NCS Week of January 03, 2000

Earlier this week

Dreamcast Mod Chip
Some clarifications to help with the many queries that we've received on the mod.
+ The chip is for use only with American, Asian, and Japanese consoles.
+ Chip kit pricing is tentative. The work is not difficult but somewhat more detailed than say, a PS mod.
+ The mod is direct load. There is no disc swapping, no errant rubber bands to wound and no hassles.
+ NCS cannot make any guarantees that the mod will still be viable should the manufacturer seek to deter the use of imports on domestic machines and vice versa through various techniques. As it stands today, the chip will work with all NTSC software.

DC Mod Chip
NCS will offer a tested, stable, and very reliable Dreamcast mod chip in the next two weeks. This newer chip diverges from the dual bios tactic that we explored a couple of months ago and was subsequently found wanting. Pricing for the installation of the newer chip is estimated at US$55-$60 and any Asian, American, or Japanese DC may be upgraded for full compatibility with every game that we have tested in our DC software library, which is everything released thus far in Japan and America. This includes Shenmue. Due to the installation of the chip, Dreamcast owners will have to relinquish possession of their consoles for a few days and ship their units in for NCS to work the chip into the console. Those who would prefer to install the chip themselves may purchase kits but NCS will take no responsibility for any damage that you may inflict on the unit. More details soon.

Playstation 2
NCS thanks everyone for their PS2 pre-orders. Demand is pretty overwhelming so please allow us a couple of days to add your information to our database. NCS will send out our first PS2 update e-mail on Friday and you can use that as a confirmation that your pre-order has been received and catalogued by NCS.
NCS plans to carry every PS2 launch title, regardless of genre. If there's a Shogi game, we'll stock it. If there's a game called A-Train that perhaps only 2 customers would want, you'll still find it at NCS. The sure bet games such as Bouncer, Ridge Racer V, and Tekken Tag Tournament will be stocked in depth but we wanted to make sure that fans of niche software would get their fill as well.

New Console
Every once in a while, new consoles hit the market and evolve the gaming landscape another notch. The Playstation 2 release date of March 04 is rushing upon us and it'll be ready to ship soon. NCS is now accepting pre-orders for the PS2 but please note that pricing is still unknown at this point. Initial supplies of the PS2 appear to be abundant which should mean pricing parity with the Japanese street retail. We're just not confident enough to think that no exigent circumstances or distribution arrangements will skew pricing to the levels that are normally associated with new console debuits. We shall see what unfolds. In the meanwhile, if you are interested in being added to the NCS PS2 Pre-order schedule, please send a message with the header "PS2 Pre-Order" and the following information by e-mail to our main account at ncs@escape.com:

Your full name

Your complete address

A daytime telephone number

NCS only requires your telephone number as an alternative means of contacting you outside of regular e-mail if necessary. All information is kept private and within the confines of our company. We will post additional details, pricing, game availability in the next couple of weeks. Customers who submit their pre-orders will also be added to our mailing list for PS2 information and all updates. Thanks.