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| Bloody
Roar 2 shipped |
|
Hudson's sequel to their 3-D monster morphing fighting game is expected tomorrow or
Thursday. BR2 features 9 human warriors, all of whom have the ability to change into a
beastly alter-ego. The animal kingdom is represented by fighters who can change into a
wolf, a rabbit, an insect, a mole, etc...all of whom fight like men with punches and kicks
as well as special attacks. The arcade version of BR2 plays fast, vicious and looks very
crisp - Playstation owners can expect a near-perfect conversion. |
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| Pocket
Station Update |
| Sony's latest peripheral shipped as expected last week in Japan. Our vendors
offered us a fraction of our pre-orders but at prices that were 110% higher than normal
for something that is listed at Y3000. As such, we refused to accept the stock and are
waiting for the next shipment which should be available later this week. Had we accepted
the product, our retail price would have been US$65. |
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| Dreamcast
Net Connection |
|
Through some experimentation, NCS has found a way to connect the Dreamcast directly to
your local ISP provider for web surfing without having to dial Sega's Japanese servers
directly. We're not sure if anyone else has figured this out yet but please provide
feedback so that we don't post a long article when the technique is already out there and
known. Danke. |
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| Dreamcast
Fan Vol. 03 |
|
The latest issue of this DC and
Saturn focused magazine is available for shipping today. Ample screenshots of Marvel
vs Capcom and Sega Rally 2 provide eager fans with eye candy.
New magazines are now priced at US$11.50. The other Dreamcast only
magazine, Dreamcast Magazine is expected later this week with volume 4. |
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| Beatmania
T-shirts in stock |
Three Beatmania t-shirts arrived today with yen retail at Y2800 or NCS US$25.
The product is 100% cotton and the artwork and logos are printed in Japan. NCS will now
attempt to describe each shirt below:
| Beatmania Shirt 1 |
Code: 57747 |
| Black
shirt with a row of white colored mini Beatmania indica across the chest area. Some examples
of the indica include "3rd Mix Stereo", "29 crt color monitor", "New
York recording", "One effect system", etc. Underneath the row of indica, near
the heart area, is the Beatmania logo, tastefully stencilled in gray. Free sized shirt for all
bodies. |
| Beatmania Shirt 2 |
Code: 577723 |
| Black
shirt with the words "beatmania 3rd Mix" in large white letters against a blood red
rectangular background. Very striking design. Free sized shirt. |
| Beatmania Shirt 3 |
Code: 577730 |
| Black
shirt with white colored indica (larger size than the indica found in Beatmania Shirt #1) that
runs vertically from the chest area down to the torso. The background of the shirt features
the text "beatmania 3rd Mix" in red placed vertically. A small "beatmania"
logo is located near the heart of the shirt. Free sized shirt. Our favorite design. |
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| SGX
Game System |
|
A sample of this weird, coin-operated Saturn variant arrived today. It's a pricey game
console (US$1150) that an operator connects to a coin-operated cabinet for
customers to pay for playing Saturn games. We'll flesh out the details tomorrow but it's
very interesting, odd-ball, and something we have never seen before. We have been told
that the SGX has been sold in the Japanese market for a while now and we're trying to
figure out the viability of such a beast. |
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| Yen
Equilibrium |
|
Negligible change in the overnight forex session, even as Brazil looks at potential
implosion. The counterbalance against Latam troubles is the threat of a Chinese
devaluation of the yuan which would roil Asia, including Japan, it's biggest creditor. |
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|
| N64 Castlevania USA |
| Konami's popular vampire hunting platformer takes it's turn on the Nintendo
64 this week. NCS expects delivery on Thursday if there are no delays. Expected retail is US$60. |
|
|
| Pre-order Guidance |
| Occasionally,
we are asked if it would be wise for a customer to pre-order something that we list as
upcoming. Yes, we think it is wise but pre-orders also help us gauge demand for certain
items. NCS needs little guidance for games such as DC Marvel vs Capcom
since we will purchase as many as our suppliers can ship. The real need for direction
comes with lesser known games such as DC Kita He and PS Dancing
Blade 2 which only appeal to niche groups of customers. In the past, NCS was
rampant in ordering large quantities of everything that came out in Japan but this
business model ties up a lot of cash that we'd rather free up for other ventures. In other
words, we have become more conservative in our middle age. NCS posts pre-order schedules
periodically when we need guidance that only our retail customers can provide. For
example, if we see that a niche product such as Kita He has pre-sold 50 retail copies, we
would not mind ordering 75~85 copies since there will likely be wholesale support and
additional retail demand for it. So yes, all pre-orders are appreciated to help us
determine overall demand for products. |
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| An
Idea |
|
When the Skeleton Saturn hit the market last year, buyers were dazzled by it's transparent
casing and overall cool appearance. Even though the price of the Skeleton was twice as
expensive as a regular Saturn, all of our stock was snapped up at US$249
per unit. The only difference between the Skeleton and a vanilla Saturn
was the casing. NCS has trading partners in Asia who can whip up a quality replica or mold
of any casing, including the Playstation shell but they would need financing to start the
work. We have the capital to launch something like this but we are curious about the
demand for a transparent Playstation shell which you would swap your Playstation's innards
into. The shell would include the bottom plastic base and the top cover with the lid and
will essentially replace your Playstation shell entirely. You'd be able to look at all the
parts, the rotation of the disc, the glare of the power light, etc by simply glancing
over. The effect is extremely cool but of course, if there is no demand, it won't be
commercially viable for us to proceed with the project. Our price target is US$35~US$45
for the casing, which we would produce in 4 varieties to address the different pcboard
revisions in the marketplace. Colored transparent shells (clear purple, clear blue, etc)
would also be sexy. Please mail feedback to ncx@ix.netcom.com if you are interested in something like this.
Thanks. |
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| Capital
Markets |
|
We sold too soon. This was a case where caution and nimble trading cost us a large chunk
of potential profits. Our calls in YHOO and AMZN that we sold back into the market
yesterday are now worth a lot more than they were bid in the last session. Our only
comfort is the adage, "Bulls make money, Bears make money. Pigs get
slaughtered". |
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Send e-mail to ncs@escape.com
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