|
Second
Quarter 2002 [Beginning of April to the end of June] |
|
Closure |
A
busy quarter in which a sizable amount of products were released and good
news (Ikaruga) came to fruition. Told ya. |
06.24.02 |
Dreamcast |
Metal
Wolf [Regular and Limited Edition] |
GB
Advance |
Golden
Sun ~ Lost Time |
Playstation
1 |
Pop
'n Music 6 |
Playstation
2 |
Gun
Survivor 3, Houshin Engi 2, Kengo 2, Shikigami no Shiro, Shin Combat Choro
Q |
Summary |
As
the summer gets into full swing, the days become hazy, hot, and humid. Not
necessarily the best weather combinations for gaming, unless you're the
kind of person who enjoys sitting indoors in AC'ed rooms instead of
romping on the beach or water parks. NCS expects PS2 Gun Survivor 3 to be
this week's sales winner with GBA Golden Sun ~ Lost Time following close
behind. Shikigami no Shiro will appeal to the shmup crowd. |
06.17.02 |
Playstation
2 |
.Hack,
Ashita no Joe 2, Kyojin no Hoshi, Popolocrois Story 3, Tokimeki Memorial
Girl's Side |
Hardware |
Playstation
2 Hard Drive Kits and Netplay Controller |
Summary |
After
a month of waiting, Sony finally releases enough PS2 HDD kits for us to
import and supply to customers. Shipments should remain fairly consistent
for the rest of the year. NCS also stocks a new controller for the PS2
which makes FFXI online and general play somewhat simpler - the Netplay
integrates a keyboard and a Dual Shock controller into one usable unit.
All new software imports this week consist of PS2 titles, showing off the
dominance of the console in Japan and the industry's reliance on Sony's
workhouse. Metal Slug 4 continues to sell but at a much slower pace than
previous Neo Geo releases. It's not necessarily a buyer's strike since our
Japanese pre-sales numbers are pacing King of Fighters 2001 but we do
notice that sales after the initial release are nowhere near past
releases. The emergence of bootlegs, roms, and general apathy probably all
contribute to the decline in interest. |
06.10.02 |
Neo
Geo |
Metal
Slug 4 |
Playstation |
Eithea
Best Collection |
Playstation
2 |
Final
Fantasy XI (belatedly), World Fantasista |
Summary |
Another
Neo Geo home cartridge ships this week to adoring fans. The fourth Metal
Slug features new characters, new vehicles, and the usual intricate
attention to detail that has been the hallmark of previous Slugs. We
finally receive World Fantasista after delays from last week and sad to
say, it wasn't worth the wait. Square strikes again with another
questionable first attempt, this time in the soccer genre. Needless to say
but we'll say it anyway, Konami's Winning Eleven franchise has nothing to
fear from Square. NCS opens up preorders for Auto Modellista for PS2
and Tekki for Xbox. Another in-demand item hails from Square: Final
Fantasy Adventure Bible Collection. |
06.03.02 |
GB
Advance |
Castlevania:
White Night Concerto |
Playstation |
Bomberman
Land "The Best Collection" |
Playstation
2 |
Ragingbless |
Xbox |
Bistro
Cupid Regular and Limited Edition |
Toys |
Macross
Valkyrie VF1A, Super Valkyrie VF-1J, Love Hina Swimsuit Figures, Sakura
Movie Figures |
Summary |
Two
new Valkyrie toys arrive on Monday along with other toys from the land of
Japan. New releases this week are scant but that's okay. The new
Castlevania for GBA has garnered the lion's share of import interest and
preorders this week and we expect another strong seller which will last
for a couple of months. Ragingbless for the PS2 offers an alternative to
Gauntlet Legends but the week basically belongs to Castlevania. |
05.27.02 |
Dreamcast |
Culdcept
2, Garou Mark of the Wolves, Last Blade 2 FE, Sakura Columns 2, Virtual On |
Playstation |
Dragon
Quest Monsters 1 + 2, The Cameraman |
Playstation
2 |
Blue
Train Express, Disney Golf, Eve of Extinction, Konohana 2, Runabout 3 |
Xbox |
Live
World Soccer 2002 |
Summary |
All
shipments expected last Friday arrived on Saturday morning. NCS returns to
normal operations on Tuesday, May 28 after the three-day Memorial Day
weekend. For those staying in the city and not visiting the Hamptons or
elsewhere, holidays in New York City are great because all of the good
restaurants and venues are still open but the usual crowds are out of
town. No lines, no waiting, and just a large number of usually complacent
tourists to contend with. Traffic is usually also less than usual, which
is always a good thing. |
05.20.02 |
Domokun |
The
brown beast goes on plush-preorder |
Summary |
The
week of E3 is usually a mild one for business, as most of the industry
people attend the show for the latest news, trends, and unveilings. Fans
and the general customer base are also attuned to the news flashes and
streaming information as the show unfolds. Nintendo's Gamecube should have
a nice showcase of upcoming games while the Playstation 2 machine chugs on
with it's self propelled juggernaut. We didn't expect much in the way of
Xbox developments but the behemoth from Redmond announced an online
initiative dubbed Xbox Live. The Xbox appears to be carrying the torch
that the Sega Dreamcast held before it hit the orphanage. Speaking of
which, Sega announced it's first profit in 2 years thanks to the company's
software only push. Chief Operating Officer Tetsu Kayama may have summed
up recent news of hardware price drops the best by saying, "This is
good for us, I'm just glad we are no longer a hardware maker." Price
drops for the Playstations and Xbox were announced last week and Nintendo
joined the action with a drop for the Gamecube to US$149 early in the
week. More units out in the market means bigger possible audiences to sell
wares to .
Import Shipments were delayed this week, and all deliveries
are now slated for Tuesday, May 28. Monday's a national holiday, to honor
the soldiers who've fought in America's wars. The lack of new stock this
week explains why Domokun is the only highlight for May 20, 2002. |
05.13.02 |
Dreamcast |
Tako
no Marine |
Playstation |
Captain
Tsubasa: Aratanaru Densetsu Josho |
Playstation
2 |
Beatmania
Da Da Da, DDR Max, Final Fantasy XI, Live World Soccer 2002 |
Toys |
Lupin
the 3rd Keychains |
DVD |
Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Widescreen Edition |
Summary |
Releases
pick up this week after last week's drought. As summer nears, NCS expects
lazy days as the warm weather draws people from their homes into
vacations, trips, amusement parks and other diversions. Final Fantasy XI
promises to sell well but the lack of wide distribution of PS2 hard drive
kits may put a damper on Square's sell-through ambitions. In
unrelated news, Star Wars Attack
of the Clones bows
on May 16. Unlike hardcore fans, NCS employees are fairly
disinterested/unaffected by the whole Star Wars affair but the movie is
enjoyable (New York film festival screening over the weekend). We'd expect
a lot of audiences across the country to clap, hoot, and holler at the
film's ending, where we see massive armies of clones being marshaled by
the Jedi for the coming war in Episode 3. |
05.06.02 |
Restock |
Saturn
Action Replay 4 in 1, Gamecube Q |
Summary |
The
last remnants of the Japanese Golden Week holiday lapse on Monday of this
week and it's back to business as usual. Sort of. Nothing new in the way
of imports is expected this week but we have a full plate of restock to
contend with. Price cuts are also realized across our existing product
catalog as we lower the stickers on most games older than 3 months. We're
learning to be more nimble in discounting products before they age and
start to "settle down" for retirement in our inventory. We're
not running an old-age home, after all... |
04.29.02 |
GB
Advance |
Konami
Arcade Collection |
Gamecube |
Fifa
World Cup 2002 |
Playstation
2 |
M.S.
Gundam: Giren's Ambition, Pro Baseball Final League, Underwater Unit |
Toys |
Love
Hina keychains + "RPG" plushes, Faye Valentine statue, Grand
Runner, Emeraldas Candy Toy, Super Monkey Ball plushes, "TRU"
Valkyrie VF-1A |
Summary |
Golden
Week kicks off in Japan on April 29 with Japanese citizens enjoying a
whole week of festivities. It's business as usual for software vendors as
a number of PS2 releases are shipping. Underwater Units looks to be the
sales leader with it's submarine action where you commandeer a mini-sub
and attack larger enemy subs and other deep diving vehicles. The new
Gundam Giren game should also do well among fans of the Gundam franchise. An
assortment of toys makes it in to bolster sales - Super Monkey Ball
plushes and new Love Hina plushes lead the way. Surprisingly, the Fewture
Faye Valentine statue does well at a lofty price of US$180. NCS also takes
delivery of Grand Runner toys from Sega. |
04.22.02 |
GB
Advance |
Advance
GT2, Rockman Zero, Winning Eleven |
Playstation |
Arc
the Lad Collection [USA], Klonoa Beach Volleyball |
Playstation
2 |
Galerians
AshxRion,
Generation of Chaos Next, Ground Breaker, J-Phoenix Burst Tactics,
Surveillance, Winning Eleven 6, Zettai Zetsumei Toshi |
Summary |
Things
pick up as a largish assortment of Japanese imports reach market and
revitalize the month that was April. Leading the way are PS2 imports with
Galerians Ash and Generation of Chaos Next selling very well. Winning
Eleven 6 is tops and this week's sales leader as fanboys leap on the
latest in the popular soccer series from Konami. For our export customers,
Arc the Lad Collection motivates buying and NCS stocks up on what looks to
be another game which will do well months from now. |
04.15.02 |
Dreamcast |
Mobile
Suit Gundam ~ Federation vs Zeon DX [Finally...] |
Playstation |
Capcom
vs SNK 2000 Millennium Fight Pro |
Playstation
2 |
Tokimeki
Memorial 2 Video Clips |
Summary |
NCS
expects this week to be one of fairly quiet happenings. With only two new
imports expected, in addition to last week's Gundam game, we'll sail
through the week with sales relying on old stock from months and years
past. Shenmue 2 [EUR] continues to be a strong performer and Gamecube
consoles sell very reliably for us. Playstation 2 consoles continue
to move and Xbox seems... lackadaisical for lack of a better word. |
04.08.02 |
Dreamcast |
Mobile
Suit Gundam ~ Federation vs Zeon DX [Delayed] |
GB
Advance |
Lunar
Legend |
Toys |
Final
Fantasy X Monsters |
Summary |
With
the Dreamcast flagging under the weight of orphan status, Capcom
nevertheless shows the love once again with Gundam ~ Federation vs Zeon, a
superb 3-D mech fighting game ported from the Naomi coin-op. On the
Gameboy Advance, Game Arts re-releases the Saturn/Playstation version of
Lunar the Silver Star and dubs it "Lunar Legend". New graphical
updates and a remixed storyline are the highlights of this newly rehashed
portable adventure. Similar to other Lunar games, we expect it to sell
like hotcakes to the Lunar literati. A collection of Final Fantasy X
monster toys arrived last week but we take a gander this Monday to
criticize some of Koto's transgressions in this new series. NCS
confirms release dates for the Neo Geo home cartridge Metal Slug 4 and
Dreamcast Ikaruga and preorders flood in. We're suitably impressed
with the bountiful preorders for Ikaruga and it's the best pre-selling
shooter ever. Nice. |
04.01.02 |
GB
Advance |
New
Japan Pro Wrestling |
Playstation
2 |
Armored
Core 3 |
Toys |
Bandai
Macross VF-1S, Love Hina Bath Figures, Parappa Mechanical Toys, Pikmin
Capsule Keychains, Transformers D-98 Sixshot |
Summary |
Suffering
a spate of LAME April Fool's jokes which cause confusion, scattered mass
hysteria, and some half-hearted chuckles among our visitors, NCS tries to
explain some news stories as mere jokes but international customers aren't
familiar with this American custom. Soldiering on, NCS reveals a new
assortment of import toys. The Pikmin Keychains prove the best seller out
of the lot, much to our surprise. We had put our money on Six-shot to
finish as the top sales item for the week but it falls short. As the week
ends, NCS starts a reservation list for Treasure's IKARUGA which is headed
for the Dreamcast. Since it's a NAOMI based game, it'll be a simple feat
to port it over the Dreamcast. Legions of shmup fans send in their
reservations whilst we await final confirmation... |
Earlier |
Visit
the 1st quarter 2002 archive of news and fun facts. |
Later |
Visit
the 3rd quarter 2002 archive of news and fun facts. |
Later |
Visit
the 4th quarter 2002 archive of news and factoids |
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