| DC
Dorimaga Vol. 3 GD-Rom Issue |
Scans |
A two-page advert greets readers upon flipping the cover of
the latest Dorimaga. It seems a game called Sonic Adventure 2
ships later this month and Sega reminds fans that the Birthday
Pack will be available on June 23 and 24 in limited quantities
across Japan. The news section of the magazine displays two
versions of the upcoming Sega C-Bot, a blue boy model and a
red girl model. Given that the specialty of this robot lies in
it's communication skills, we're expecting love sparks when
these two meet and interact. Reviews in this issue include
Capcom vs SNK 2000 Pro (7.0 average), Confidential Mission
(8.0), Miss Moonlight (6.66), and Pia ~ Welcome to Carrot v2.5
(7.33). The latter two games ship on June 21. Moving along, a
Sonic Adventure 2 preview checks out some of the A-Life
creatures, including a devilish looking dark A-Life complete
with pointy tail. Acts for Tails, Rouge, and Shadow are also
inspected and described.
Similar to the DC Magazine special issues, volume
3 of Dorimaga includes a bonus GD-Rom preview disc. Only one
playable game sits in it's confines: A level of Confidential
Mission and a couple of side games. The Japanese version
readily accepts the DC light gun, unlike it's USA counterpart.
Movie previews on the disc include Shenmue II, Sonic Adventure
2, Net Gimmick Capcom vs Psikyo, Candy Stripe, and a hot Naomi
2 racing game titled Club Kart. |
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Dorimaga
Vol. 3 US$20 |
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| DC
Sega Gaga Re-release |
Scans |
Damning D-Direct, Sega goes with a wide release on Sega Gaga
and does away with the snappy DVD case in favor of a standard
jewel. Whether or not this makes the earlier version come into
demand remains to be seen. Don't hold your breath.
As a new member of the Sega team, your goal is to
do what the current management team has been unable to do -
garner 100% market share of the videogame market in three
scant years. To reach this lofty goal, you'll have to do
battle against game designers who are in the guise of wretched
monsters. Humble these beasts and you'll win them over to your
development team. Once you've assembled an enviable pool of
talent, the manager in you comes into play to maneuver your
team into designing profitable software. No one ever said
business way easy and Sega Gaga demonstrates this in spades by
giving players a chance to try their hand in a unforgiving,
ever changing market. |
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Sega Gaga
US$53 |
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| PS
Sheep |
Scans |
Sheep are lovable, cuddlesome creatures but they're also
fairly low on the intelligence totem pole. According to the
publisher, sheep were once highly evolved space-faring
creatures who happened upon Earth but found the grazing and
easy life so becoming that they devolved into mindless balls
of wool. A mad scientist type hatches a master plan to use
sheep genetics, grafted into man, to render humanity into
little more than domesticated animals. That's when you come
in, a shepherd charged with the task of guiding flocks of
sheep away from the machinations of a deranged lunatic. Choose
from two humans (Bo-peep or Adam Half-pint) or two canines
(Motley or Shep) to be your on-screen representative and
you'll be on your way.
Sheep (Import) was an unintended purchase by the
NCS company but we find that our distributor's buying mistakes
occasionally wind up in our shipments
"accidentally". Nevermind, we'll accept the game and
sell it despite domestic versions of this game selling for $9
on PC and $29 on Playstation USA. Sheep was released in Japan
on June 07. |
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Sheep
US$39 |
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| Card
Captor Sakura Clock |
Photograph |
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A dream haunts Sakura Kinomoto, affable fourth grader, in the
debut episode of Card Captor. A mysterious tome materializes
in one sequence, followed by the flight of a legion of cards
through the night sky. She's dressed in odd garb and a
creature of sorts wafts beside her. Fade. An alarm clock eventually
summons Sakura from her slumber and she returns to the
wakening, the dream still in her thoughts. Later in the day,
the phantoms return when Sakura finds the book from the dream
in her father's library. She accidentally invokes a Wind card,
which summarily proceeds to blow a massive gaggle of cards all
over the town of Tomoeda. Only then does the less than
impressive looking Kerberos, beast of the seal, make his
appearance. Flustered by the launch of cards he was supposed
to watch over, he enlists Sakura's aid as the Card Captor to
retrieve the cards and seal them back into the book of Clow. |
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only thing missing from the diorama atop the CCS clock is
Tomoyo. We imagine her to be standing somewhere in the
distance, camera in hand, filming the scene since Sakura is
"so kawaii". From
base to the top of Sakura's head, the clock measures 7
1/4" tall with a base diameter of 5 1/16". A single AA
battery (not included) powers the clock whose features include
an alarm, swivel, and glow in the dark hands. An official
product licensed by Clamp and imported from Japan. US$15. |
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Card
Captor Clock US$15 |
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| Dead
or Alive 2 Hardcore Wall Scroll |
Photograph
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Some things
are easy to sell - Namco and Capcom fighting games for example
- ship in the thousands of units without much effort on our
part. We bring 'em in, we ship 'em out. On the other end of the spectrum, say pachinko games, we
have to exert a little more skill since the market in America
frowns upon this ilk of interaction. Perhaps we'll employ a compelling
write-up, screen-shots, or hope for harmonic convergence where
like-minded buyers happen upon our product listing just as
they foster a yen for pachinko fever. Maybe. It's abject resignation when none of the
above works. At that point, time becomes an
ally and the tried and true maxim of "everything sells,
given time" takes hold as the months and years whittle
down NCS stock. Now that that's settled, we consider the DOA2
wall scroll an easy sell, squarely fitting into the former
category of products. NCS is loathe to hype or rant
but this is a beautiful, beautiful product. The photo can't capture the gloss, the detail, or the paragraph of prose on
the upper left portion of the scroll. Measuring 32 x 44"
and made of a pliable
plastic material, the scroll comes packed in a white Tecmo
tube and goes into another tube during shipping.
This product is limited to 3,000 pieces in Japan, with no
re-production ever. In stock today at US$25.
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DOA2 Wall
Scroll US$25
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| Guilty
Gear X Metallic Poster |
Scan
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2180 A.D. A new Gear arises, one which operates normally
despite the destruction of Justice, a megalomaniac Gear in the
original Guilty Gear game. Similar to Justice,
"Neo-Gear" wields masterful fighting capabilities
and an organized challenge ripples through the world - anyone
who battles through the ranks and defeats the new Gear bags a
half million world dollars. Two warriors of many answer the
call. Sol Badguy, the buff badass-cum-bounty hunter,
possesses superior combat skills and defies the effects of
age. He stands
stoically on the left, red and black regalia barely covering
his bulk. Sol's fighting style relies on brute, overpowering
force and non-stop blows. He goes for the jugular and weak
players lacking in defensive skills will soon succumb to his
attack. Ky Kiske, the leader of an order of Holy Knights,
maintains a guarded watch over the evils of men and machines
but joins the Guilty Gear X tournament to view the new Gear
for himself. Ky faces Sol with an apathetic look and his
posture suggests repose in spite of the threatening persona
before him. A well balanced fighter, Ky shifts between attack
and defense with relative ease and covers all of the bases in
any fight. He's the all-around opponent who adapts to the
force and flow of the attack. The background of the poster
glitters in a metallic way, and shines with silvery sheen.
Approximately 22 x 34" and in stock at US$20.
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Guilty
Gear X poster US$20
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| SNK
Reproduction; Metal Slug 3 solicitation |
Captures
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A large assortment of Japanese territory Neo Geo Pocket
cartridges are being re-manufactured and on offer from SNK of
Japan covering 44 NGP cartridges including Samurai Shodown 2,
Metal Slug, Faselei, Evolution, and Ganbare Neopoke-kun.
Suggestions to the company for the release of ASIAN versions
were ignored, as usual, and the clueless inclinations of the
SNK corporation continues. Slated for August 6, 2001, NCS will
nonetheless purchase the entire assortment and offer the
cartridges for sale later this year.
More interesting perhaps is the official
reproduction of AES Metal Slug 3. SNK has confirmed the
game for release on September 3 and the company cites a
minimum order from every direct vendor of 36 pieces. Target
production quantity for this release appears to be 1000 units
total worldwide. If the pre-sale numbers fall short of this
number by say, 500 units, we don't expect the production to
proceed. Due to the short lead time we have to accept
pre-orders, feel free to send NCS an e-mail
if you wish to reserve one by July 11. Pricing is set at
US$268, our original level when the game originally shipped in
2000. It is unknown at this time if SNK will mark the
reproduction in some way to designate it as a re-production or
if it will be similar in every respect to the original
release. A number of other AES cartridges are under
consideration by SNK but those plans hinge on how well the
Metal Slug 3 reproduction and consequent sales perform.
Inquiries are welcome.
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| PS1
August 2001 Imports |
Analysis
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Six Playstation imports have been announced thus far to ship
in August 2001. A new One Piece game titled (get ready)
From TV Animation One Piece Jump Out Group will also
see a limited edition which includes a special Pocket Station
unit in deluxe packaging at Y5800 and Y8800 respectively.
Banpresto will ship Summon Night 2 and Capcom
re-releases a Street Fighter game for the Capkore
series. Hamster Club, Omagatoki, and The
Radio Control Car round out the roster for
now. The RC Car from D3 Publisher joins the Simple 1500 series
of games.
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The
new One Piece game goes the way of adventure-RPG and Omagatoki
looks like an import dud with it's ghost story, sound novel
theme. Hamster Club puts you in the position of caring
for a furry rodent and Summon Knight 2 = RPG.
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| Pokemon
GBA Solicitation |
Suicine
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Another shipment of Pokemon Gameboy Advance handhelds, only
available from Japanese Pokemon Centers, is scheduled to
arrive next week. We are now accepting reservations for this
product at a retail level of US$155.
The color scheme of the Pokemon GBA shines a silvery-blue
color and silhouettes of Pikachu and Pichu rest on the lower
portion of the game screen. If you wish to pre-order one, feel
free to send a message to NCS
with the header "Pokemon GBA Order" and
you'll be automatically added to our upcoming shipment. Due to
limited supplies of this item, we are limiting each customer
to only one unit at this time. Thanks.
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| NCS
Import Restock |
ZOE LE
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PS2 Zone
of Enders Limited Edition in stock one more time
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PS2 Para
Para Paradise Controllers restocked this morning
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PS2
Reiselied Ephemeral Fantasm added back to store
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PS2 Tokyo
Bus Guide Annai rides again
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PS2 Unison
remaining stock in Japan bought out, added to store
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PS2 Grappler
Baki Tournament returns to store listings
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Zone of Enders LE includes the following bonus items for the
connoisseur and collector: A 150 page artbook with ZOE mech
designs and character sketches, a mini-cd containing the
Z.O.E. theme song, and a DVD featuring the "Z.O.E. 2167
Idolo" movie, which is a prequel tale to the storyline in
the Z.O.E game.
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E-mail
NCS
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