After a great 7 year run, the Square Enix Showcase located in Tokyo officially closed on November 25, 2012. Those who were aware of the shop no doubt had fond memories of being greeted by piles upon piles of bright Dragon Quest Slime and assorted Final Fantasy plushies, shelves of original soundtracks and clear glass displays housing countless figurines.
However, that was not the last we've seen of the store. Shortly before the Showcase closed its doors for the last time, Square Enix revealed that they would be opening a new merchandise shop that also doubles as a cafe near its office in East Side Shinjuku. The joint store/museum/cafe, named "ARTNIA" is derived from the phrase "art near area," referring to the store's concept of acting as a bridge connecting their goods to the customers.
General Manager of the Square Enix Merchandising Division Hidemi Matsuzuka posted on his twitter yesterday that an event would take place at ARTNIA from March 1st - March 6th. Here, the Play Arts Kai prototypes and various other merchandise would be on display, and assures the fans of KINGDOM HEARTS that they will surely love the line-up. With it being March 1st in Japan right now, we have pictures taken directly from the event for you to see thanks to ArikaMiz!
The KINGDOM HEARTS 3D [Dream Drop Distance] Sora & Riku PLAY ARTS KAI have no official release date yet and the KINGDOM HEARTS II FORMATION ARTS Vol.3 pack will be released June 28th 2013 in Japan.
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