|
Fourth
Quarter 2003 Archive [Beginning of October to the end of
December] |
|
12.29.03 |
GC |
Sonic Heroes |
PS2 |
Sonic Heroes |
XBX |
Sonic
Heroes |
Summary |
The year ends with a speedy hedgehog making his way onto three
consoles in Japan. It's been another interesting year and we look
forward to more interesting times in 2004. |
12.22.03 |
DC |
Chocolat ~ Maid Cafe Curio |
PS2 |
Battle Gear 3, Bujingai, Full Metal Alchemist, SNK vs Capcom
Chaos, SVC Chaos Joystick, Suisui Sweet, Taiko no Tatsujin 4
memory card |
XBX |
Otogi
Hyakku Toubatsu Emaki |
Summary |
It's the calm after the storm in our case as most of our holiday
shipments were dispatched and fulfilled last week. Standard sales
remain brisk this week but the releases slow to a trickle with only
one big release - SNK vs Capcom Chaos for PS2 - shipping out on
December 26. NCS opens up preorders for a number of items shipping in
February and March including the Sengoku Musouden Treasure Box and Pop
'n Taisen Puzzle Dama. |
12.15.03 |
GBA |
Astro Boy, Harvest Moon for Girls, Hardcover Advance SP - Pokemon
Generation and Rockman EXE, Rockman EXE4 GBA Bundle |
GC |
Dream Mix TV World Fighters, Duel Masters Nettou! Battle
Arena, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 10 Decision, Kinnikuman
2-Yo, One Piece Treasure Battle, Shaman King, Takahashi Meijin
Adventure Island, Viewtiful Joe Revival |
PSX |
DESR-5000 console |
PS2 |
Ceramic White Dual Shock
Pad, Memory Card and Vertical Stand, Columns Sega Ages 2500,
Dream Mix TC World Fighters, Front Mission 4, Front Mission 4
Memory Card, Growlanser III, Growlanser IV, Growlanser IV
Memory Card, Growlanser Collection, Hyper Street Fighter
Regular and Limited Edition, Jikkyou Powerful Pro Baseball 10 Decision, Kamen
Rider 555, Karaoke Revolution 5-8, Karaoke Revolution Anime
Song, Karaoke Revolution Snow & Party,
New Century GPX Cyber Formula, Prince of Tennis: Smash
Hit! 2, Separate Controller, Taiko no Tatsujin 4, Takahashi
Meijin Adventure Island, Wind |
TOY |
Love Hina Again Extra Xmas Figures, Evangelion Christmas
Figures |
Summary |
Quite possibly the busiest week this year as orders rush in and we
scramble to make sure most popular items are stocked, restocked and
restocked again in time for everyone's orders. Naruto 2 is the most
popular seller this week and we can't keep it in stock for more than a
day - unfortunately its sold out in Japan as the week ends and we're
left with no inventory for at least another 1-2 weeks. We receive our
first shipments of the PSX and while it pre-sold better than we
expected, there's no massive demand for the console. The high price
tag probably contributed to the lackluster sales... |
12.08.03 |
GBA |
Card Captor Sakura,
Gegege no Kitaro, Gojira Advance,
ower Pro Kun Pocket 6,
Rockman EXE 4 Tournament
(Blue Moon/Red Sun),
Sonic Battle, Super
Donkey Kong |
GC |
Dabitsuku 3, Donkey
Konga, Momotaro Densetsu XII, One Piece Grand Battle 3 |
NEO |
Samurai Shodown V |
PS1 |
Front Mission History |
PS2 |
Ashitano Joe,
Biohazard Outbreak (Game/Memory Card/Stand), Dance Dance Revolution
Party Collection (Game/Bundle), Evangelion Ayanami Ikusei Keikaku,
G-Taste Mahjong, Gegege no Kitaro, J-League Winning Eleven Tactics,
Love * Ping Pong,
Momotaro Densetsu XII,
One Piece Grand Battle 3, PC Genjin,
Roommate Asami
D-Collection,
Virtua Fighter 10th Anniversary |
TOY |
Kenshin Dragon Quest Bouken Memory Card |
Summary |
A busy week as we head for the home stretch. The big holiday is two
weeks away and a good assortment of imports arrive as potential
stocking stuffers. NCS also posts up news on Christmas figures that
are expected next week - Love Hina characters and Evangelion girls in
Santa suits. |
12.01.03 |
GC |
Baten Kaitos, Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 2 |
PS2 |
Gran Turismo 4 Prologue, Kunoichi, Z Gundam AEUG vs Titans |
TOYS |
Chun-Li vs Cammy Candy Toys, Godzilla X Mothra Candy Toy, Macross 1/48
Scale Super Pack Parts, Macross VF-1J Regular and Deluxe, Matrix
Reloaded Kubrick Figures, Onegai Teacher One Coin Figures, Sega Girls
Capsule Toys, Star Wars 2 Kubrick Figures, Street Fighter 15th
Anniversary Chun-Li figures, Valkyrie VF-1J Regular and Deluxe, Zelda
Sword Capsule Toys |
Summary |
Psyvariar 2 preorders for Dreamcast and Metal Slug 5 preorders for
Neo-Geo are opened up and we also start preorders for a number of
imports that are shipping in January and February such as Kaido Battle
2, Onimusha 3 and Pop 'n Music 9. Some shipments arrive very early
this week but others are held up for inexplicable reasons and we're
disappointed by delayed Naruto 2 shipments which have been sitting in
a Kentucky warehouse for 2 days.
The shopping days left until Christmas are winding down and a surge
of order volume takes us by surprise as we ramp up for the end of the
year. Stock levels are good but many popular items are beginning to
dwindle down to critical levels. Of course, we're on the horn with
suppliers to restock products in time for the next week or two. A
blizzard on Friday ruins some of our shipping plans but we make do
with early Express Mail dispatches. Hopefully, our outbound shipments to customers won't
be overly affected. |
11.24.03 |
GBA |
F-Zero Falcon Densetsu, Magical Quest 3, Movie Card
Adapter, SD Gundam G Generation Advance, SD Gundam GGA Bundle |
GC |
Dragonball Z Budokai, Gotcha Force, Mario Party 5, Gundam Gamecube
Bundle, Medarot Brave, PSO Ep. 1&2, PSO Ep. 3 and Memory Card, R:
Racing Evolution, Sammy Keyboard |
PS2 |
Assorted Memory Cards, Castlevania, Castlevania LE, Death Crimson OX+,
Ever 17 Premium, Ichigeki Sachuu! Hoihoi-san Regular and Limited
Edition, K1 World Grand Prix 2003, Kamen Rider Seigi no Keifu, Karaoke
Revolution (6 volumes), Lode Runner, Minna no Golf 4, Onimusha
Buraiden, R: Racing Evolution, School Heaven Boys Love Scramble, Star
Soldier, Volleyball Simple 2000, Wild Arms Alter Code F, Wild Arms
Alter Code F LE, Zero Crimson Butterfly |
XBX |
Magatama, R: Racing Evolution |
Summary |
NCS brings in a total of 44 new imports this week including an early
shipment of Onimusha Buraiden on Monday and good amounts of imports on
Wednesday before the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, we give thanks
for a strong business despite the tepid economy and IT departments
getting hit by sizable layoffs (a good chunk of our customer base work
in IT). We've been able to attract a fairly diverse demographic of
customers in recent years which helps to broaden our audience.
Downturns in the economy seem to take place at the beginning of every
decade but generally perk up as we head into the midterms - so take
heart in historic norms. |
11.17.03 |
GBA |
Mario & Luigi, Oriental Blue, Zooo |
PS1 |
Akumajou Dracula X, Ganbare Goemon, Gradius Gaiden, Parodius Deluxe
Pack, Twinbee Deluxe Pack - PSOne Books Re-releases |
PS2 |
Evangelion 2: Shinseiki Evangelions, Hisako Takahashi's Let's
Marathon, Kuma Uta, Mojib Ribbon,
Pride GP 2003, Pro
Baseball Team Tsukuru! 2003,
Xenosaga Reloaded |
WSC |
Dragonball Zed |
Summary |
Sales volumes trend up as we gear up for the holiday shopping season.
NCS previews the Sega Toys lineup for early 2004 and we post up the
nearly complete PS2 import schedule for February 2004. Notables
include Sakura Taisen Mysterious Paris, Cool Girl, Armored Core Nexus
and Dororo. |
11.10.03 |
GBA |
Slime Mori Mori Dragon Quest |
NEO |
SNK vs Capcom Chaos |
PS1 |
Sister Princess Premium Fan Disk |
PS2 |
Love Smash 5 |
TOYS |
Alien Vol. 1, Macross Candy Toy, Naruto Action Figure, Naruto
Keychain, Namco Gals |
Summary |
Sony opens up preorders for a clear-black PS2 that is to replace the
solid-black default model that has ruled the market for the past few
years. A re-release of the Midnight Blue console is also on schedule
for late in the year. SNK vs Capcom Chaos reaches the Neo Geo home
market after a couple of delays and NCS prepares for the next release
which is Samurai Showdown V which ships in December. In other news,
NCS checks out a few Epoch capsule toys and a Hori Separate Pad. |
11.03.03 |
GBA |
Screen Case SP - Pokemon |
GC |
Mario Kart Double Dash!! |
PS1 |
Metal Gear Solid Integral PSOne Books, Summon Night 2 PSOne Books |
PS2 |
Glass Rose, Siren, Super Robot Wars Scramble Commander, Tales of
Destiny Megahits |
TOYS |
Alien Vol. 1, Macross Candy Toy, Naruto Action Figure, Naruto
Keychain, Namco Gals |
Summary |
Sony announces a new duo of color PS2 consoles shipping in time for
the holiday season - one's ceramic white and the other's a Gold Gundam
unit with remarkable player (playa?) sensibilities. Towards the end of
the week and too late for us to update, a silver PS2 console is also
announced by Sony for shipping later in the year. We'll post details
and open up preorders on Monday morning. On the toy front, we post up
a few photos of the DHyp Future Mickey and Twiggy toys from Medicom.
Weather takes a turn for the arctic as a cold front hits our area and
sends squirrels and pigeons into forage mode so they can grab enough
calories to keep them comfortable through the nights. |
10.27.03 |
PS2 |
Air Ranger 2 Plus, Cho Aniki Seinaru Protein Densetsu, D.C.P.S.
Regular and Limited, Kiss of Prince Flame Version, Shinki Genso
Spectral Souls Regular and Limited, Taiko no Tatsujin Appare Sandaime
Regular Edition and Tatacon Bundle, Tentama First Sunny Side,
Transformers Tatakai with bonus Matrix DVD |
Summary |
The weather's been relatively balmy these past few days and we're
averaging in the 60s. Its a busy week with a number of highly
anticipated imports led by Transformers Tatakai. We also see continued
strength in PS2 Macross and Naruto sales which look to bolster our
sales up until the holiday season. |
10.20.03 |
DC |
Sweet Season |
GBA |
Bomberman Jetters Game Collection, Pichi Pichi Pitch Mermaid Melody |
GC |
Shikigami no Shiro 2 |
PS1 |
Front Mission First, Jaleco Collection Vol. 1 |
PS2 |
Hyper Dimension Fortress Macross, King of Fighters 2001, Lost Passage
Regular and LE, Naruto Narultimate Hero, Netsu Chu! Professional
Baseball 2003 Fall, Shadow Tower Abyss, The Shooting Double Shienryu |
Summary |
As the weather cools, we find that one of our offices has...no heat.
Well, there is heat coming from one pipe in a corner of the office
which provides enough warmth for 1 square foot of space. Of course,
there's another 1999 square feet of office space that isn't being
heated. There's a valve somewhere that needs to be tweaked or
something. Temperatures get precarious in the beginning of the week
but warm up by Thursday-Friday. A plumber has been scheduled for next
Monday and we should get things toasty again before the real chill
sets in. Ironically, three of our other offices in the building are
stifling and so warm that we need to crack open the windows to knock
the temperatures from 88°
to a more comfortable 70°.
Gamewise, things are hectic with Macross, Narultimate and Shikigami no
Shiro 2 leading sales. Looks like we'll end the month with a bang.
|
10.13.03 |
GC |
Atsumare! Made in Wario |
OST |
Shikigami no Shiro 2 |
PS2 |
Chain Dive |
Summary |
NCS opens up preorders for a number of nice upcoming imports such as
Donkey Konga, Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 2, KOF Gals Statues, FFX-2
International and Front Mission History. |
10.06.03 |
GC |
Giant Egg, Hanshin Tigers Gamecube, Hori Memory Cards, NHK Tensai
Bit-Kun Guramon |
PS2 |
DDR Extreme, Interlude, Kimagure Strawberry Cafe, Psyvariar Revision,
Samurai Michi 2 |
Summary |
NCS imports a new Gamecube variant striped with the Hanshin Tigers
pinstripes. With the beleagured Tigers winning the central league
pennant, the team breaks the curse of the Colonel... A number of
important preorders are also opened up this week for Hyper Street
Fighter 2, Samurai Spirits Zero and GT4 Prologue. SD Gundam G
Generation Advance and the bundle should also factor as strong sellers
as the holiday season nears. In background news, we set up our fifth
server to provide redundancy for our websites and learn a little bit
about DNS, name servers, zones, etc. |
Earlier |
Visit the 1st quarter 2003 archive of news and updates |
Earlier |
Visit the 2nd quarter 2003 archive of news and updates |
Recent |
Visit the 3rd quarter 2003 archive of news and updates |
Ads |
|
|