| DC
Video-CD Player |
Scans
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Video
CDs are fairly popular in Asia, where bounties of discs are
hawked by street vendors for the equivalent of a couple of
American dollars, if that. There erupted a hullabaloo a few
years back when "The Phantom Menace" broke out on
pirate video-cd at the same time as the theatrical release in
the States. If you didn't mind the background noise from the
audience (Initial bootlegs were DV'ed from screenings), the
movie quality was passably viewable. Or so we've heard.
NCS tested today's DC VCD player with a copy of
Virtua Fighter 2 CGMV, a collection of cinemas featuring
Sega's 3-D battlers, and it ran fine. The rear of the
packaging touts VGA-Box support and the availability of
a special controller. A quick check with vendors in Hong Kong
deny the availability of a controller at this time but perhaps
it'll launch soon. Packaging includes VCD accessory and boot
disc.
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Video-CD
Player US$25
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| Gameboy
Advance Cartridge Shells |
Photo
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NCS
will refrain from repeating last week's diatribe against dust
but we continue the theme this week by offering protective
cartridge shells for Gameboy Advance. Nintendo basically
ignited a whole cottage industry when they didn't supply the
"necessities" of portable gaming life. From last
week's plastic coverings, stickers, and sun filters to this
week's cartridge cases, Asian manufacturers are filling a need
and niche. We may even import the little joystick nubs which
fit over the GBA d-pad for more tactile gameplay.
The plastic container nestles any GBA cartridge
safely within it's confines and wards away pollutants and
other unsightly atmospheric contaminants. A perky snap-lock
clasp provides a satisfying click when closing the clam. NCS
bundles them three to a package for the paltry sum of
US$5.
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Set of 3
GBA shells US$5
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| DC
Connection 3 in 1 |
Photos
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It's natural for accessories to evolve. EMS set off the boom
with their Total Control line-up of accessories which allowed
prehistoric console controllers to be used on the jet set
consoles of the day. Total Control 2 gave Playstation One
joypads a new lease on life and Total Control 3 did the same
for otherwise dust-laden Saturn pads and twinsticks.
Dream Connection, a second generation product,
upped the ante by supporting both Playstation and Saturn
controllers in one compact unit. It proved it's versatility by
also supporting standard PS2 keyboards on the Dreamcast.
We figure the DC Connection to be an adjunct of
the second generation of Dreamcast controller converters. In
addition to all the features of the Dream Connection, it also
features a port for plugging in your VMU. The grunt work has
been done and we rigorously tested the following controllers
this morning: Saturn standard joypad, Saturn hori pad, Saturn
ASCII jogging controller, Playstation Dual Shock, Playstation
Hori joystick, Playstation 2 Dual Shock, and Microsoft Natural
keyboard. The packaging states support for steering wheel
controllers as well but all of ours are now in storage. We'll
take their word for it.
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DC
Connection US$28
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| Additional
June schedule amendments |
Assorted
Updates
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Gainax/Ninelives re-instated Princess Maker
Collection on the Dreamcast for June 21. The game collects
Princess Maker 1 and 2, bumps up the visuals and adds other
enhancements to the originals. Pricing remains at Y5800. Two
other Dreamcast titles were added to June including Kaen
Seibo from Koei (June 14) and Miss Moonlight from
Kagatech for June 21.
Konami added Tam Tam Paradise w/ Controller to
the PS2 listings for June 26 at a reasonable price of Y7800.
The full-release edition of J-Phoenix for the PS2 has
also been confirmed for June 28. A set of English
instructional games from Konami are also slated for June 28.
These discs help Japanese citizens learn English in game-like,
interactive settings. The three DVDs in this series are titled
The Boy in the Eyes, Totoi, and Tondemo Mouse
Adventure.
Gameboy Advance pickings for July appear to be
slim and two titles have been confirmed thus far: Hudson's Mahjong
Police ships on July 12 at Y5200 and MTO readies Everybody's
Breed ~ My Beetle. With some cognitive reasoning invested
on the title, we're assuming it's a beetle breeding
simulation. Thank you.
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PS2 Para Para controllers, DC 56K modems, GBA Lightboy
Advance, and Japanese DC controller PCBs are available again
today. Online orders are welcome to ship today.
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Gameboy
Advance Mr. Driller 2 is now available, a month after the
fact. Now we'll stalk Dracula and hope that arrives soon.
Driller 2 is available for new orders online.
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A wide array
of PS restock arrived today, similar in scope to last week's
Saturn onslaught. We'll take inventory tonight and post an
update tomorrow morning. Additional deliveries of SS, PS
restock are due in 1-2 weeks from suppliers.
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E-mail
NCS
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