I was reading my neighbor's Game Informer yesterday and I was reading an article on Square Enix opening a on-line store for the US. Items shown for sale in the small article included replica weapons such as Squall's gunblade and Sora's keyblade.

I bring this up because if they are going to start targeting the American market will Square Enix begin taking action against those selling false mechandise on eBay? One can only hope.

I'm also curious if they plan on selling soundtracks. If this is the case will customize (aka translate) things such as liners/tracklisting into english? (I'm probably asking/expecting too much with this one.)

Anyway, what do you think?

I saw those at a local comic/CD store a couple of weeks ago, and they were... well, crap. Typical SE trying to cash in on things they've already established. Anyone that buys a replica keyblade needs a kick in the junk (or lack thereof).

That would be interesting, and I'll bet it's possible. We might be seeing some sort of resurgence of American CDs like the FFIX/X or "Generation" CDs that Tokyopop put out... but, for most people here, that's either unnecessary or redundant. It would be interested to see what kind of stuff would be put out there and for what price, though. I would be interested to see some sort of full release of a soundtrack instead of these one-disc "best of" compilations.

Yeah, if you go to S-E's North American site, they say that their store is still under construction.

The prospect of getting U.S. full prints of their soundtracks would of course be awexome, but considering that they already offer them through iTunes, I doubt it will happen (No need to reiterate the points I've made about iTunes...) Hard copy soundtracks would mean inventory costs for them. Still, being able to buy them cheaper, especially for those who're just discovering FF now, or for those of us who never got legit copies to replace their bootlegs, it'd definitely be worth a squeal, at least.

The concept of having replicas of popular FF swords is awexome in theory, but like Zane said, don't deliver in reality.

I would, however, still get the Final Fantasy VIII "Griever" and Dirge of Cerberus silver man-jewelries.

They have to be life-sized and made by Master Replicas, before they are worth considering.

I'm pretty sure the "replicas" (they never existed in reality, so I use that term loosely) were about 7"-8" long. Nothing special. Although, I'd have to admit, I would probably buy a life sized Keyblade to beat the crap out of whiny Kingdom Hearts fanboys with.

True, I'm sure most people here sould stick to the sites we currently purchase from - I would. Still, I'm for any outlet can offer legitimate goods here in America as alternative to that bootleg crap-chute known as e-bay.

Would anybody here be willing to pay thousands of dollars for a life size buster sword?  I don't mean a replica, but a real sword, forged with hammer, anvil, steel and fire.

That market for that is probably really small, but there are shops out there who do make buster swords and Link's Master Sword, either through through blacksmithing or machine-made.  Most of these shops might make one or two on hand, but the rest would be custom-order.

I know one person who had Link's Master Sword custom-made and paid a lot for it.  And it is a functional real sword, albeit heavy.
http://images.cosplay.com/showphoto.php?photo=51216

Nice.  Imagine carrying what probably amounts to 50+ pounds of steel and swinging/twirling it around with only one hand like it was nothing.  That would take some serious mako (steroid) infusion for somebody with Cloud's build.

On the topic of the the miniature replicas of the keyblade and gunblade, they don't actually look bad at all. They look quite nice, and the box warns against "functional edges", which, in the context of swords and such, can only mean they are sharp.

Yeah, having a keyblade to beat the hell out of Kingdom Hearts fanboys would be awesome. If I have to hear another word about how awesome KH2 was, I'm going to mount a clocktower and start picking people off.

As for a replica (full size, full detail) of the Buster Sword and/or gunblade, I'd hit that up, funds allowing, of course.

Just search for "buster sword" on Google.  There are numerous vendors selling a replica of this sword, some more authentic than others.

+ include video demos of watermelons gelling lopped in half with a single blow...

Aww man, KH2? That game was AWEXOME. That whole Roxas-Sora thing? That was like, a Xenogears-caliber plot-twist! F.'ing brilliant!