Segata Sanshiro - one of the best console mascots in history.

Sega Toys manufactured this tribute to the Sega Saturn mascot — the least they could do after he sacrificed his life to save the company’s executives from a missile attack — some time around 1998. Though the packaging has English text like “He Became Legend” scattered around, I don’t think I’ve ever seen this in any North American shop.

The back of the box reads: “SEGATA SANSHIRO is an authority of justice who guides young men to SEGASATURN Do. He hates to things by halves! In pursuit of SEGASATURN Do, he practices asceticism and keeps challenging various things day and night!!”

I want one so I can go forth and challenge various things day and night!

Via GameSetWatch.com.

With or without speaker

Banpresto has for sale some spiffy business card cases that look like Famicom controllers, either with or without built-in speaker detail. There is an inner divider that creates two separate compartments.

Business card CHECK!

Also available are Pac-Man themed business card cases.

Pac-Man style also available

A quick search through your favorite search engine should result in several online shops where these can be purchased. At about $10 US each, they are a pretty inexpensive pick-up.

16-Bit High Definition Flames

Segata Sanshiro would be proud.

At about $100 US each they’re not cheap, but are totally awesome.

Spotted at RetroThing.

The unshakable NES owned the late 80′s video game scene. Not only did they bring gaming back to living rooms to stay, they went from strength to strength for at least five whole years (though games continued to be published until 1995, and the Famicom was still manufactured in Japan until 2003!) – an eternity in technology years.

Arcade rival Sega tried to counter with their own 8 bit Master System home video game, but made little mark. Sega wouldn’t pose a serious threat until 1989 when they unveiled their 16 bit Mega Drive system (Genesis in the US) and shook up Nintendo’s dominance. Mega Drive had superior sound, tremendous speed, and increased graphics horsepower (we can all chuckle today at the “High Definition graphics” label stenciled onto every American Genesis). It took a number of years for Nintendo to catch up, and in terms of sales the Mega-Drive is the last time that Sega really counted in the console game.

Spotted at RetroThing.com.

Buy your own here for $55 USD!

In other Saturn news, fansite Segatastic noticed that Enterbrain’s Sega Store has brought back its Saturn-shaped backpacks, over ten years after the company stopped production for the actual console. The nylon bag sells for a ridiculous $72 (¥7,140), and is only available in the less exciting and not-at-all rare color of gray

Ridiculous or not, gray or not, I still want one. At a size of 310mm by 320mm by 110mm it should hold quite a bit!

We’ve refined the Pac-man oven mitt with modern styling and materials. 100% food-safe silicon rubber resists temperatures up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit, and fits your hand like a puppet. Inside his mouth is a game-accurate representation of the classic Pac-man maze. After so many years of gobbling ghosts and power pellets, your hot pots and pans are no problem!

Pick up yours at ThingGeek.com.

Waka-waka-waka-om-nom-nom

Another great retro gaming shirt by Brian Brasher. Pick yours up today before they sell out!

Today GamePaused releases its first product – the ‘Exploded GameBoy T-Shirt’ – the first in a line of clothing from the video game culture community site.

‘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.’

Printed in Pantone Black and 021 Orange on a high-quality white 100% cotton tee, the shirt is on sale for £16 from gamepaused.net

Click for a larger image.