BODY: For a generation of Japanese gamers raised on the original PlayStation, two mascots loom large in collective memory: the cheeky, helmet-wearing Pipo Monkeys of Ape Escape and the polite, eternally optimistic cat Toro from Doko Demo Issho. Now, both are coming to perch on PC and TV monitors across Japan in a wave of nostalgia-fueled merchandise.
PlayStation's official X account announced on May 26 that two new "monitor-top figure" products will hit shelves in June 2026. The Ape Escape Monitor-Top Figure: Pipo Monkey arrives first on June 3, followed by the Doko Demo Issho Monitor-Top Figure: Toro & Kuro on June 23. The figures are designed to sit atop a monitor's bezel, dangling their legs over the screen โ a format that has exploded in popularity in Japan over the past two years.
The Pipo Monkey, the iconic yellow-helmeted antagonist from 1999's Ape Escape (known as Saru Getchu in Japan), helped showcase the DualShock controller's new dual analog sticks at launch. Toro Inoue, the white cat who dreams of becoming human, debuted in 1999's Doko Demo Issho and went on to become an unofficial PlayStation mascot in Japan, appearing in dozens of spinoffs. His rival Kuro, the grumpy black cat, joined the cast in later entries.
Neither franchise has seen a major new release in years, making the merchandise drop a clear play for nostalgic millennials rather than a tie-in to new software.
The insider take
Sony has been quietly leaning into its retro Japanese IP portfolio as a brand-loyalty play, especially as PS5 software momentum in Japan continues to lag behind Switch and mobile. Toro and the Pipo Monkeys are deep-cut characters whose appeal is almost entirely domestic โ international PlayStation fans rarely encounter them. Expect these to sell out fast at Tokyo's Sony Store in Ginza, where similar nostalgia drops have triggered same-day queues. Resale prices on Mercari will likely double within a week.
Originally reported by 4Gamer.net โ ๆๆฐ่จไบ (Japanese).