Today is September 9, 2009, and I celebrated by rushing out early this morning to pick up The Beatles Rockband. By a strange coincidence, when I pulled a t-shirt to wear out of my closet this morning, I happened to grab my Mega Man 9 shirt. Then, while driving to Best Buy to get my game, I ended up stuck behind the number nine bus. No joke. And did I mention that I had my alarm set to wake me up at 9:00? Too freaky!
Since this is the ten year anniverary of the release of the Dreamcast, every website out there is doing some sort of SEGA/Dreamcast retrospective. You know what? That’s friggin’ boring. It’s been done a million times already, and really, how many times do we need to read that Soulcalibur was a great launch title?
So instead of more redundant Dreamcast nonsense, on this 9/9/09 I offer to you…
nine-year-old gumballs!
The other day, I found a box of toys that I used to have on my desk back when I worked at Expert Gamer/GameNOW. These goodies were from the Oakbrook era before we moved to San Francisco, so they’re pretty old. Among the random action figures and game-branded trinkets, I found a pair of pink gumballs sealed inside a plastic bag that features the logo for Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards for the N64.
I actually wrote a strategy guide for Kirby 64 for Expert Gamer (issue #75, September 2000), and these gumballs were a little promotional item that Nintendo sent along with the game. The sugary orbs sat on display in my cube for about two and a half years until they were boxed up and shipped out to California with the rest of my crap. Now, they have been unearthed once more.
The gumballs themselves have Kirby stamped on them. For all I know, these are the only two Kirby gumballs left on the planet. I figured that I had best photograph them for posterity. They’ve held up quite well considering that they’re nearly a decade old. And no, there’s no way that I’m gonna try chewing these things.
BONUS! MORE OLD CANDY!
While we’re on the subject of expired promotional candy, I would like to present these two pieces of chocolate that Nintendo sent out to the press to promote the GBA’s Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak, which was released in 2003. It may not be quite as impressive as nine-year-old gumballs, but six-year-old chocolate isn’t too shabby. Wait a second…a 6 looks like an upside-down 9. Too freaky!!!
So yeah, as I was taking pictures of the Kirby gumballs, I remembered that I had these guys tucked away in one of the drawers in my refrigerator. I figured that it was time to bust them open and photograph the little buggers.
There’s not a whole lot to say about these pieces of hamster-themed candy. There are two packages: one for the angelic Harmony and one for the devilish Spat. I’ve not played Ham-Ham Heartbreak, so I can only assume that in the game, the two make some sort of Good vs. Evil play for Hamtaro’s soul. The candy itself features raised images of the two characters, and they’re darned cute.
No, I won’t be eating these, either.
