If you're no good with the needle and can't knit your own sackboy, then maybe you'll be better off with the RotoVinylboys instead. They're sackboys captured in the wild and sent to the taxidermist to be given a RotoVinyl finish.

Details and pics after the link.

Are the downloadable PixelJunk games making their way to retail? Well, it seems Play-Asia knows something we don't, as the online retailer currently has a listing for a 3-in1 PixelJunk pack.

Cuteness alert!

LittleBigPlanet sackboy plushies are now officially available at Play-Asia. Models currently available are Normal, Pirate, Soldier, and Sunflower. Nope, no sackboys in their undies here. More details after the link.

Did all those hot releases dig a hole in your wallet or are you saving up for the holidays but you still want more games? Then check this out - Play Asia is clearing out and you can get games, music, and UMD movies for great prices. Price lists in the full article.

According to a rumor we've picked up, it appears that the Tears to Tiara Strategy-RPG title for the PlayStation 3 has been dated for July. Perhaps even more interesting to note is that the game will also feature a collector's edition. More details are available in the full article.

  

Online retailer Play-Asia has just announced the commencement of their Summer Smoothie promo, which will provide for a 20% price cut for all select goods in their extensive (virtual) merchandise shelves. Here's a sample of the major deals available for the promo:

• Xbox 360
• Blue Dragon (English/Chinese language version) (Asia, US$ 35.92)
• Shadowrun (US, US$ 47.92)
• Forza Motorsport 2 (US, US$ 47.92)
• PlayStation 3
• Def Jam Icon (US, US$ 47.92)
• F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon (US, US$ 51.92)
• The Godfather: The Don's Edition (Asia, US$ 39.92)
• Wii
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Japan, US$ 31.92)
• Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII (US, US$ 47.92)
• Cooking Mama: Cook Off (US, US$ 47.92)
• PSP
• DJ Max Portable 2 (Korea, US$ 39.92)
• DJ Max Portable 2 Orpheus Package ~Night Black~ (Korea, US$ 119.92)
• Bleach: Heat the Soul 4 (Japan, US$ 39.12)
• DS
• Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow (Konami's Best) (US, US$ 19.92)
• Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Justice for All (US, US$ 23.92)
• Final Fantasy III (US, US$ 35.92)
  

Play-Asia's Summer Smoothie is expected to last until July 12, Thursday, and will cover all items in stock, except for those released during the last 30 days. That's the basic rundown of this ongoing discount special - the full merchandise list should be available at Play-Asia's site via the read link below.

  

 
Remember the new shoot-'em-up game that retailer Play-Asia is funding? We'll be getting back on that topic today, as we pick up more details regarding Soldner-X: Himmelssturmer, under development with studio SideQuest.

For starters, you're a bad-ass mercenary who's been hired as Earth's last defence against an alien virus that's consuming the planet's life forms and technology. Your player's been awarded an experimental ship, with your goal being to fly to the enemy virus' origin, and destroying the said menace. As for the rest of the game details:  

• 12 stages staged across 4 worlds
• Unique upgrade weapon system and unique tactical elements such as chaining, effectiveness system, 'berserker', and more.
• Plenty of hidden bonus features and more than 20 extras (with both positive and negative effects)
• Collection quests and over-the-top boss fights
• Supports 720p HD mode in 16:9
  

Missing in the details is where this new game is expected to appear, although we have an inkling it'll be either PlayStation Network or Xbox Live - it did state it was going to be in HD. Expect the game to be released late 2007. That's it for the moment, although we'd appreciate it if the German-literate readers could come up with an accurate English translation of the game's title. Thanks in advance!

What you're looking at is the tentative box-art for FolksSoul, the newest spin-off of the Monster Kingdom universe. For those of you unfamiliar with the Monster Kingdom line of games, the series was developed by Atlus co-founder Cozy Okada and has had several incarnations in the Sony PlayStation Portable. It looks like the franchise is ready to test the next-gen console waters as it slates a June 21 release for its newest baby.

Think of FolksSoul as Fatal Frame meets CSI meets Pokemon. Yeah, it's a little weird, we know. The game tells the story of Ellen and Keats who receive mysterious letters from supposedly dead people and had their paths cross in a spooky village. It's now your job to help them investigate why they got the notes from six feet under and what the locale has to do with it.

The early word is that the game is likely to play similar to Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner, which means that players will have the ability to summon creatures through an ID system to aid them in their quest. This, of course, is still speculative as the only thing the Japanese have revealed so far is the complete title, which is FolksSoul: Ushinawareta Denshou. On a side note, Play-Asia has a different release date for the game - June 7.

The Play-Asia online store has just announced that from March 30 to April 5 next week, it will be holding a special "Crazy Week" sale. The sale will reduce the price of all of Play-Asia's "in-stock" items by 20%. This offer will also stack up with previously discounted products, which should make for serious savings.

As an example for the PSP fans, we've spotted copies of Pentavision's DJ Max Portable game up for grabs for US$ 39.92. Also available at the Play-Asia site is the PSP GPS transceiver, which currently sells for US$ 47.92 - players of Konami's Portable Ops game may want to take advantage of this bargain.

For the Wii console owners, Play-Asia is selling a spare Wii component AV cable for just US$ 7.99, as well as copies of TOMY's Naruto Shippuuden: Gekitou Ninja Taisen EX game for just US$ 39.92. Just remember that Wii games are region-coded, and you should be all set.

These are just tidbits of the deals that await at Play-Asia's sale. Given that their list is constantly being updated as new stock comes in, we advise readers to keep alert - they just might list that elusive game/paraphernalia they have been looking for.

As an important point of clarification, we note that the Play-Asia's "Crazy Week" sale is not valid for items sold at wholesale discount, nor is it valid for the store's weekly specials. There are also various restrictions that may pop up depending on the product you click on. With that said, we wish the readers good fortune on their next buying binge.

Tab this gadget under one of the "looks cool but probably does nothing really worthy" collection. While browsing for good deals in Play-Asia, we came across this PS3 protector from Hori. No, it won't stop robbers from nicking your 600-dollar console, but Hori's claiming it will prevent dust and nicotine from crawling inside your top-of-the-line Cell-powered unit.

Hori's Dust & Nicotine Guard 3 is built to screen the air being sucked by the PS3's fans. Priced at almost US$ 17 per unit, it's supposed to be available starting April 26th. Now we know there's nothing more disgusting than nicotine-stained keyboards and controller buttons, but since this one's for the console itself, how useful can it really be? It's your call really.