We're sure to cement our places as huge geeks by admitting that we'd wear these, but we can't help it. When it comes to Pac-Man paraphernalia, the little yellow pellet-eater and his cute ghost friends just make us weak in the knees. Add the fact that these shoes are so nicely hand painted, and we immediately turn into mush.
Pictures of these beauties were found on Flickr from user "thekalaka," which is also the name of an urban clothing store in Brazil. The Flickr page even confirms that these shoes are sold there, or at least were if they're not sold-out, by listing the address of the shop. If any of you readers happen to live near The Kalaka, be sure to stop in one day and buy these shoes so that we can live vicariously through you. Or, you can just send them to us as a gift so that we can live not-vicariously through ourselves.
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
While few would describe Will Laren's art as pleasing to the eye, his style -- ungraceful strokes, watercolors, and hand-written monologues providing the piece's humorous context -- certainly grows on you. His characters rarely fit common standards of beauty, either, often depicted with unattractive expressions, their hair a messy nest of lines, their mouths contorted, lips snarling. Still, there's something that draws us to their eccentric caricatures, vulgar patter, and rap culture allusions; we can't get enough of his work.
Very few of Laren's pieces have anything to do with video games, and none of them reference handheld gaming at all, but his canvases, ring-bound notepads and moleskine notebooks, sort of qualify as "portables," so that's our justification for featuring his art this week. Plus, the comics can be pretty hilarious. Flip past the break for a look.
Christina Cary, the same gal who taught us how to make a DS cart caddy out of an old pair of pants, has expanded on her portfolio of handheld-related crafts with this strawberry-colored fold-up pouch. In addition to sewing in fitted belts for a DS Lite system and four games, she has included pockets for lip gloss tubes, compact mirrors, or anything else you might want to pack along with your portable!
Christina also made a matching purse with the same patterned material she used for the pouch's exterior. You can see the bag and a shot of the homemade case rolled up after the break. Now, if only someone would make us something similar, but with this fabric ...
A new Space Invaders game and a big milestone mean that Taito gets to startmilking their original cash cow anew. The latest item to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the dusty old shooter is a set of nice-looking pinbadges.
Numbering thirty badges and costing thirty(-five) dollars, this set includes each individual Invader, the player-controlled cannon thing, the monster from the arcade game's sideart, and several neat logo pins. We especially enjoy the "I (heart with '30th' inside it) (one of the Invaders)" group.
If you're going to put a bunch of holes in your stuff, you might as well celebrate an awesome game series while you're at it. These pins will ship in "late May" from NCSX.
When we usually see balloons, we get an urge to kick them. Or squeeze them. Or rub them on our clothes to create static and annoy other people. Or pop them. But that's not the case with these superb examples of balloon art. When we see these, we want to build a special cabinet to display them in, and pray that they never, ever, ever deflate.
They're the work of gifted Flickr user TwystNeko, who seems to be quite the expert at manipulating rubber and air. As well as this Mario, s/he's fashioned other Nintendo-themed balloon masterpieces, which you can see after the post break, including an a-maz-ingMega Man.
There's no better fandom than the edible kind; after all, it provides fun and nourishment. That's why these DIY cookie cutters caught our eye. Not only can you press 1-up cookies on your friends, but you can offer them a sweet treat at the same time, and all it takes is a little sheet metal and spare time. Oh, and tools, but all worthwhile creations require tools, and a steady hand with which to wield them. As gamers, you should be equipped with that already!
We love a good dose of video game art, especially when it involves Mega Man and some ingenuity. This piece by 8-bit Artist made use of 23 pipes, each of which are painted 360-degrees around. On the opposite side is Mega Man in his red and orange Heat Man suit (though we prefer the Blue Bomber suit, ourselves). The pipes are also just shy of two feet, making this a good size for some wall hanging (or not, as it's two-sided). Unfortunately, if any of you collectors out there were hoping to do so, it won't be happening since the piece already sold.
While we love the idea of using the pipes as a canvas, a part of us wonders whether this would be an idea better suited for Mario. Mario is, after all, an Italian plumber who often uses pipes to get where he's going. It's still cool, nonetheless, so check after the break to see some more pictures.
More than mostautographedDS systems, this one has, uh, personality. Character. It looks like it's got a few stories to tell. Like the story of what that orange stuff is, and the story of how its top screen got that awful crack. And in case you're distracted by those two issues, this DS has in fact not been autographed by Shigeru Miyamoto, and it's selling for (a current bid of) just $18.35.
It's unlikely that you'd buy an autographed DS to play anyway. Items like that are strictly for display or bragging rights. So why not save yourself a little money and buy one that is less than perfectly functional? We were being sarcastic when we first started typing that, but now we think it's actually a pretty smart idea.
(Update:) Here's why: it's not really signed. As pointed out by commenter GCN Sean, it's a sticker. But hey, broken DS with a sticker on it for like $18, right? That's actually ... a terrible deal. Well, at least we think we've found the Worst DS on eBay. Really, we think the thing's a lot more entertaining now that we know it's a hilarious scam.
We're over a year late on this, but you'll have to excuse us on not keeping up to date with the Strawberry Shortcake video games series. Insert Credit pointed us to the delightful fact that Strawberryland Games, Ms. Shortcake's 2006 minigame collection for the DS, comes with a Strawberry-fragranced instruction manual, just like the original dolls! One reviewer even described the booklet as having captured "the scent of Franken Berry cereal."
As amusing as we found this "bonus feature," should companies spend their time, money, and imaginations on such trivial details? Well, it convinced us into talking about a licensed children's game 15 months after its release, so there's obviously some value to this approach.
In fact, we wish more publishers would follow The Game Factory's lead and put out their own appropriately scented manuals. Wouldn't it be cool if Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles smelled like an ashtray when you opened its box? Or if My Horse and Me's manual wafted a farm-like aroma? Okay, so those examples aren't too great; we're sure you can come up with much better ideas.
Japanese Pokémon Center stores are celebrating the new year with exclusive merchandise. Or, rather, celebrated, because we have a feeling the hordes of people have already grabbed up all of the stuff. People lined up to get their hands on the New Year Pika Pika Bag, a tote bag with some adorable Pikachu, Pachirisu, and Piplup art on it. Of course the bag is stuffed with exclusive Pokéstuff: plush toys, stationery, candy, and a photo album.
How did you celebrate 2008? It probably wasn't waiting in line to spend 30 bucks on toys. What, were you spending time with friends and family? Sucker. What kind of tote bag did you get from that?
You can already pick up tiny Vaan, of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, at the Square Enix store, and soon, you'll be able to add others -- at least, with the Japanese sets. The next round of figures, which includes Ashe and Basch, hits Japan in April, but whether or not they'll make it to the U.S. remains to be seen. The first Japanese trading arts set included Penelo, and she's missing from the non-import version (though available for import, if you need your perky braid fix ... and if you can track her down).
If you're really determined to start recreating your crew, you can also shoot for Balthier, who's available in the Final Fantasy Tactics Japanese set -- but the figures that ship with the Japanese sets are randomly selected, so keep your fingers crossed.
The DS Life is a weekly feature in which we scour the known world for narrative images of Nintendo's handhelds and handheld gamers. If you have a photo and a story to match it with, send both to thedslife at dsfanboy dot com.
Look at this girl. She is totally freaking out about her new DS. Just totally - freaking - out. We couldn't care less that Christmas is long behind us, as is the entire 2007 year; we felt it our duty to show you this photo of a girl going absolutely banoodles as she unwraps her gift.
You've likely already deduced our intentions from the article image and title -- we're cashing in on last week's wildly popular installment of The DS Life with a hastily-put-together sequel. As is often the case with these repeat productions, we've done away with the charm of the original, replacing it with a bigger budget and an all new video cast!
This thing looks exactly like two iPhones sandwiched together, if you ask us. But, it isn't without its appealing aspects. For one, we like the idea of having a true 16:9 topscreen, because we're often staring at that screen for obvious reasons. Also, the thing looks lighter, which is always a bonus. So, it isn't completely useless and absurd.
Spring cleaning must be a real hoot at Brett Martin's house. The Nintendo fan describes the picture above as "just a portion" of what is the most comprehensive collection of Nintendo merchandise we've ever clapped eyes on. Perhaps even more impressively, this vast pile of swag has been meticulously documented over at Martin's site, where you can cherry-pick the items you'd like to buy. Yep, that's right: you can actually drown your own house in Kirby plushes, should you so desire.
The occasional South Park, Mega Man and Square Enix item aside, it's pretty much a Nintendo enthusiast's nirvana, so we advise you check out this gallery if you want to see the best of it.
Yeah, we know what you're thinking: "Each and every member of the DS Fanboy team is pretty much perfect, so why the heck would such unblemished, shining beacons of humanity require New Year's resolutions?" We thought the exact same thing, before we each took a minute to stare deeply into the recesses of our souls, and realize that even we -- WE! -- could take steps to improve ourselves. And here's how we plan to go about it:
Alisha: I promise to try not to go crazy and pee myself every time Square Enix remakes a game they've remade before, but it's going to be very, very difficult, and I will probably fail. Ask me again tomorrow.
David: This year, I resolve to beat Contra 4 in front of a live studio audience. I will then reap the benefits and rewards of having a studio full of people not know who I am or what I am doing look at me with faces full of confusion as I rip my shirt off in conquest and scream wildly.
JC: I resolve to play one of those RTS or SRPG or TRPG games. I've always believed I wasn't smart enough to play these things, while simultaneously believing that I was smart enough to pursue advanced degrees.
Candace: I resolve that I will resist my urge to download the entire catalog of Phoenix Wright songs onto my cell phone. But not really.
We love a good dose of video game art, especially when it involves Mega Man and some ingenuity. This piece by 8-bit Artist made use of 23 pipes, each of which are painted 360-degrees around. On the opposite side is Mega Man in his red and orange Heat Man suit (though we prefer the Blue Bomber suit, ourselves). The pipes are also just shy of two feet, making this a good size for some wall hanging (or not, as it's two-sided). Unfortunately, if any of you collectors out there were hoping to do so, it won't be happening since the piece already sold.
We're over a year late on this, but you'll have to excuse us on not keeping up to date with the Strawberry Shortcake video games series. Insert Credit pointed us to the delightful fact that Strawberryland Games, Ms. Shortcake's 2006 
You can already pick up tiny Vaan, of 
