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| Five
new Playstation imports |
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This shipment is somewhat late but arrived last Friday - some orders have already shipped.
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| Magic
Key |
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A reliable and stable version of the Playstation Magic Key is expected in
the next couple of weeks. We have been testing a sample of the card and have found it to
work well with a range of Playstation pcboards ranging from SCPH-1000 to SCPH-7500. We
haven't gotten an SCPH-9000 to test yet but those are most likely not compatible. This
adaptor card plugs into the parallel port of the Playstation and functions as a "chip
on a card" for playing Japanese imports and PAL games. You will still need an RGB
video connection to view a European territory CD in color. The use of an S-Video or A / V
cable with a European import (PAL) will output in black & white. |
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| Dreamcast
Import Schedule Changes |
| Konami's Pop 'n Music has now been confirmed for
delivery on February 25 while three new Koei games were announced for March 04. House
of the Dead 2 has been delayed by a week to March 25 and Climax Landers
has been blown off the scope. It has moved from February 25 to an unknown date in June. On
a brighter note, Evolution is on schedule and we expect to take delivery this Wednesday.
Please refer to the updated NCS Dreamcast 1999 schedule for all of the changes made this
morning. |
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| Dreamcast
S-Video |
| Original Sega brand S-Video cables for the Dreamcast are expected
on Wednesday. Pre-orders and orders held on reserve will be dispatched as soon as the
stock arrives. The Dreamcast VGA box is expected later this month but we'll post further
details and specifications once we receive the stock. New orders for the S-Video cable or
the VGA Box are welcome. |
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| Dreamcast
Defect Rate |
| Dreamcast console defects seem to be capped at 10%. For every 100
machines that we bring into the country nowadays, roughly 9-10 machines are found to have
problems during our testing period. As such, these are never shipped to retail customers
and are held for return to Japan. NCS no longer repairs defective consoles for resale into
the retail channel. We are reluctant to sell repaired consoles that may develop problems
later. |
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| Yen
Equilibrium |
| Forex dollar trading continues to strengthen after the Bank of
Japan's intervention last week. The trading band remains set in the Y115 area, give or
take 2 points. |
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| Capital
Markets |
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The market is closed today. We went short last Friday when the S&P hit +28,
watching it blow past +21 in a surge of buying near the end of the day. We did not short
at the top however as the S&P continued to +31 before settling down at +30. We're in
the red for 2 points already. Maximum pain threshold will be when our loss hits +8, where
we will exit and re-evaluate. Downside target is 30 full points with a 4 day holding
period. |
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| Martin
Luther King Day |
| Today is a national holiday in the USA. Banks, equity markets and
the postal service are closed today. Martin Luther King was a baptist minister turned
civil rights leader in the 50s and 60s. A mere 40 years ago, segregation was enforced as
the law of the land. Blacks and whites where divided into separate facilities and drank
from separate water fountains. The United States harbored separate, segregated worlds
divided by national decree. As children attending public school, we read about Rosa Parks
and how she refused to give up her seat to a white person and about Autherine Lucy, the
first black student to attempt to attend the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. Against
violence and the stinging venom of hate, Martin Luther King helped to plant the seeds of
change. The civil rights movement started with little steps which became big ones that
changed the ideology of the nation. |
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Send e-mail to ncs@escape.com
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