| Dreamcast
Versus Cable, Cloned |
Virtua On |
| Third
party DC to DC link cables have been produced and NCS will
offer them for general sale next week. Our first choice for
accessories is always original manufacturer products but in
this case, supplies are no longer readily available.
Outstanding demand in the market behooves supply. Three
Dreamcast software titles presently support the Versus cable: Virtua
On: Oratorio Tangram, Ferrari F355 Challenge, and Aero
Dancing F. We figure an additional one or two future DC games will also
support the link. Pricing is set at US$28 and the cable will
be added to the online store upon arrival of stock. |
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Two
televisions, two DCs, two copies of VOOT. One cable. Slap them
all together, add some voltage and you have an arcade class,
head to head Virtua On experience. There is no split-screen
tomfoolery or constrained aspect ratios to distract players, only a dedicated and full
screen representation of the battle for both mech handlers.
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| Gameboy
Advance Update |
~Month |
Pre-orders
for the first shipment of the Gameboy Advance, slated for
March 21~22, are now closed. We've met our initial allocation
of units and all seats have been filled. New pre-orders are
welcome but any submissions received by NCS starting today
will be processed about a week after the launch date. NCS
expects new shipments of the GBA on March 29~30, depending on
how supplies pan out.
In related news, Nintendo of America pushed the
launch date of the USA version of GBA up to June 11 from July.
Now, we'll know if there's any GBA lock-out a month
earlier. |
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All
that remains for the GBA launch, at least for us, is the usual
waiting game. The wheels have been set in motion and all
preparations have been made for the event. The weeks will melt
away and we'll be awash in milky blue, white, and purple GB
Advance in no time. That, and a ton of cartridges.
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| SNK
of Asia RIses Again |
KOF |
| SNK
Asia Limited will resume operations and trading in the next
couple of weeks after shutting down last summer. Parent
company Aruze reined in global SNK operations last year in a
retrenchment effort. Solicitations to vendors have already
gone out for the upcoming NGP Super Real Mahjong Premium
Collection game which is due on March 22. With the
resumption of an Asian presence, standard production of
English language Neo Geo software should again become a
factor, which extends to future Neo Geo Pocket and Neo Geo MVS/AES
cartridges. New plans and software releases are to be
announced shortly and NCS will update accordingly. |
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The
revival of SNK's Asian franchise helps generate sales in
Pacific regions outside of Japan. The MVS coin-op hardware
remains a viable contender in many Asian countries, with the
popularity of the KOF series a likely mainstay for years to
come. SNK Asia also makes the possibility of KOF 2001 for the
home cartridge a little easier...
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| Love
Restock Next Week |
PS2
Restock |
| Regular
and limited editions of Love Hina for the Dreamcast
console are expected next week. Pricing for the grossly large
Love Hina LE package is unknown at this point but a vendor
located some supply for us and we'll purchase whatever they
can offer. The limited edition of Japanese Shenmue is
also on the way, along with a number of other bits and pieces
slated for early next week. |
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USA
Playstation 2 consoles remain scarce but NCS will restock the
Japanese SCPH 18000 models next week. New to the package is a
DVD remote controller and the latest DVD drivers (v2.0).
Pricing $450.
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| PS2
Gameshark 2 |
Loaders |
| The
only versions of the GS2 in retail distribution at this point
are the v1.0 to v1.2 units. However, Interact
is sending out v1.3 upgrade discs to customers who have
purchased earlier versions of the GS2. In addition to the new
data, there is apparently an interesting side effect which the
v1.3 disc allows. We haven't received our own v1.3 CD to test
but confirmation from "d00dz" would be
helpful. |
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In
a market accustomed to chips and modified firmware, the new
direction may be boot loaders. In the case of the PS2, this
appears to be the only way to forge ahead and produce something
workable.
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| Valentine's
Day |
Heart |
| Going
through the shroud of history, three saints named Valentine or
Valentinus are recognized by the Catholic Church. One, or
perhaps all three, contributed to the Valentine tradition that
is observed. All three saints also happened to be martyrs.
Today, Valentine's Day is primarily a commercial enterprise
but it's so ingrained into the national psyche that the masses
simply go with the flow. After all, spending and sending
trinkets carries entire industries and facilitates amor. |
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E-mail
NCS
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