I’ve received a lot of peculiar things from Nintendo in the past: A DSi cake, a call from Mario, a box of candies, but this is the first that made me work to find out what it was.

Inside today’s package was a large white rock with the words Fossil Fighters cut into its surface. Digging deeper into the shredded paper that filled the box I also found a chisel, a brush and a large piece of brown paper.

To work then.

Inside a cornucopia of Bionic Commando goodies including an action figure, polo, poster, lanyards and the swankiest USB drive I’ve ever seen. All of this, as usual, is destined for this year’s Child’s Play Funde Razor in Denver.

At last week’s Captivate 09 event, Capcom handed out sealed packs of Monster Hunter Freedom Unite freebies that included a little Playstation Portable case, a figure, two buttons and a sticker. Pretty cool. What’s cooler? The two Monster Hunter 5th Anniversary beer coasters found at the bar the night before? Way cooler.

The PR folks on hand at the giveaway admonished all attendees not to sell them on eBay because they would know where they came from. So go look right now and see how much they’re up to. We’ll be giving ours away during the annual Child’s Play fundraiser.

Inside: Bags of crisps, a few candy bars and these odd things from Anatomicals. Rumour has it that a few of the writers present were brave enough to slap an energy patch or two on their arms a day into the event. I was not one of them.

I’ll be giving the laptop bag and Anatomical stuffs away during our annual fundraiser later this year. If you’re planning on a trip to Denver this winter, you should come then and play Rock Band on stage.

No, it never does get old.

Seen here is a pretty spiffy LittleBigPlanet-themed desk calendar that reader Renor, from Poland, received as a promotional item from SCEP. The book is about 400 pages thick.

Sony, sensing my distress from across the San Francisco Bay, saves the day with not one but TWO oversized T-shirts I will never wear. Except for today, because going to a final naked is poor form.

Home goes live December 11.

Why, that’s today!

The thick leather(ish) seat pad has Guitar Hero World Tour stitched into the top and features three sturdy metal folding legs. Yep, it’s just like any other drum throne but with fancy stitching. Pretty handy for long sessions of faux drumming though.

A blue, black and grey PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 will go to the winner and runner-up of this year’s Omegathon, with the winner also landing themselves a trip to the Tokyo Game Show.

If you’re hitting the show and not one of the lucky few selected to compete in the Omegathon you can still get your hands on some PAX-themed goodies.

Among the stuff you can buy is a DeathAdder mouse from Razer with a PAX logo slapped on it. Only 400 of these were made and they’ll set you back $US 60. A Collectors Edition copy of On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness Episode One, which comes with a shirt, a keyring and a die, will also be on sale at the show.

Penny Arcade