Cool Finds: Famicom Lunch Box

 I got an unexpected surprise last week.  I had bought a small lot of about a dozen Famicom carts off of Yahoo Auctions and when they came in the mail I discovered that the sender had used the most awesome packing box ever - a vintage Famicom lunch box!

This thing is totally awesome.  Released in 1985 it features the usual round up of figures from popular early Famicom releases on the front - Ice Climber, Super Mario, Wrecking Crew and Clu Clu Land.  The art looks awesome close up

Both the top and the bottom have that same, colorful artwork on it.  On the side it just lets you know its a Family Computer lunch box

While the other side has some blue colored characters from Super Mario Brothers:

This must have been a pretty awesome thing for a kid to carry his or her lunch to school in.  It brings back fond memories of my own Empire Strikes Back lunch box that I used to lug around in the early 80s.  I`m not sure if this Famicom one came with a thermos or not.

Little Family Computer Memo

I found something at Mandarake yesterday that I couldn`t resist plunking down a few hundred yen for. A teeny weeny Famicom, complete with a teeny weeny Ice Climber cart.
It isn`t even as big as a Famicom cart:
It is not, of course, a functional mini version of the Famicom. It is actually a memo pad holder:I love the fact that the memo paper has pictures of the Famicom on it:
The level of detail on something so small is quite impressive. It looks just like a real Famicom:The only thing missing is the controller wires, but otherwise its all there. Even the writing telling you where the expansion port cover is:
These were released in 2004. I have seen pictures of them on the internet from time to time but this is the first time I`ve ever actually found one. They came in five different versions: Ice Climber, Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros., Zelda and Dr. Mario. They only had the Ice Climber one available, which is cool as I probably would have gone for that one anyway.

The box is pretty cool too actually, very similar to the old Famicom box:
I only have 30 pages of that Family Computer paper and I doubt I`ll be able to find anymore, so I will use it sparingly.

Related Posts
-Famicom Cushions and Other Crap...Merchandise. I Mean Merchandise.
-Amada Famicom Mini Cards: The Coolest Famicom Thing You Never Knew Existed

Famicom Cushions and other Famicom Crap....I Mean Merchandise. Famicom Merchandise.

I was at Village Vanguard, a novelty store downtown, today. I did a post about them a few months ago as they sell Famicom games. They had some new Famicom crap in today though so I thought I'd take a few pictures and put them here.

The main thing of interest was the Famicom cushion. As the name implies it is a cushion and a Famicom: all in one.

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of novelty stuff like this. The attempt to cash in on my ironic sense of hipster nostalgia is just a bit too blatant. Still though, it was a nice try. It is actually two cushions, a Famicom cushion and a Famicom Disk System cushion:
They are tied together at the back, where you can also see the controller wire strings:
Which connect to the controllers:
It is really a shame that they display them wrapped in ugly plastic like this. I would have been much more tempted to buy one if they had displayed them nicely (like making a cushion Famicom Box or something). Usually Japanese stores are much better at stuff like that, Village Vanguard (and whoever manufactured these things) really dropped the ball there.

I was almost tempted to remove one from the plastic for the purposes of these photos. You know, the old:

"Cough Cough" (sound of plastic being torn) "Cough Cough"

routine. I didn't have the guts though.
Another problem is that they are made of this plastic-y type of material that doesn't look like it would be too comfortable. If I did have these I doubt I would use them as cushions much.

I suppose they would make for a rather cunning anti-Famicom theft device as you could put them under your TV when you go out of town and burglars would be tricked into stealing your Famicom (and Famicom Disk System) cushions rather than your actual Famicom (and Famicom Disk System).

The problem with that is that these pillows actually cost more than a Famicom (and Famicom Disk System), so you'd have been better off just letting the burglars take the real thing.

Anyway, these are about 3300 yen if anyone is interested.

They had some other kind of interesting Famicom related crap lying around. Like this handbag:
Must have been an imported one.

They also had these carrying cases:
Not too sure what it was for. I guess you could keep your Famicom controller in there or something.

And a little box that contains Space Invaders:
And some Mario dolls:
And more Mario dolls:
And Mario mobiles:
And boxes shaped like blocks from Mario:
And Luigi hats:
And a bucket of actual Famicom games:
I didn't buy a thing.

Related Posts:
- Fukuoka Famicom Shops V: Village Vanguard and Don Quixote
- Famicom and Game & Watch Stuff From Loft

Famicom and Game & Watch Stuff From Loft

The other day I was browsing around the Loft downtown. The Loft is a rather cool department store of sorts.

When I think of department stores I usually think of places that sell housewares and tacky golf slacks to folks from the burbs. The Loft is not this kind of department store. It sells similar genres of stuff but it markets itself towards the yuppie set.

So if they sell unattractive golf slacks, they sell them in an ironic way to urban hipsters and not to people who actually intend to play golf in them.

If that makes any sense?
Anyway, they also - and I don't know why I'm telling you this - have the nicest public bathrooms in their block of downtown, which is right next to the main subway station. Very clean and modern, the toilet seats are heated, and they generally keep the riff raff out.

So if you are ever in Tenjin and are faced with a sudden emergency, head straight there. The facilities on the fifth floor are particularly spacious. Trust me, you'll be glad you did. Tell them Sean sent you, I'm a regular.

.....

Moving on, let us return to the subject of my trip to the Loft.

During my last trip there (fifth floor) I perused the novelty item section. This is my favorite part of the Loft. I was delighted to find some Famicom and Game & Watch related items on the racks.
The first were these Namco key chain controllers. They had Xevious, Street Fighter II and Family Stadium versions.

There was a sample of the Xevious one out which you could try. Basically if you push one button it starts playing the background music from Xevious. Then each time you press the other button it makes the shooting sound.

The sound quality was actually quite good and true to the original. At 889 yen though (a little over 10$) these things were way overpriced, so I passed on them.

Next to those were the Game & Watch themed key chains:
These are solar powered and they had a few different games. Each has an LCD screen that shows scenes from the original Game and Watches.

What sucks immensely about these is that you can't actually play the games. The screens just run a looping pattern of screen shots from the original. They have an "A" and "B" button, but those are just for decoration.

I find this to be really obnoxious. I know for a fact that these days they can make these LCD games for dirt cheap - I've even gotten free ones in boxes of cereal before. I can think of no valid reason why - for the price they charge (over 10 bucks) - they could not have made these things with games that you could actually play.

It is like they are just rubbing our noses in it or something. It is as if some corporate bigwig, after screeching his Delorean to a halt on the sidewalk in front of the store entrance, were to hop out and announce to all the customers he had just narrowly avoided hitting:

"Ha, you Loft shoppers with your fancy shoes and oversized hats. We know you gonna buy whatever shit we put on these shelves so we ain't even gotta do jack to make these products half-way decent. We be price gouging old-school, bitches! Yeah! Watchoo gonna do 'bout it? Pshaw, right. Peace, out! Suckaz!"

Then he gets back in, backs over an earthquake relief collection box while executing a three point turn, and peels out back onto the street, encouraging the two prostitutes in the passenger seat to give everyone the finger backwards through the sun roof as they zoom away. The last thing the startled customers hear is him scolding the girls for having spilt his cocaine all over his new leopard print floor mats while he was making his speech.

Well, maybe it isn't that obnoxious but still. Take out the bit about backing over the charity collection box and it'd be about right. My point is that A Game & Watch key chain that you could actually play would be something worth having. One that is just for decoration? Well, that might be worth having too if it was in the 4-5 $ range. But at these prices? Bloody pirates is all they are! Pirates with decent public bathrooms I'll admit, but still pirates nonetheless!