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| Dreamcast
Pricing |
| New
DC pricing
took effect yesterday. NCS currently has inventory of Japanese consoles but Asian consoles
will be stocked this Friday. VMS, joypads, joysticks, and racing wheels are in stock. A
third party Dreamcast S-Video cable was restocked yesterday at US$20. The
shielding on this cable is not as thick as Sega's own but the picture quality is sharp and
on par with the original Sega Dreamcast S-Video cable. Original Sega brand cables and the
DC VGA Box should be restocked early next week. |
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| Dracula
X Card Collection |
|
Retail box sets of Konami's Dracula card
collection arrived this morning. Each sealed box (US$50) contains 15 packs
of Dracula cards that feature the main characters, monsters, etc. Each pack contains 10
cards with the majority of the cards being parts of a larger picture. Please refer to our
link posted above for examples. NCS is also offering Dracula X cards by the pack at US$4.
The cards are glossy, slick and collectible. |
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| Gameboy
Color April Imports |
Three GBC imports were announced overnight to ship on April 28. Pre-orders are welcome.
| Beat Breaker |
Konami |
US$45 |
| Musical puzzle
game |
| Dino Breeder 3 |
J-Wing |
US$49 |
| Dinosaur
breeding adventure |
| Pocket GI Stable |
Konami |
US$45 |
| Horsr
training, breeding and racing |
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| Playstation
April 1999 Addendum |
| Mahjong
Yarouze and Rasetsu no Ken, both from Konami, have been added to
the Playstation release schedule for April 28. Mahjong Yarouze is a mahjong simulation
with a tournament mode and a training mode for beginners to sharpen their skills. Rasetsu
no Ken is a 3-D action game featuring a samurai and a ninja through several different
episodes. The previous title for this game was Japan. Please update your pre-orders
accordingly. |
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| Playstation
Re-release Roster for 03/99 |
| The
following Playstation games have been granted the "Best Series" treatment for
March. Each game will be priced at US$33: Klonoa of Wind, Tekken
III on March 11. A5, Gran Turismo, Minna
no Golf, Tsurido Sea Fishing, and Zero Pilot on
March 25. Pre-orders are welcome. |
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| Saturn
Difficulty |
| NCS
missed a number of Saturn titles that were released in December and January that we had
originally pre-ordered. The reasons are varied but the main obstacle facing the Saturn is
the fact that many Asian and Japanese vendors are unwilling to carry Saturn stock now. For
the same reason that the PC-FX eventually died, the Saturn is perceived as being shuffled
out of the market by stronger players. Saturn stock is avoided because of the perception
of a limited and dying market. We saw this in the USA when chain stores such as TRU and EB
blew out Saturn systems at $79 and games at $10 last year. It is happening now in Japan
with many vendors using space once reserved for the Saturn to hold their Dreamcast stock.
Market forces dictate direction and the Saturn has hit turbulence and perhaps disinterest.
NCS will stock upcoming games such as D&D Collection and Tokimeki Memorial Drama Vol.
03 but we are unsure if we can restock titles that were shipped in December and January
due to the lack of inventory in Japan. We will update if we can confirm delivery of
certain products such as Langrisser Tribute, etc. |
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| Dreamcast
T-Shirt & Cap |
| A
minor correction. We did take delivery of white t-shirt and cap sets yesterday along with
the black t-shirt and cap. Our packing list indicated only one color in the cartons that
arrived but spot inspection revealed otherwise. In stock at US$25. |
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| Pro-Action
Replay |
|
It's weeks like this that show us how much we depend on Asia for critical supplies. It
seems everyone is sold out of the PAR right now and the manufacturer of the card won't be
able to ship out new stock until Friday due to the Lunar New Year. NCS has resorted to
stocking Game Shark cards from Interact in the meantime. We are selling them at US$35
for the v2.4 card. |
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| Capital
Markets |
|
Strong open this morning. We would like to see the market follow through the entire day
with strength. Also watching money flows and the advances and declines on the NYSE for
underlying sentiment that may not be reflected by the indexes. Short positions have not
changed and we are keeping them as hedges. NCS will open additional long SPH positions if
the buying continues throughout the day but we have no sense of urgency to commit new
money into play. A reader suggested positions in gold futures as a hedge against an
overheated market. Gold may be fine as a long (very long) term play but in the short term,
fiat money has simply destroyed the perception of gold as a safe haven. |
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NCS Weekly |
Tel
(718) 523-5774 |
Fax
(718) 523-7069 |
| Monday |
Power
Stone on schedule for next week, Saturn pre-orders for Friends, Ryouko Chatting Room |
| Tuesday |
Dracula
X Card Collection, Gameboy Color imports for April 28, Playstation Best Series March |
| Wednesday |
Konami
80's Arcade Gallery announced |
| Thursday |
Final
Fantasy Collection reminder, Smash Bros in stock, Restock on the way |
| Friday |
DC
Magazine 03/19 confirmation, DC Asian Cconsole next Monday, Restock available |
| Saturday |
Restock
listing, DC Magazine payment information |
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