As if to make up for the fact that the Japanese don’t have a new handheld launch to look forward to, Nintendo has announced the launch of three new DSi colours, which will join the white and black flavours on store shelves in Japan on March 20th.

There’s a lurid pink model, which I think is the least attractive of the three, while the lime green is suitably bright, but still not to my tastes. Much more pleasant is the metallic blue number - very reminiscent of the Enamel Navy DS Lite.

Watch-Impress has more pictures. Go and have a look and be envious of our eastern brothers and sisters. Still, we’ve not too much longer to wait - it’s around six weeks until DSi launches in Europe and the US.

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Ace Japanese t-shirt maker King of Games has crafted something a little more appropriate for the cold winter months by producing a range of Punch-Out!! themed hoodies, which are available now.

They come in grey or black flavours, while the special editions contain a pair of fingerless gloves, buttoned into the sides. With the pound so weak at the moment, these are probably a little expensive to tempt too many importers - at 12500 yen (£77.50) the special editions in particular seem slightly overpriced, but then again this is quality - and exclusive - merchandise, and you won’t see dozens of other people wearing these when you do your shopping in the January sales.

Now if only Nintendo could cash-in on this retro love, by releasing a Wii update of the long-forgotten franchise at some point in 2009…

Oh.

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My favourite game-related clothing site King of Games has a treat in store for those Nintendo gamers with kids of their own, in the form of the new King of Games Jr. range, which offers a selection of its best-selling tees in small sizes.

I can vouch for how exceptionally well-made these tees are, and if you want to dress your kid in exclusive clobber no-one else will own, then you might want to get importing one or two of the six available designs. Unfortunately the Mario Kart one is completely sold out, but that leaves you with five superb designs to choose from. 

They’re priced at 3990 yen each, which works out at just under £25, but that’s not including shipping costs. But like I say, these are very well-made t-shirts, and will last you a fair old while.

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Awesome. If ever you’ve wondered what one of Nintendo’s best loved handhelds would look like mid-explosion then the folks at Gamepaused.net have your answer, in the form of this superb t-shirt.

It’s the first in a new line of clothing from the site, and it’s crafted from high-quality 100% cotton, printed in Panton Black and 021 Orange (it says here).

In the words of Gamepaused.net:

‘If you could measure the affect of a console on the future of games the GameBoy would probably be the most influential by a long way - the iconic handheld was the birthplace of many of our favourite games and their characters. We wondered what would happen if you exploded the GameBoy to find out what wonders were inside this magical console. We found out on the Exploded GameBoy T-Shirt.’

Lovely stuff. Click here to order one.

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*Read: expensive

Yep, everyone’s favourite JRPG creator has opened an online store from where Europeans can purchase lots of lovely high-quality merchandise with pricetags to match. See that silver slime pendant above? Yours for only £78.99. Bargain. Still, it is proper silver and everything.

Disappointingly, there’s nothing relating to The World Ends With You. Hardly surprising since the brilliant DS RPG - still in my Top Three Games Of The Year - sold about 89 copies, but a shame nonetheless.

Final Fantasy fans in particular are well-served, though only if you’re keen on non-Nintendo iterations of the series. I might plump for one of these Dragon Quest keyrings - a snip at just £14.99.

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Colourful ones! For Wii remotes! From Japan!

Yes, these li’l beauties arrived today, and I immediately attached them to my two Wii remotes (I’m sure I have a third somewhere but it wasn’t in my gaming cupboard). They’re the sturdier versions with the improved clasp, not that I ever had issues with the older ones. They’re well-made, and nicely-coloured, and I can now differentiate between the one which is synced up to my Japanese Wii, and the other one that I use with my US model.

I’ll be honest - the white one freaks me out a bit, particularly when I put it next to the straps I’ve just removed. Are my wrists really that filthy?

Still no news on a western release for this little extravagance. Fashionistas, get importing.

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My patronage of King of Games knows no bounds, and so I’m delighted to report the addition of a brand new - and reliably ace - tee on their website.

The problem? So far, it’s only available in Japan. Of course, it could just be a matter of time before this amazing Fantasy Zone II tee becomes available to importers, but there’s no sign as yet. I may just have to contact them to check. Wish me luck.

(Oh, and for completeness’ sake, there’s also a Crazy Taxi tee, which is nice, but nowhere near as cool as this one.)

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UPDATE: “No plans right now” says Nintendo UK.

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Green. No…blue. Definitely blue.

Wii remote straps, then - they’ll be available in Japan fairly soon, for 300 yen each, or 1000 yen for the pack of four above. Which works out at roughly £1.50 each, or £4.90 for the full set. Worth getting? Well, it’s useful for me, so I instantly know which remote is calibrated to my Japanese Wii and which to my US model when I pick one up at random. Colour coding - it’s the future.

I’ve mailed Nintendo UK to see whether we’ll be seeing these any time soon in Europe. Possible update later.

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I’ve been banging on about King of Games for a while now, and here’s pictorial evidence that I’m not all talk and no t-shirt, as my order for one of its recent Super Mario Galaxy range arrived this morning.

As you can see, the tee comes in a brilliant NES-style box. The shirt itself is really sturdy and well-made, with a flattering fit and some delightful details. I hadn’t realised that the sleeve bears the legend ‘Fantastic Adventure’, nor that a pixellated Mario sprite is positioned under the question-mark-block label.

And for a bonus extra, I got a case to hold all my Wii games, which appears to have been released to celebrate the company’s sixth anniversary. Splendid stuff.

This all came to around £34, which might seem expensive for a t-shirt, but you certainly get what you pay for - this reeks of quality, and it’s one of only 200 in the entire world. So the chances of bumping into someone with a similar design are somewhere between slim and none (unless you have plenty of otaku chums).

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What do you get when you combine ace t-shirt maker EDITMODE (of King of Games fame) with modern DS classic Space Invaders Extreme? Answer: the awesome tee design above, released by Taito to commemorate Space Invaders’ 30th Anniversary.

The tees are on sale at the famous Marui department store, but Marui’s online portal accepts international orders - assuming you want to spend over thirty quid on a t-shirt, that is. Two other designs are available, an invader-crushing female robot from artist Feebee and a brash, manga-themed effort from Teppei Kuroyanagi.

Stocks are starting to run dry, so grab one while you can. The store can be found here.

Cheers, Game | Life.

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