This series of plushes was made by Banpresto in 1993. These plushes were available as UFO Catcher prizes in Japan only.

Tanuki / Raccoon Mario

Tanuki / Raccoon Tail Mario

Frog Mario

Hammer Mario

Yoshi wearing a crown (limbs are bendable).

Birdo / Catherine (Japanese name)

Pidgit / Dodorigesu (Japanese name)

Toad / Kinokio (Japanese name)
Cheers to Nightram from the Video Game Memorabilia Museum for the picture!

Find items like these and many more Japanese collectibles at:

At Saltypear we only deal in officially licensed Japanese UFO Catcher plush dolls, anime and video game collectibles. We ship directly from Japan.
Beware of fakes from Hong Kong / China!

Also check out our eBay Store!

As you (probably) know at Saltypear.com we are very serious about our items.
The plushes and collectibles we sell are clean, well described and the photos we take are as clear as we can make them.

So it is that sometimes with utter disbelief that we see our competitors’ photographs.
We would like to share with you some of the most amazing ones we’ve come across…

Look at this photograph. Just look at it.
Would you buy a plush from this guy? Seriously? SERIOUSLY??!!!!!

Not sure what they’re selling here, the plush or the baby.
Whichever it is, I doubt it is very hygienic…

Not sure what exactly they’re selling here… I’m sure it’s an amazing deal though.

Another mystery deal. It sure does look colorful…

This seller was so helpful to include a measuring tape in the photograph. Very helpful indeed…

Some more plushes… I think…
Any takers?

Display? Display? This plastic bag is transparent, isn’t it?

The one in the middle top left right is $9. The one next to that is only $3…

This seller thought it wise to include his feet in the photograph…

More feet…

I’m not entirely sure what to make of this photograph…
The sign seems to indicate that the plush comes from a non-smoking home, yet somehow I have a nagging feeling regarding the validity of this claim…

And I saved the best for last. Yes, it’s a NOVA plush bunny head.
But who is holding it? Look closely…

It’s the seller’s silicon molded LIFELIKE SEX DOLL!!!!!!!!!!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WTF!!!!!!

!!!

!!!!!!!

A selection of officially licensed Japanese chocobo plushes.

Update 3/2/3009: A big “arigatou” to the kind folks at the Video Game Memorabilia Museum for helping to make this list more complete! ^_^
Thanks SoulDreamX and Manveri!

This Final Fantasy VII sitting one made by Banpresto in 1996:

Also from Final Fantasy VII, these are from Banpresto in 1997:

Yellow

Gold

Blue

Green

Black

And the big fat Chocobo!

Missing from this photo series is the 1997 Banpresto yellow chocobo.

Namco made a Final Fantasy XI Chocobo plush in 2005:

A baby chocobo:

Then there’s a set of chibi-style plushes from the game Chocobo’s Mysterious Dungeon, made by Banpresto in 1998:

Holding a blue book.

Chocobo girl plush

Holding a pickaxe

A large one.

And another large one, winking.

The next one is a by Square-Enix:

Also McDonalds had a Japan limited edition Chocobo plush.
Exact year unknown, probably 2001. Another plush in this series was Parappa the Rapper.

The french fries are attached to the plush by a string which, if pulled, will made the plush vibrate.

Find items like these and many more Japanese collectibles at:

At Saltypear we only deal in officially licensed Japanese anime and video game collectibles. We ship directly from Japan.
Beware of fakes from Hong Kong / China!

Also check out our eBay Store!

Bethesda is about to release “Operation Anchorage”, the first of three packs of Fallout 3 downloadable content, which is exclusive to XBox 360 and PC.

In order to be able to play this new content however, users will have to have Fallout 3 software patch 1.01 installed on their systems.
While this patch has been released to most territories, gamers in Asia are still waiting for it, even though the Asian 360 version of Fallout 3 is basically the English language version locked to the NTSC-J XBox 360 region.

According to Bethesda the patch is in the pipeline, but they declined to give any specific date.
My guess would be that the application to Microsoft for approval of the Asian English 1.01 patch was made together with the patch for the Japanese language version (which was released two months after the rest of the world got Fallout 3).

Update 28/01/2009:

Well, believe it or not but Bethesda is actually selling the DLC to Asian XBox Live users, who after paying 800 points and downloading the software discover that they can’t run it because they don’t have the 1.01 patch installed!
Shame on you Bethesda. Either release the patch now or pull the DLC from XBox live Asia and refund all people who bought it.

Update 2 28/01/2009:

Operation Anchorage has now disappeared from Asian XBox Live stores.

One of my personal favourite game series of all time is Taito’s Bubble Bobble and Puzzle Bobble series (the latter being titled Bust A Move in Europe).

So far I’ve come across very little merchandise here in Japan, but what I did find I’d like to share with you here.

This large soft plush doll:

This smaller plush by Taito, probably a UFO Catcher prize:

I also came across this ceramic hand painted figure. It was made by a company call Ving in 1990.

Find items like this and many more Japanese collectibles at:

At Saltypear we only deal in officially licensed Japanese anime and video game collectibles. We ship directly from Japan!
Beware of fakes from Hong Kong / China!

Also check out our eBay Store!

This set of Sony Playstation 3 Little Big Planet plushies was made by Taito Japan:

Find items like this and many more Japanese collectibles at:

At Saltypear we only deal in officially licensed Japanese anime and video game collectibles. We ship directly from Japan.
Beware of fakes from Hong Kong / China!

Also check out our eBay Store!

Yoshitaka Amano is the illustrator responsible for many Final Fantasy character creations.
Some of his works can be found on these Japan Art Expo collectible plates.
These were never sold in shops anywhere!

Find items like this and many more Japanese collectibles at:

At Saltypear we only deal in officially licensed Japanese anime and video game collectibles. We ship directly from Japan.
Beware of fakes from Hong Kong / China!

Also check out our eBay Store!

I came across an almost complete set of Final Fantasy VII Extra Knights action figures, mint in box! These were made by Bandai in 1996 and were only available in Japan!

The set consists of Cloud, Aeris, Tifa, Vincent, Barret, Red XIII and Sephiroth. I’m not sure of Yuffie and Caith Sith figures were made as none are featured on the photographs on the back of the boxes.

Find items like this and many more Japanese collectibles at:

At Saltypear we only deal in officially licensed Japanese anime and video game collectibles. We ship directly from Japan.
Beware of fakes from Hong Kong / China!

Also check out our eBay Store!