Sackboy is one of the most recognizable video game icons out right now. No wonder that Sony wants to capitalize on the LittleBig-love by releasing new 4" action figures this Spring. In addition to the regular 4" action figures, toy developer and manufacturer, Mezco Toyz, will also release limited-edition Sackboys throughout the year, ranging between 2″ and 18″ large.

The PlayStation.Blog also notes that official Sackboy plushes are also in the works, but more time is needed before they're officially unveiled.

When Chrismix sent us pictures of a pink lantern Kirby, we were so bowled over by the cuteness that there was no other option than this: dedicating this week's Show and Tell to the little pink guy. Thus did we set out, scouring the harsh planes of these wild internets in search of custom Kirby swag. Interested in what we found? Take the guided tour here, or jump right into the gallery below.

Well, nut. Acorn, really. Plush acorn ... in the grip of a plush squirrel. Never mind. Chances are, if you're a fan of, uh, fantasy-themed farming simulations, you've already got a copy of Rune Factory 2 preordered -- if only because there are no games in that narrow subgenre that aren't called Rune Factory.

But hey, even if you don't care about growing whatever or tending whatever or fighting whatever, Natsume will give you this plush squirrel if you preorder their game from Amazon. They keep trying to use cute plushes to sell us games ... and it continues to have a shockingly powerful effect on our resolve. Marvelous is at least as talented at designing adorable, plush-ready mascot characters as they are at designing repetitive, addictive games.

It seems the glorious baked treat that Peach offered Mario at the end of his arduous Nintendo 64 adventure is long gone. She dumped his podgy butt in the moat and ate it all for herself, and seemingly continued to enjoy royalty snacks for some time afterwards. Peach has plumped up, and now you can buy her!

This eBay auction comes down to a matter of preference. Do you prefer slim, active Peach or hedonistic, pampered royalty Peach? Let you wallet do the talking. The idea of a plus-sized princess is actually pretty interesting. Someone should totally make a game out of it, although we're sure it'll never happen.

[Thanks, Alejandro!]

Link looks awfully adorable in amigurumi form, so we're grateful to Artoo1121 and her boyfriend for bringing such a cute craft into the world. What really gets us, though, are all the mini accessories that come along with this crocheted wonder, like the Hylian Shield, the Master Sword, the Lon Lon Milk, and (last but not least) the ocarina.

Artoo1121 is also working on a Zelda to match up with Link, which will be impressive if it even comes out half as nice. You can also check out her Flickr set here to see more pictures of this craft if you happen to like it as much as we do.

[Via Technabob]

To go along with the June 26 release of the new DS version of Disgaea, Nippon Ichi is doing what they do best (next to making ridiculously hardcore SRPGs for crazy people): making adorable plush dolls. The latest, available on June 20, is a representation of Prinny Kurtis, a green, angry-looking Prinny whose human form also appears in the game.

Kurtis will sell from NIS's Japanese shop for 2,980 yen ($27.88), and probably won't blow up upon arrival. NIS America has a lovely online store with lots of great promo products as well, so we think we can look forward to domestic availability.


[Via Inside-Games]

Because we're all massive, shameless nerds here at Fanboy Towers, we like to bang on about gaming merchandise, be it plushes, gashapon, game soundtracks, figurines, or inflatable Slimes. We're not feigning enthusiasm for much of this, either -- our cluttered shelves are a testament to our love for non-game gaming items. We accept that so much of it is pointless, yet we find the desire to own a plush in the shape of a cartoon lawyer is not one that can be resisted by most mortal men.

Are you similarly hooked on gaming merchandise? Tell us about your collections, and make us feel better about ourselves.

There's been a disturbing lack of press about Harvest Moon: Tree of Tranquility. In fact, we've probably seen and heard more about Rune Factory: Frontier than we have about Tree, which came out in Japan last year.

What we do know is that preordering the title through Amazon will get you an adorable cow plushie. Of course, it's difficult to tell when you'll actually receive the game and plush doll; Natsume lists "Summer 2008," Gamestop lists late July, Gamefly lists early August, and Amazon lists late August, to name a few of the scattered release dates.

Still, for Harvest Moon fans who were planning to buy the game anyway, a cute cow plush is a nice bonus that might make preordering through Amazon the best way to go. It's certainly not the greatest gift ever, but we think it will definitely appeal to the Harvest Moon crowd ... mostly because we're in that crowd, and we want one for ourselves.


[Via CAG]

Judging by her gallery, DeviantARTist VioletLunchell seems to specialize in these chibi-style plushes, and her latest piece of work, this Pit plushie, will resonate with anyone who found themselves turned off by the recent batch of alleged concept art for the alleged Wii game.

The artist herself confesses to "[not knowing] anything about video games," but she's done a fairly awesome job here -- this blogger would love one of these to place next to his numerous Pikmin plushes, but sadly this was a one-off commission piece. Probably a good thing, really. There comes a time when a man of 28 really has enough plushes.

[Thanks, YaYaLuvsCupcakes!]

Sure, this Pit plushie is adorable, but it has Mako eyes, and we're afraid the negative effects Mr. Kid Icarus has had from flying too close to Shinra. (Thanks, YaYaLuvsCupcakes) Check out the highlights for today:

Joystiquery
Joystiq FAQ: All about the AMD Game! Program
The Joystiq Free Game Club: Sonny
Joystiq primer: Age of Conan

News
Age of Conan collector's edition is all sold out
Critter Round Up and Star Soldier R hit WiiWare today
EA extends Take-Two purchase offer deadline a third time
New games this week: Wii Fit edition
Tiga: Georgia incentives highlight UK game devs need tax breaks
EA knocks Activision/Vivendi for leaving ESA
Skykid swoops onto Virtual Console
Haze says no to HD, yes to HDD
Metal Gear Solid 4 not the last 'Metal Gear'
Nintendo bans Hitler from Mario Kart Wii
'Virtual Iraq' treats PTSD with modded Full Spectrum Warrior
South Korean president gifted with mother of pearl Xbox 360
Haze dating game video makes us uncomfortable
How to share user generated content in Blast Works

Rumors & Speculation
'Skate' bored? EA teases Skate 2 gameplay twist

Culture & Community
BioShock 'pimp supreme' Ken Levine to keynote PAX 2008
Ninjas keeping Sega employees quiet
You too can buy Drake's gun from Uncharted
Texas Governor Rick Perry keynoting E3
2008 E3 exhibitor list released

Stupid plushies, with their cute little faces and soft, fuzzy bodies. Ugh. Hate 'em! What's there to like about squishable little animals anyway? You know what we need? Uncute plushies. Thankfully, someone is on the cutting edge, ready with the future of stuffed toys. Resident Evil fans, pay attention, for we present: the zombie dog plush, courtesy of mjrahabim's Etsy marketplace. On one site, it's a cute little puppy. On the other? A skeletal undead killing machine. It's dual use! Each puppy is custom-made (which means they may vary from plush to plush) for $25.

And it still manages to be cute. Dammit.

Gamestop can be so cruel to our wallets. We try to resist their silly preorder bonuses that come with games, but at times it's too hard to ignore the temptation.

The most recent battle of wills comes with Gamestop's bonus for Harvest Moon DS Cute. If you couldn't tell from the picture above, it's a plush cat! That may not seem like a big deal for many of you -- after all, what's another cheap stuffed animal? -- but here at DS Fanboy, we love cats (especially the "lol" kind). Maybe not as much as we love pugs, but we digress.

We like the Harvest Moon series anyway, so normally preordering this game wouldn't be an issue. Yet, since two Harvest Moon games are coming out pretty close to each other, we were hoping to spend our money on Island of Happiness instead. Cute is essentially the same game as Harvest Moon DS, except that the main character is a girl rather than a boy (plus, a few other minor additions). Island of Happiness, on the other hand, is a completely new game with a Lost in Blue meets Harvest Moon concept.

We probably won't waver in our decision to stick with Island of Happiness, but if you're a fan of the franchise and haven't played Harvest Moon DS yet, this preorder bonus might make the purchase a worthwhile one.

[Via Siliconera]

Do you love your Game Boy so much that you just want to hug it to death? Then perhaps instead of a game system, you should have a plushie. These cute little handheld dolls also have sweet little facial expressions, making them all the more lovable.

The best thing about KungFuCowgirl's Etsy creations is that they're not ridiculously overpriced. They only cost $14 a pop, which is very reasonable for something handmade. We love craftsters, but we always appreciate them more when they don't exploit our gaming love for everything it's worth.

[Via Technabob]

Craftster user cristasaurus started to make a plush doll, but discarded the body when she was dissatisfied with it. Left with just a ridiculously cute plush head (with an expression commensurate with having your body thrown out), she did the humane thing and turned the unfinished project into a great DS case.

What this little critter lacks in, uh, torsos and appendages, it makes up for in DS-shaped cavities -- cristasaurus is lucky to have made a doll with a head roughly the size of a DS Lite. And stuffed with fleecy material, the little guy remains huggable.

Not only can you throw this Wiimote at your television as hard as you want, but you can go ahead and spike the whole damn Wii into it. That's because Kickass-Peanut's custom Wii uses futuristic "actually being a plush toy and not really a Wii at all" technology.

We think we might like plush game consoles more than the real ones. They're absolutely superior in every way except for playing video games. For some reason, we feel like we're more impressed with Kickass-Peanut's achievement of a Wiimote filled with fluff than we are with Nintendo's Wiimote filled with circuits and junk.