bank on technabob...

It’s a good week for saving money while playing games. If Tetris and Breakout aren’t your bag, you might want to try something even simpler, like Bankquest or Jinsei Ginko.

It seems that piggy banks that double as tiny gaming machines are quite the happening trend in Japan these days…

Looking for a place to keep all that loose change you’ve been saving up since you gave up on tipping the baristas at the Starbucks? Keep ‘em all in this whimsical piggy bank that chows down on your coinage before it heads deep into its porty, porky belly…

Those fortunate enough to live in Tokyo have recently sighted lifesize Coca-Cola robots wandering the streets. Now you can own your own miniature version of the wandering Coke robot for your desktop.

Combining robotics, Japanimation and caffeination, the Coca-Cola vending machine robot is the perfect embodiment of all things geeky…

Put your cash in this bomb-shaped piggy bank and if you’re not a good saver, you’ll be punished. The electronic piggy bank waits for you to add coins too it every day. If you’re not consistent, it’ll explode, sending coins all over your desktop…

I think these goofy guys look more like space aliens than monsters, but you get the point. Put your money in the mouth of these Money Monsters and they’ll gulp it down without so much as a “thank you”.

While they might not be polite, that doesn’t mean the Money Monsters aren’t vocal…

This rather silly invention out of Japan lets you count individual one Yen coins so you can save them up.

The TakaraTomy Life Bank One Yen Counter screws on the top of any bottle, and lets you count up your change.
Now keep in mind that a single Japanese Yen coin is worth just a bit less than a penny, so you might not even be able to find a bottle big enough to save up the ¥999 (appx…

Actually, there are no pigs involved in this bank. Rather, just another case of a bizarre gadget from the streets of Japan.

With its oddly misshapen wedge of of a head, Banpresto’s Face Bank is a rather disturbing looking device. Using an object sensor in its eyes, it detects your approaching hand and starts to chow down on any coin that gets within reach of its mouth…

These piggy banks from i-Kiddo are not only goofy looking, but they’re actually quite tech savvy.

The i-Panda and i-Piggy digiBanks automatically identify each coin placed in the bank, then calculate the total and display them on the bank’s LCD screen. The banks can also be programmed with savings goals and can play celebratory musical tracks when milestones are met…

This cleverly designed piggy bank looks like a giant key from a computer keyboard, emblazoned with word “Save.”

The oversize plastic computer key (4.5″ x 4.5″ x 2.25″) serves as a constant reminder to save those spare coins you found under the couch cushion. The Auto Save Bank is just $10 from Uncommon Goods.