My first Loot/Entry post here, at least there will be something else other than my random figu gallery.

Got this from Play-Asia, took a month to arrive after shipping, normally it should take about two weeks only.

Not only me who experience slow shipping from Play-Asia recently, but everyone here who use free shipping method.

They just got the same item as me, but not taxed. I paid 722baht (about 20USD) import duty, just for these small boxes.

Condition….. pic says all

Things inside. Nendoroid Plus Stuffed Hatsune Miku and Hachune Miku. See no damage!!

Links:

Buy Nendoroid Plus Plush Series 1: Hatsune Miku at Play-Asia.com

Buy Nendoroid Plus Plush Series 2: Hatsune Miku at Play-Asia.com

Back.

Going to post review of them soon!!

Hoje eu vou postar novamente um artigo que eu escrevi no meu antigo blog que ajudou muita gente e que pode continuar ajudando.

Pois é pessoal. Eu me fiz muito essa pergunta quando resolvi comprar meu Wii e mais ainda quando decidi não desbloquear minha Torradeira!

Acredito que todos que me lêem já foram às lojas do grande varejo ou especializadas e se depararam com os preços absurdos o “precinho” dos jogos, seja para Wii, PS3 ou X-Box 360.

Todo mundo sabe (se não sabe, vai saber agora) que um produto importado para chegar ao Brasil sofre taxação. É nessa hora que a jurupoca começa a piar e pia alto.

A tributação abusiva extorsiva brasileira incide em 60% sobre o valor do jogo e pode piorar. Se no momento da compra, for contratado o seguro contra extravio ou avarias, lá se vão mais 60% sobre o valor deste seguro. Ah, não esqueça o frete. Sim, coloca ai na sua conta mais 60% do valor do frete.  Agora pra finalizar e salgar ainda mais soma o valor do lucro da empresa responsável por trazer o jogo. Se esta empresa for a responsável pela distribuição dos jogos aos grandes varejos, como é o caso da LATAMEL para jogos Nintendo, ainda temos que somar o lucro da loja de varejo.

Não satisfeitos com os impostos, ainda temos empresas que abusam do direito de achar que seu lucro tem que ser alto. É nessa hora que o diabinho começa a dar a dica do desbloqueio.

Não, não devemos piratear, mas também não devemos comprar jogos aqui. Assim os distribuidores podem forçar o governo e negociar algum benefício para os consumidores brasileiros. Para que assim, tenhamos um mercado formal valorizado e JUSTO.

Para ter então meus jogos, a única resposta que me veio à mente foi importar. Fiz algumas pesquisas e me deparei com um erro que muita gente comete. De achar que você pode importar qualquer coisa dos EUA, até 50 dólares sem sofrer taxação. Ledo engano que o André, um amigo meu, fez questão de me explicar. Pela lei, compras até 50 dólares só estão livres de taxação quando a compra é feita de pessoa física para pessoa física, como seria você comprando no site de leilões eBay onde pessoas físicas vendem para pessoas física. Se você comprar de um site de loja é pessoa jurídica (a loja) para pessoa física (você).

Bom, mesmo correndo o risco de ser taxado e mesmo que fosse, pagando os impostos seria mais barato que em lojas, resolvi testar comprando Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles. Entrei no site do CD Universe (eles merecem essa propaganda gratuita) e comprei o jogo. Saiu dos EUA dia 16/11/2008 e demorou exatas 3 semanas para chegar até a minha casa, sem nenhuma taxa extra.  A CD Universe envia os produtos em um envelope com bolhas e no adesivo não colocam nenhuma referência ao site ou nome da loja. Vem assinalado como merchandise e eles colocam o preço real.

Existem lojas online que tem mais manha em vender para brasileiros que o CD Universe. Eles declaram o valor menor, declaram como gift (presente) e enviam como se fosse de pessoa física para pessoa física

Você deve estar se perguntando por que eu não fui taxado na minha compra pela CDUe eu respondo. Porque a nossa alfândega abre e confere somente 5% de tudo que entra no Brasil.

Caso eles tivessem pegado a minha encomenda, mesmo declarando um valor menor, a receita tem uma tabela, que quase nunca é justa ou correta, na qual ela se baseia para te taxar.  Neste caso, não importa o valor da etiqueta. E você pode perder mais dinheiro com isso do que você imagina.

Após a criação da primeira versão deste post, do ano passado, eu já comprei mais alguns jogos, todos pela CDU e não sofri nenhuma taxação.

É tão simples comprar lá que até a minha Preta comprou um jogo de presente de aniversário pra mim.

E vai mais uma dica se você é apressadinho e não se importa de gastar U$7,00  a mais no frete, que nem eu, quando for comprar algo pela CDU, peça o envio por Priority Air Mail, pois assim demora 2 semanas pra chegar, ao invés de 3 semanas pelo Standart Air Mail.

Experimentei outra loja, a Play-Asia, onde comprei uma versão especial do controle de Game Cube branco, da cor do Wii, que só vendia na Asia. Nesta compra a chance de ser taxado foi imensa pois eles colocaram o controle dentro de uma caixa, cheia de marcas d’água da play-asia e não mentiram em nenhum momento na etiqueta. Sorte que o controle foi só 20 dólares.

Se você tem alguma dúvida ou quer trocar experiência, solta o verbo ai nos comentários.

Prometo responder asap.

André obrigado pelas dicas que você me deu. E lembre-se, a distância física não pode e não deve distanciar uma amizade! Abração pra você pras meninas meu irmão!

d-_-b Cassie – Me And You d-_-b

Play-Asia.com is kind enough to send out some coupons towards the end of every year to all their affiliates, and since I’m not going to be using them, please help yourselves!

I’ve linked the codes to my affiliate address, so I can get a referral or a commission on whatever you treat yourself to They may be good for one use only, but I swear they often work multiple times.

Code AK-GAS-CTY

Get US$8 off a purchase of US$50 or more

Code IG-TBY-XXL

Get US$12 off a purchase of US$100 or more

Axo que todos aqui conhecem a Play-Asia, já fiz algumas compras lá e sempre recebi as minhas encomendas no prazo certo e muito bem embaladas mesmo sendo com o frete mais vagabundo de todos, agora estou aqui pra falar de um assunto serious business… Business

Depois de receber uns emails deles decidi me inscrever no programa de afiliados deles, recebendo comissão e panz por cada venda/visita ao site deles pelo link que eu recebi (É ESSE AQUI Ó!!1 CLIQUEM), até agora já recebi UM fucking cent, ou seja, 1,71 centavos… AWSUM

Toda a grana que eu ganhar da Play-Asia vai ficar lá na minha conta para ser utilizada pra se comprar prêmios em futuros sorteios e panz, então se você é um dos 7 leitores que visita o blog regularmente faça o favor de clicar no maldito link se você quer ter esperanças de ganhar alguma coisa em um futuro não muito distante e se for fazer compras lá na play-asia venha aqui no blog e entre pelo link que também ganhamos comissão pra cada venda.

Problogger? Absolutamente não, Primeiro que não sou gordo e também ainda não escrevo posts pagos, se falo bem de alguém ou alguma marca é porque essa marca/pessoa é realmente boa e merece ter seu saco puxado. Ta certo que eu tenho uma conta no Paypal e posso muito bem desviar os “lucros” do blog para mim mas meh… Não faço isso até porque não gasto nada com o blog, nem com hospedagem emtão se um dia eu quiser faturar uma graninha com um blog eu crio outro e entupo com propagandas e adsense…

Btw, tem um link na imagem e logo logo já providencio um banner pra não ter que ficar caçando o link toda vez que alguém quiser comprar algo por lá…

E finalmente chegou meu Crisis Core e pra aproveitar o frete eu também pedi uma strap do wiimote pra usar no PSP, um certo contracenso usar um acessório da Nintendo em um portátil da Sony mas w/e, meu PSP não vai cair no chão… Vamos as fotos:

Caixa da Play-Asia

Como de praxe em unboxings o post ficou enormesco, cliquem no continue e sejam felizes (por mim que recebi o jogo xD).

Plastico bolha @-@

Jogo e o Strap nas caixas

Verso das caixas, só pelo lulz

Ótimo jogo, péssimo fotógrafo

Manual e o UMD... que nunca serão usados again

e o Strap, que veio com manual O.o

Por enquanto é só, fiz o dump do UMD pro PC e vou jogar a .iso no Stick, não é pirataria e ainda gasta bem menos bateria x3 AND Borderlands finalmente foi liberado ontem… MUITO FODA

Our Play-Asia TEKKEN 6 launch contest is now over!  With over 500+ entries from all around the world, three contestants were chosen to win one of three awesome arcade sticks and a copy of TEKKEN 6! Click below for a list of the winners!

SDTEKKEN &  Play-Asia Present the TEKKEN 6 Launch Contest!

And the winners are!!!

GRAND PRIZE – Mad Catz Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition + TEKKEN 6 (Asia) for Xbox 360

Brandon L. of Ft. Drum, New York!

RUNNER UP -  HORI Real Arcade Pro EX + TEKKEN 6 (Asia) for Xbox 360

Wan Ka W. of North Pt., Hong Kong!

RUNNER UP – GAMMAC Fanta Stick + TEKKEN 6 (Asia) for PlayStation 3

Diana M. of Los Angeles, California!

Congratulations to the three winners!  You have been contacted via email with further instructions on how to claim your prize!  For a full list of rules from this contest, please see the bottom of this post.

Our deepest and most sincere thanks to ALL of our readers and supporters.  Special thanks again to Fabian at Play-Asia for making this contest possible!

Stay tuned for more goodies!

TEKKEN 6 is finally out worldwide!  For those of you looking for a one stop shop for all things TEKKEN 6, check out our good friends at Play-Asia! US, Japanese, and Asian versions of the game are available as well as limited editions and a variety of arcade sticks!  For all the goods, please check the link below!

• Play-Asia – Feel the power of the iron fist – Tekken 6 is here for your home console!

TEKKEN 6 is here!  You know it, we know it, the whole world knows it!  We couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate than to team up with Play-Asia once again to offer fans all across the WORLD a chance to win one of three awesome TEKKEN 6 prize packages!  Click below for the full details and rules!

SDTEKKEN &  Play-Asia Present the TEKKEN 6 Launch Contest!

Enter for your chance to win one of the following TEKKEN 6 prize packages!

• GRAND PRIZE – Mad Catz Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition + TEKKEN 6 (Asia) for Xbox 360
  
• HORI Real Arcade Pro EX + TEKKEN 6 (Asia) for Xbox 360
  
• GAMMAC Fanta Stick + TEKKEN 6 (Asia) for PlayStation 3

SO SDTEKKEN… How can you win all this?!  Easy!  Read below!

Step 1 = Be a TEKKEN fan.

Step 2 = Send an email to CONTEST@SDTEKKEN.COM telling us why you love SDTEKKEN & TEKKEN 6!  Please also include the following:

SUBJECT HEADING: “I LOVE TEKKEN 6!”

Full Name
Nickname
Email Address
Mailing Address (Include country as well!)
Why do you love SDTEKKEN & TEKKEN 6?

Multiple entries/emails will be disqualified from entering the contest.

Step 3 = Three (3) winners will be chosen at random at the end of the day on Oct. 27th!

CONTEST LEGAL INFO

1. Introduction: SD TEKKEN & Play-Asia are offering the Online Contest (”SDTEKKEN – TEKKEN6 Launch” CONTEST). NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  A PURCHASE OR PARTICULAR RESPONSE DOES NOT IMPROVE YOUR CHANCE OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. SD TEKKEN WILL NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES OR OFFENSES DONE BY ANY CONTESTANT ENTRIES. SD TEKKEN IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH NAMCO BANDAI GAMES. TEKKEN 6 AND ALL RELATED CONTENT ARE A REGISTERED TRADEMARK AND COPYRIGHT OF NAMCO BANDAI GAMES INC.

2. Eligibility: Entrant must be 18 years of age or have written parental permission. Contest is open to all worldwide fans (Limited to allowed global area where Play-Asia can ship).   SD TEKKEN contest judges and immediate family (defined as parents, spouse, children, siblings, grandparents) of each such members, and all those with whom such members are domiciled, are NOT eligible.

3. Timing: Contest begins at 12:00:01 a.m. PST on October 20, 2009, and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. PST on October 27, 2009.

4. How to Enter: Submit required contact information and the reason why you love SDTEKKEN/TEKKEN 6 to CONTEST@SDTEKKEN.COM. Winners will be chosen at random under discretion of SDTEKKEN and contacted using the email address provided when entry was sent.  Multiple entries  will forfeit entry into the contest and be disqualified from future contests.

5. Judging Criteria: Each entrant selected as a potential winner must comply with all terms and conditions set forth in these Official Rules, and winning is contingent upon fulfilling all such requirements. The prize winners will be selected pending review by SD TEKKEN. The contest will take place under the supervision of MarkMan, Ace R., and n8nmonster of SD TEKKEN with cooperation from F. Gruber of Play-Asia, Inc. Participants agree to be bound by these rules and the decision of the judges, whose decisions are final. Potential winners will be notified by e-mail and website posting by Oct. 29, 2009. If a potential winner cannot be contacted and does not reply with appropriate affidavit and contact information within fourteen (14) days after the first attempt to contact such potential winner, an alternate entrant will be selected in his or her place from all entries received.

6. Prizes: See above for featured prizes. More prizes may be added later, so please check back often.

HUAHUAHUAHUAHUA… Shipped hoje

As you know, we are big fans of all things arcade sticks here at SDT… Our good friends at Play-Asia (The #1 place for online purchases & importing arcade sticks) recently shared their full catalog of arcade stick offerings with us and we’d like to go over all the offerings in a special 3 part series focusing on different types of sticks!  Today we focus on some of the Korean sticks… Click below for the full scoop!

NOTE: Opening/attempting to modify any of these arcade sticks will void any warranty.

The newly released Gammac Fanta Stick is largely based on authentic Korean arcade machine controls.  The placement & layout is similar to the official Street Fighter IV and TEKKEN 6 layouts found in arcades all over S. Korea.

For those of you unfamiliar with Gammac, they are a well known (yet fairly new) controller making company based out of Korea.  Most notably, they manufactured the arcade style controllers for the PC release of DJ Max Muse-On Limted Edition. Please note that this stick does NOT use Myoungshin or Taeyoung parts.  The buttons are similar to Crown buttons but aren’t exactly arcade quality.  For the price, the case is quite nice and the PCB feature is really cool, opting for individual settings for both PlayStation 3 and PC use.  For those of you who love stick modding and upgrading parts, this stick is perfect for you.

Continuing on with Korean arcade stick offerings, long time contender, Saulabi is in the market with several different versions of their popular 4K series of sticks.

The Saulabi Online Fighter sticks are available in black and white and are pretty much identical in build to the 4K series .  The earlier Saulabi sticks used authetic  arcade parts, but have since moved to a more clone type lever and similar type buttons.  The best feature about the Saulabi is this amazing commercial:

It is fairly easy to mod a Saulabi stick with Fanta/Crown sticks and buttons.  Requires basic knowledge of soldering and wiring.  For under $50, this is probably the best value out of a stock Korean styled stick, although the industrial design is a bit dated and does not look as modern as the newer Gammac stick.

In general, Korean styled arcade sticks are very popular amongst hardcore TEKKEN players.  Most notably with Mishima (Devil Jin, Kazuya, Heihachi) players who require the stick to bounce from neutral to forward at a fast rate.

If you’re interested in purchasing any of the sticks covered today, please check out the links below!

• Gammac Fanta Stick (Windows PC & PS3)
• Saulabi 4K Arcade Stick (Windows PC & PS3)
• Saulabi Online Black Stick (Windows PC)
• Saulabi Online White Stick (Windows PC)

Caramba… Um ano já, parece que foi ontem que eu estava desocupado e decidi criar um blog, lembro até que eu estava sem internet no meu PC então tive que criar o basicão do blog no outro PC mega-lerdo daqui de casa… 364 dias depois e estou aqui, com mais 3 colaboradores trazendo matérias/reviews/inutilidades para você caro leitor do Epic Failure Blog e no aniversário quem ganha o presente é você (frase mega-clichê btw). Vou sortear, não um, mas DOIS vales desconto da Play-Asia cada um no valor de 5 dólares… Pouco? Sim, mas para um blog que não ganha nada é muito.

O sorteio vai ser basicamente assim, vou pegar os trocentos comentários que já foram enviados aqui para o blog e sortear 2 usando algum site que gere números randoms, cada comentário tem um email então o ganhador receberá um email falando que ganhou o vale-desconto junto com os códigos para o desconto… Se o email não for válido (vou mandar um email antes para confirmar) vou sortear mais um número… Como eu e o pessoal daqui do blog podem ser acusados de “chuncho” se o comentário escolhido for algum dos nossos eu vou escolher mais um… Então se você comenta bastante aqui no blog as suas chances são grandes o/

O review do iPod talvez saia hoje… Amanhã não sei se terei tempo de escrever ele…

Been waiting for one of the Asian Edition Mad Catz Tournament Edition FightSticks?  Well, the wait is over!  Both the Xbox 360 TE stick and FightPad are now IN STOCK at Play-Asia! This is the same award winning arcade stick without the Street Fighter IV license.  For more information, images or to purchase these products, please visit the links below:

• PLAY-ASIA.COM – Mad Catz Arcade FightStick TE
• PLAY-ASIA.COM – Mad Catz FightPad

Eu assisti esse clipe em francês ontem por indicação de um amigo. Tem mais de um milhão de acessos e é francês. O motivo de ter tantas visitas e de ser um viral de tanto sucesso, você confere clicando aí em cima. A música se chama Baby Baby Baby do grupo Make the Girl Dance. Bacaninha e tal. Até aí tudo bem.

Só que logo em seguida, eu reparei que fizeram um paródia com o clipe numa propaganda para promover o jogos Guitar Hero 5, que vendeu 4x mais do que o Rock Band Beatles pelo que andam dizendo por aí. No Brasil, o Rock Band Beatles não deve ter vendido muito bem, mas dá pra entender já que “o preço do jogo por aqui equivale a pegar uma passagem de avião até os EUA mais a compra do jogo por lá”, segundo o UOL. Ah, é por isso que eu gosto do Play-Asia e vivo colocando links da loja aqui. Já comprei diversas vezes e sempre entregam numa boa. É lógico se para na alfândega você tem que retirar no Correio e pagar a taxa de 60% de imposto, mas mesmo com esse imposto dependendo do que você vai comprar e da sua sede de jogar, vale muito mais a pena. Sem falar que eles ainda mandam uns cupons com descontos e tal. Se você tem PS3 ou Xbox 360 e quer os games originais, eu acho que não tem lugar melhor pra comprar os jogos. Até games difíceis de achar, eles tem por lá, além dos figures, DVDs e Artbooks. E acho que pro Japão não cobram a entrega também! Bom, esse foi o momento merchan aqui do site!

This is going to be a kind of a review or what I think of the games so far.

Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story seems a little easy. Leveling up seems to happen very often. The game just doesn’t do it for me. I feel like I’m just exploring the world with Bowser then Mario & Luigi are just fillers. They game feels really easy, no boss fight I find notable for any difficulty. I’m I just saying this because I’m having more fun playing SoulSilver? No, the walkthrough on the game makes SoulSilver only 50% as fun as it should be. I’m not saying is a terrible game, I just don’t think it was better than Partners In Time. To be honest I would rather have my money than the game. I do enjoy it somewhat but not as much as I was hoping for. So, if your going to buy it play a demo first.

Pokemon SoulSilver its only at half potential and its amazing. They music is just stunning. The 3D effects feel more refine and a better feeling when you play the game. The story almost the same as the original with some improvements. I feel the improvements are a nice touch and fit in nicely with the original plot. If you like Pokemon games this one is a must have. If you on the fence on buying Platinum or waiting for Heart Gold or Soul Silver. I would say Platinum is a waste of money. It does have a few things that you might want for competitive battling but, not much. If you want to catch them all get Platinum If you desire.

Hot off the presses!  In addition to the wonderful TEKKEN 6 bundle being released worldwide, TEKKEN fans can also look forward to another surprise from Hori.  The TEKKEN 6 Hori Real Arcade PRO!  Available on both the Xbox 360 (HRAP-EX) and PlayStation 3 (HRAP3), the new stick is scheduled to come out October 29th and will retail for Y12800 (360) and Y9800 (PS3) respectively.  The stick is said to be very limited and preorders are open NOW at Play-Asia! Click below links for more details on how to get one!

• PLAY-ASIA – TEKKEN 6 Hori Real Arcade PRO 3 (PS3)
• PLAY-ASIA – TEKKEN 6 Hori Real Arcade PRO EX (360)

Ok, so I’ve felt a bit under the weather today/yesterday, and then Nekomagic had decided to get borked, in a manner that I can’t click the posts in order to take those pictures. So there might be a Figure Friday today, or there might be one tomorrow, or a condensed one next week… we’ll see.

In the meantime, I come bearing gifts, and questions, and stuff.

There seem to be several major sales going on, so I’ll be your guide to them:

The first, and the one that seems constrained by time is held by Play-Asia, the sale is %20 off on VISA sales. Most products older than 30 days on the shop fall under the category, but you must pay directly by a VISA card, not through PayPal. Too many items to go over them, especially as there doesn’t seem to be a specific listing for all of them together… so look around. This only applies until the 6th 9th of September.
UPDATE: Took a ridiculous long time (for me) to find it, but here’s the figure/toys discount list. One day left.
Update 1.5: The promotion had been extended until the 9th of September.

UPDATE 2: Ok, I went through the first 100 figures or so and collected some for you. Many of them are “Double-dip”, they have a discount available to all, and on top of it the 20% off VISA discount, I’ll note it by listing two prices, the first is with VISA, the second without:
Another Hearts Tonami Yuma Maid, $23.92/29.90; Another Hearts Kusakabe Yuki Maid, $35.92/44.90; Kanokon Minamoto Chizuru 1/5, $67.92/84.90; Creators’ Labo #16, Jingai Makyo Ignis, $47.92/59.90; Diformate Al-Azif, $27.92/34.90; Diformate Saber $27.92/34.90; Gurren Lagann phone straps, Kamina, Simon on Gurren, Yoko, $7.92 (only VISA discount); Halo 3 Spartan! $55.92/69.90; Cat Earned Nagi to those who missed her on Hobby Search, $3992/49.90; Kotobukiya X Plamo Tsukuru Custom Pre-Painted PVC Figure: Air, limited availability, but I think it’s stunning, $39.92/49.90; Little Busters Yuiko Kuruga (note, it’s a bit risque), $31.92/39.90; Last: The very cute Moetan, $47.92/59.90.

The second sale is mostly for the USA Citizens, and seems to be a Memorial Weekend sale (please correct me if I’m wrong, so tired).  Anyway, this sale by Toylet doesn’t seem to be limited by time, only by stocks. Note the prices as they are, because due to it being an American shops, customs and shipping mean the “MSRP” is higher than what the figure sells for on Japanese sites, but most sale prices are quite good.
Many of these figures range from “Sold out” to “Long sold out” on Hobby Search.

Some figures that called out to me (this is a pared down list, I begun with more and cut it down as I eyed my pocket most ruefully):
Want: President Japan’s Seena ($45); a nice Ikki Tousen Kanu Unchou ($25); Swimsuit with Shinai Saber ($35); Heart Work Yuna Morikubo.. I love that pose.. ($45).
Really want: Kotokubiya Elwyn, Shining Tears ($30); Saber New Costume, the face is slightly off, especially the cheeks ($30); Megachu! Fauna by Alter, which almost made it to the next category, damn! ($40).
The ones I was going to shell money for: Mabinogi Nao Adventure ($50), Mikuru Asahina Maid version by Alter, the blue dress, not the crazy cafe one ($40); Shigure Asa by Kotokubiya, yes, that pose ($35).

Now, what stopped me from getting the last three was the shipping charges. Shipping Airmail, the cheapest way, would be $35 for Nao alone (and dammit, she’s so gorgeous) and $45 for the other two. That makes me pause, though to be honest, that’s often what one pays on eBay, and still cheaper than what you would pay for them new, even sans cheaping. Wish I knew this sale was coming, say, 3 weeks in advance, and could prepare
USA residents should be made happy by the sale though, as shipping internally is ok.

Question: Still, tell me what you think, should I get that amazing Nao? Should I get one of the other figures? If I only chose one figure, which would you argue for?

UPDATE: Now added “Air” to the running, so feel free to revote

  
Mikuru, Nao and Shigure, respectively.
Air:

Now, it turns out there’s a third big sale going on, at Otacute. This sale is a bit of a pain to navigate, as the site is so slow to load each page, and even slower with itesm’ pages, as to make snails seem to have consumed jet-fuel. Moreover, you can’t seem to be able to separate the sale items so it’d only show you figures on sale…
I would keep watching this site though. Their starting prices seem cheaper by $10-15 than what HLJ/Hobby Search sell items for (AKA, the MSRP). With the current sale, it’s really lucrative.
I have never heard of the site before, so if you have testimonials, please share. Both good and bad. Cause they might beat Hobby Search with their prices…

Some items (the sale has 254 items, I only went through 100):
Prism Ark: Sister Hell Flooding Version (I knew there had to be a version without the leather bandages being pink!), $47.90; Murata Range PSE Collection 002 ‘Chris‘, this figure’s versions seem to be everywhere, this is the yellow eyed pink/white hair version, $43.90; FREEing’s amazing Aisha Kanu, for about half price, $56.50; Karauchi Annei by Toys Planning, for those wanting a cute and cheap figure, $19.90; SDX Command Gundam, which maybe should be painted/washed by a miniature painter? $27.50.

Finally, a question. I found out that Play-Asia has an affiliate program, and I enrolled in it. That’d give me about %8 of the money you pay for figures you get there through my links (the previous link not-withstanding, the sale link above does). How many of you buy from Play-Asia? Those who do, why do you over other shops, those who don’t, why not?
Also, would it bother you if the “Reserve” link at the end of the figures I list were to be linked to Play-Asia instead of Hobby Search (when possible), which seems by far the most popular choice?

Oui je suis faible, je l’avoue, je viens de commander Batman: Arkham Asylum, mais je n’ai pas voulu dérogé à la règle en ne l’achetant pas au prix fort!

J’ai donc passé commande chez Play-Asia puisqu’il propose le jeu en version Asie à 35,34€, celui ci est dézoné et le français y est inclu.

C’était déjà un très bon prix pour ce jeu qui d’après les tests et autres impressions à tout simplement l’air excellent, mais j’en ai quand même profité pour utiliser l’argent que j’ai accumulé via le programme d’affiliation, soit un peu plus de 12$, au final avec les frais de port inclus le jeu me revient à quasiment 30€

Je n’ai donc vraiment plus honte d’avoir été faible, maintenant il me reste plus qu’a patienter car il n’arrivera pas avant 2 à 3 bonnes semaines, je ne suis pas du tout à court de jeu alors je saurais attendre sagement

What can I say? I love my online shopping and special deals.

Yesterday, Play-asia began a 20% off sale for Visa cardholders. If you pay by Visa from now until September 6th, you’ll get 20% off of any in-stock item–provided it wasn’t released in the last 30 days. (C’mon, it’s only fair to pay full price if you want it first.)

Head on over there if you’re interested.

Hey all,

I don’t know if I can put this on WordPress without getting some manner of long-distance backside-caning, but I’ve found a REALLY good deal for gamers.

Now, I may do a lot of free promotion for Play-asia, but then again, they’ve done a lot for me. Right now, they want to give me a $5 off my next order for going to their Fan page on Facebook, becoming a fan, and writing a review of their past service to me.
And of course, they would do the same for you!!! (..in theory. Better leave a worthwhile review, just in case.)

Just follow the link in the right sidebar to the Play-asia homepage, then find and click the “Become a Fan on Facebook” graphic. Please respect their system and review only if you have shopped there before.

Enjoy your free money!

From the 2007 PlayStation 2 game “Shining Wind” comes Xecty Ein, the dark-haired elven girl in military uniform. Produced by President Japan and Eye-Scream, this is one of the most amazing figures from the Shining series.

Xecty Ein, the Battle Fairy of the Gale

Emperor Sword - One of the “Four Emperor Swords” from the Demonic Alchemy Empire of Baelgard, Xecty Ein looks calm and composed but she’s actually innocent like a puppy.

Figure Information

Original Design: Taka Tony
Sculptor: Yamashita Tomoaki
Source: Shining Wind (PlayStation 2 Game) [link]
Scale: 1/8 (Aprox. 25 cm)
Material: PVC
Release Date: February/2009
Production: President Japan [link][2][3]

Character Introduction

Because I played the game two years ago and didn’t finish even the first playthrough, I can’t remember the details of the story… From what I can remember, Xecty Ein is either a clone of Killrain’s younger sister or was revived through Hildareia’s experiments. She was “modified” to became Traihard’s partner and obey his orders. She also carries the genes of Celestia, the Queen of the Elves.

Xecty Ein by Taka Tony

There was an anime titled “Shining Tears X Wind” that aired before the game was released. Unfortunately I couldn’t watch it at that time but I think the anime covers the game storyline. But instead of following the game protagonist, Kiriya Kaito, the story is developed from the point of view of Akizuki Souma, another “Soul blader”. More details of the story can be found in the article at Wikipedia [link].

The game is good and I didn’t finish it because I had lots of other things to do. Hmm… I hope I didn’t delete the savegame from the memory card. Now I just need to find where I put the game. Oh, by the way, the game wasn’t released in English…

Review

This is one of the quite expensive figures, sold for 8,190 yen or more. Luckily for me, Play-Asia [link] put her on sale last month with a nice discount. With another discount using a coupon and with the cheap but trackable shipping, this was a great deal! It’s always a good idea to check the site from time to time to find bargains like this one. Seena Kanon [link] and Kureha Touka [link] are also with discount. It’s a shame I can’ get them now because I’m already broke…

Anyway, let’s go to the review.

This time I didn’t take photos of the box. The box is big, its dimensions are 21 x27.5 x 20 cm.

The figure also takes a lot of space. The base is around 18 cm in diameter. The color of the base tries to emulate wood.

And the sword is about 15 cm long.

One of the main features of this series produced by President Japan and Eye-Scream are the transparent eyes or “doll eye”.

The amount of details is astonishing for a figure of this scale. The painting, however, is a bit plain.

This figure also has cast-off features! Well… Kind of. The large overskirt can be removed. And that’s it!

To the right in the photo above, Elwing La Sylphis from Shining Tears, also produced by President Japan and Eye-Scream. Elwing was the reason I bought Xecty. Elwing is probably the best figure produced from Shining Wind. Even though the face feels a bit off from the original design, the overall quality of the figure is top notch. I think she deserves a review of her own…

Xecty and Elwing by Taka Tony

For Shining Wind fans, this Xecty Ein from President Japan is a figure that shouldn’t be left out of their collections!

Cya!