Thanks to a tipster via Cheapassgamer.com, it looks like the official Bungie store is closing its doors on June 15th.  Might be time to stock up on some Halo goodies.

The tipster msged customer service about an order and they stated that the site is closing on the 15th of this month.  The implied reason is probably a result from the recent Bungie/MS separation.

So, feel free to visit the official store before its gone at http://www.bungiestore.com/.  Hopefully some stuff will go on clearance!

For those of you who are fans of the Persona series, this should be right up your alley. Although the prices seem to vary from about $58-78 US dollars depending on the figure, these are still top notch quality as the pictures show. Just one more figure to add to your already bloated computer desk collection.

From left to right are Elizabeth and Aya, and are 22cm (8.6 inches) and 25cm (9.8 inches) tall respectively. Images are from Kotaku.

Probably to coincide with Disgaea 3, Nippon Ichi is releasing some nifty looking Disgaea figures this November.

Thanks to Majoria’s News for the info.

Corgi International Limited announced today that the company has entered into an agreement with Nintendo to produce products in America based on it’s many properties.

What this basically means is that a bunch of Japanese Nintendo merchendise will now be distributed in the US.

In a deal, Corgi will be releasing action figures, “playset environments”, plush & vinyl figures, electronic products and “iconic game replicas”.

It isn’t clear when this’ll start happening, but don’t be surprised if you start seeing this stuff show up in your local game store.

Source: Toy News International

Pepsi Company recently released their “Green Label Art” line of Mountain Dew. The line is essentially a limited edition run of Mountain Dew in aluminum bottles. Each bottle features artwork from various tatoo artists and graphic designers throughout the US. If you want to check out artist bios, the bottles, and more information about this, just check out http://greenlabelart.com/

I guess you could see it coming. Hot Topic recently announced the addition of Guitar Hero themed shirts to compliment their line of video game clothing. The shirts are not very impressive, but if you want to show your Guitar Hero pride, you could purchase and wear one of these shirt… if thats your thing. Seriously though, any fan of the game would be better off ignoring these. Here are some pics of the tees.

So you may be wondering who the Darkstalker characters are going to be in the initial set this November. Well, I have done some sleuthing and found a journal entry on Sabertooth’s site detailing who they picked to represent the Darkstalkers in their first set.

Here is the article

For those who don’t want to go to the site, read more to find the list of characters.

• Baby Bonnie Hood
• Bishamon
• Demitri
• Donovan
• Felicia
• Jon Talbain
• Lilith
• Lord Raptor
• Morrigan
• Pyron
• Q-Bee
• Rikuo
• Sasquatch
• Victor Von Gerdenheim

Unfortunately for some members of the site, there is no Hsein-Ko or Anakaris in this set, but there is no doubt that they well show up quickly in the expansion (mainly because there aren’t that many Darkstalkers characters to choose from). Regardless, this looks like a good first set and it will be nice to see it hit next November.

Something scarier than the Darkstalkers are brewing in Sabertooth Games’ Universal Fighting System CCG. While perusing eBay, I stumbled across several new promos, each featuring a disturbing connection to the last. Read on to find out what that connection is.

Beside being franchise-less, many of these new promos follow a trend of having names based on song lyrics, names or album titles of music from the 80s. Below are the new promos and information about where they have come from.

Eye of the Tiger – Survivor

Trade Your Passion for Glory (Lyric in Eye of the Tiger – Survivor)

Final Countdown – Europe

You’re the Best Around – Joe Esposito

A Matter Of Life Or Death – Iron Maiden (Album)

In addition, there are some other nice non-music themed promos coming out that look very nice. It is possible that the promo “All or Nothing” refers to a song, but I had trouble figuring out what which it is, so if anyone knows, please contact me.

DC Unlimited is planning the release of four figures based on the insanely popular, time and money sucking game of World of Warcraft on October 24th, 2007. These figures are of great quality and give off vibes of “awesome-ness” even to the people not interested in MMORPG’s. Most of the characters are from the Horde (sorry, Alliance lovers) and are just plain awesome. The Blood Elf Rouge and the Undead Warlock are my favorites so far.

Source: Raving Toy Maniac

Recently, DrMaster Publications announced “The Art of Yasushi Suzuki.” You may have seen his freelance work from Ikaruga, Sin & Punishment and various other Treasure developed games. The art book is said to contain over 100 images and will be released in May of 2007. The book will also feature several bonus interviews with Yasushi Suzuki from various online gaming sites, such as Insert-Credit.

Here is the full press release…

http://www.drmasterbooks.com/200702.html

THE ART OF YASUSHI SUZUKI – ART BOOK TO BE PUBLISHED BY DGN Producton Inc. & DRMASTER PUBLICaTIONS

San Jose, CA – February, 2007 DrMaster Publications Inc. and DGN Productions Inc. have officially announced the long-rumored art book: The Art of Yasushi Suzuki. The piece is nearly complete andwill ship nationwide this May 2007.

This project is total fan appreciation! Graphic artist and game designer – Yasushi Suzuki has meticulously compiled a stunning cache of his own work history. The Art of Yasushi Suzuki will showcase nearly 100 images, some of which were designed specifically for this event, including art from the video games Ikaruga (Sega), and Sin & Punishment (Nintendo), plus cover art from the Japanese language version of George R.R. Martin’s New York Times best selling novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

Since the announcement of Purgatory Kabuki, Yasushi’s first upcoming manga work; the internet has seen a constant buzz of interviews and forum discussions; crisscrossing the video game and comic book divide. This project is the result of the team’s great long-term planning. At last year’s Comicon in San Diego it was decided to fill the gap between the PK announcement and its publication, by releasing exactly what “D-Suzuki” fans scour the internet for; more of his stellar art and graphic designs!

The images featured within will run the gamut from traditional and classic styles to contemporary creations and sleek futuristic, sci-fi designs.

+ BONUS MATERIAL:
- Foreword by Dave Halverson – Editor in Chief of Play Magazine.
- Sneak peek at the razor-sharp manga event – Purgatory Kabuki
- Featuring artist interviews with IGN.com, PULSE and InsertCredit.com.

About the Creator:
”Yasushi Suzuki is a world renowned graphic artist, video game conceptual designer and animator. His work on IKARUGA (Sega), Sin & Punishment (Nintendo), Radiant Silver Gun (Sega), and so many other games, mainly under the gaming development giant TREASURE GAMES, has earned him a following few other conceptual designers can match.