This might not be the nerdiest of swag, but it’s worth noting that merch.com, the official webstore for Nine Inch Nails (among others), has relaunched their site.  If any of you had ever tried to peruse the old site, this is a huge improvement.

Also If you are looking to buy some Band T-shirts merch.com has mostly punk and rock shirts, but we still recommend it.

They also seem to be running a cool contest for bloggers regarding Coachella…..

There was a sad story a week ago about a Halo fan who’s 360 took a dump, as they’re prone to doing, only to have the original artwork and signatures that were on the 360 console wiped clean. This was well after the fan had been promised by Microsoft that his ‘custom’ 360 would be fixed and the Master Chief art and Bungie developers autographs would be preserved once he sent it in for a fix. It was pretty distressing to say the least for this fan that had been assured everything was going to be fine only to have his console returned to him sans the very art he wished to keep.

Here’s are pictures of the guy’s custom 360 before sending it in to Microsoft after a RROD.

Here is the very same xbox 360, with identical series numbers, after Microsoft returned it. All art is wiped off. Only vague smudges remain.

Now the good folks over at Bungie got wind of this story that ran rampant over the interwebs and has decided to try and rectify the situation. So they sent him a slew of Halo 3 related game swag. Keep in mind, the issue with the fan’s custom 360 was entirely Microsoft’s fault and had nothing to do with Bungie, other than what was lost was art pertaining to Bungie IP Halo. Their quick turnaround for getting all this amazing stuff together to ease this loyal fans heartache is admirable. In fact, it’s more than admirable, it’s a downright amazing show of pure generosity on behalf of a gaming company that remains fiercely loyal to the fan base that made them successful. Bungie, we salute thee.

Here are some pictures of all the great goodies that Nathaniel (the fan) recieved from Bungie. More of the story and pictures can be found at HawtyMcBloggy.com

Link to the original story here.

Thanks to ThinkGeek, you too can own your own Halo weaponry, ready for Laser Tag, 90’s style. Life sized replicas of both the Plasma Rifle and Plasma pistol are available. The guns feature accurate sound effects from the game, actively recoil, and even generate shields and overheat just like in the game! Click here to learn more about these nifty guns.

If, on my deathbed, someone asked me if I wished that I spent more of my life playing Laser Tag, my answer would be a resounding YES!

Yes, now this is a scarf I can get behind.  Apparently, this female knitted a Mike Tyson’s Punch Out! scarf and is selling it for $175.  The care and craftsmanship are definitely apparent, but I’m not sure about the price.  Anyway, its still really neat and I have to give her props on those 8-bit knitting abilities.

Source: Etsy  via Kotaku

Coming this march, Devil May Cry fans can get their mitts on a 6″ figure of Dante from Devil May Cry 3. Apparently you are supposed to trash talk with the figure while playing with him or setting him up on your shelf. Works for me.

Character description can be found after the break.

Talk trash with Dante! From Capcom’s Devil May Cry 3, Dante comes equipped with a new joint system that allows for a ton of dynamic action poses using only 14 joints! Ready to be posed on his action base, this 6-inch action figure comes equipped with one interchangeable head, two hand guns, a sword, a double-barreled sawed-off shot gun, and an electric guitar.

Source: Entertaiment Earth

Straight from the 2008 US Toy Fair, Master Replica has brought forth new Halo figures.  Included are a large scale Master Chief figure, life size plasma sword, replica spartan helmets, and hornet statue.

Click on this link for full pictures.

Source: Kotaku 

In the mood for an Iron Man collectible before the movie hits theaters?  I thought so.  Sideshow Collectibles has a pre-order page set up for the Stealth Iron Man Legendary Scale Bust.  This limited edition bust is expected to ship sometime in 2nd quarter 08, for $199.  Pricey yes, but some things are just worth it, especially if your a fan.

More pictures and info can be found here.

So, your a gamer and you would love to attend this years Game Developers Conference in San Fransisco but you’re not important enough. You think you’re missing out on the oh so little tid bits of gaming related information by not being there. Well, you’re probably not missing much in the end but you can see the contents of the GDC swag bad without ever attending. Great. More pics if you care at Joystiq.

Many moons ago, I sold or broke or discarded in some way all my old Transformers collectible figures. For that, I am ashamed. Now older and wiser, in the collecting sense, I know that if I had this Starscream figure, I’d keep it. In a glass case. Forever.

More cool Starscream pics can be found here along with other notable Transformer figures including Megatron and Optimus Prime.

For those of us who aren’t quite ready to tie the knot, this shirt is self explanatory. It can be found on several online retail sites such as www.amazon.com.