yuuri" (as in Yuri Lowell), and the brown "Go-Dai-Guild" (Five Master Guilds) for 2,940 yen a piece (roughly $30).
The offer is only available to those with a shipping address within Japan, which means NONE FOR YOU. =(
If these were just straight-up character print shirts or something, I wouldn't care. But these shirts are cool. Like, I wouldn't even mind wearing a video game shirt in public kind of cool.
