| Friday
Update (October 16, 1998) |
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| The Japanese yen rose another 3.09 points
against the U.S. dollar overnight to 115 yen to the dollar. This bodes ill for Japanese
multinationals such as Sony, Mitsubishi, Toyota, what have you. Competitive edge is
dissipated as cost of goods rise against the weakening purchasing power of the dollar. A
declining dollar also destroys the pricing elasticity of companies in the U.S that import
from Japan. NCS sees a return to the days when 100 yen equaled a dollar, or worse. The
Fed's easing stance will only exacerbate and hasten the decline. Due to the accelerating
momentum to the downside for the dollar, NCS is expecting pricing increases of roughly 11%
for new imports. Prices that were once US$49 are now expected to range in
at US$53. SATURN Marvel vs Street Fighter (October 21)
will be the first game affected by this change. We hope to cap the increase within that
amount. |
| Yesterday, we mentioned that
the special edition of Ridge Racer Type 4 would include a racing controller. Namco is
debuting a new controller called the Jogcon with the release of RR4. The Jogcon includes a
dial for shifting between gears and maintain speed. An official Ridge Racer Type 4
official guide from Namco will also ship with the game. The guide will inlcude complete
data on all of the cars in RR4. |
| The following Playstation games expected in
December will utilize the upcoming Playstation PDA card: Ridge Racer Type IV, Susume
Kaizoku, Tamamayu Story, Battle Konchuden, Hello Kitty White Present, Theme Aquarium, I.Q.
Final and Street Fighter Zero 3. |
|
| Candy Toy presentations will resume next week. |
| SONYPS Silent Moebius
Phantasmal Fallen Angel, a Dual Shock compatible RPG based on the popular anime
is expected on December 23. The package will include a playable preview of the upcoming
Patlabor game. |
| A new train conductor sim is
expected from Tomy this December. Densha Daisuki follows in the footsteps
of Densha de Go and places you in control of a passenger train. The Sony dual shock will
be supported but Taito's conductor controller will not be. |
| ASCII will release a fishing rod controller for
the Playstation on December 17. The ASCII Tsuricon will feature a reel and a vibrating
motor to simulate the joys of fishing. Expected retail is Y5980. |
| ASCII also plans a special
Street Fighter Zero 3 joystick that includes SFZ3 character trading cards. This joystick
will not be a proprietary controller and can be used with other games. The expected retail
is Y7800. |
| Marvel Superheroes vs Street
Fighter is now confirmed for delivery on October 21, if there are no shipping delays. NCS
will begin confirming pre-orders on Monday to assure every customer of a quick and
efficient ship-out of the game. Thank you. |
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| Thursday
Update (October 15, 1998) |
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| SONYPS Ridge Racer Type 4 has
been confirmed for December 03. Two packages will be available: a regular version (Y5800)
and a special edition that includes a racing controller (Y7980). Pre-orders are welcome
for both versions. |
| SONYPS Ehrgeiz and Street
Fighter Zero 3 have been confirmed for December 17 and the 23rd. Hori will
release a proprietary Ehrgiez joystick at the same time at a price of Y4980. This joystick
offering would be similar to the special Tekken 3 stick that was released this past
summer. |
| The Pocket Station PDA device will finally see
the light of day on December 23 at Y3000. Koei's Monster Race (12/23) will be one of the
first games to make use of the Pocket Station's abilities. |
| Due to an unfortunate
shipping delay, Capcom Generation Vol. 03 is now expected next Monday. |
| New information from Japan indicates that the
first shipment of Pocket Color Gameboy will be sold at a strict ratio of colors (1 blue, 1
yellow, etc, for each clear purple or nothing) which makes little sense since the whole
idea of different case colors is so that the customer can choose the preferred color.
Nintendo doesn't feel that way. Nintendo should simply abandon the different colors and
release everything in plain vanilla. Another stipulation is that each PCG must be
purchased with one game, but Nintendo chooses the game during shipment (Wario Land 2 or
Tetris DX). So, if NCS orders 400 Pocket Color Gameboys and wants 400 Wario Land
cartridges, we will be denied. What we will get is 400 Pocket Color Gameboys, 200 Wario
Land 2s and 200 Tetris DXs. We can't sell that many Tetris DXs but Nintendo doesn't care.
It is little surprise that many dealers in Japan abhor Nintendo's strong-arm dictums and
ridiculous business tactics. It is but one reason why the N64 will collapse by year's end
when Dreamcast dominates the scene. NCS will try to maintain the preferred color ratios by
sourcing the PCG from a variety of vendors but we see little hope or change in Nintendo's
outlandish schemes. No one likes a bully... |
|
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| Candy Toy of the Day (CT#30) |
Per unit US$4 |
| A Hello Kitty collection of 10 balloons and a
blowing tube to inflate them with. A Hello Kitty placard is also included to mount
balloons with. |
| Click here for the flipside
of the Kitty carton. |
|
E-mail
ncs@escape.com |
| Capcom Generation Vol. 05 has
been announced for late December. The latest volume of Capcom classics will contain Street
Fighter II, Street Fighter II CE and Street Fighter II Turbo. |
| Pre-orders are now open for the limited edition
of the new Sakura Taisen game expected on December 03. Sakura Taisen Teigeki Graph
Ltd will include a Sakura Taisen magazine that is not available without
pre-ordering. |
| Pre-orders are also now open
for SATURN Noel 3 Limited Edition. The special edition includes a music CD that is not
available without pre-ordering. |
| Finally, pre-orders are open for SATURN Lapis
Lazuli Snow Limited Edition. LLS is a new adult dating game from Kid and the special box
includes an original hologram seal. |
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| Wednesday
Update (October 14, 1998) |
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| The first five Dreamcast titles that will ship
with console debut on November 27 are as follows: Godzilla Generations, July, Pen Pen
Tricelon, Sega Rally 2 Championship and Virtua Fighter 3tb. There is one release expected
on December 03 with Blue Stinger and one on December 10 with Geist Force. Sonic Adventure
has been confirmed for December 17 and the month will close out with four DC titles on the
23rd: Evolution, Incoming, Monaco Grand Prix Racing Simulation 2 and Seventh Cross. NCS
will update our Dreamcast Game Gallery tomorrow with photos of Monaco GP and a few others. |
| Capcom has announced
Bio-Hazard: Code Veronica for the Dreamcast for 2Q 1999. SNK plans a DC version of King of
Fighters for 2Q 1999 and Sega's own Virtua On Oratorio Tangram is expected 3Q 1999.
Shooter fans may be heartened to know that Shienryu 2 is expected 2Q 1999. |
| The KOF98 Gamest mook has been restocked
today. |
|
 |
| Candy Toy of the Day (CT#037) |
Per unit: US$3 |
| A neat Rockman X4 figure and
a packet of candy is what buyers of this particular Candy Toy will discover. One of four
different Rockman X4 characters are randomly placed in each box. |
| Click for backside. |
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| Tuesday
Update (October 13, 1998) |
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| Capcom Generation Volume 03
is expected on Thursday for the Sega Saturn and the Playstation console. |
| With the Pocket Color Gameboy expected in a
couple of weeks, we thought it interesting that roughly 70% of all pre-ordering customers
wanted the clear purple model. The next dominant color was the clear model followed by the
blue PCG. Purple, red and yellow PCGs had combined totals of less than 20 admirers from
the total pool of reservations. NCS will keep inventory of the less favored colors in any
case to satisfy any new demand when the PCG is released. |
| A number of NCS trading
partners in the U.K., such as Megacity and Planet Distribution are planning lofty
Dreamcast valuations when the highly anticipated import hits the high street later this
year. Prices are already being quoted at 1,600 pounds, or roughly US$2800
for the console, the full complement of 5 games and an additional joypad. Similar pricing
exuberance was seen when the N64 and Sony Playstation first hit the markets in Europe. NCS
plans a valuation that is much, much lower than what our European counterparts are
offering. |
| The dollar firmed against the yen overnight but
the damage has been done. If the yen continues the trend of strengthening against the
dollar, Japanese exporters will be hurt the most as overseas demand is reduced as domestic
importers reduce expenditures. NCS is already scaling back purchases of certain stock and
restock from Japan due to the rising yen. |
|
|
| Candy Toy of the Day (CT#013)
|
-Per
unit: US$2 |
| Candy toys are mini novelties
that are sold in the Japanese marketplace. NCS has imported about a hundred different
varieties of Candy toys and will be featuring one every day over the next couple of weeks.
|
| - |
| CT #13 includes a Pokemon Kids trading card, a
packet of candy and a random mini Pocket monster figure. |
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| Monday
Update (October 12, 1998) |
|
| A shipment of Beatmania turntable controllers
arrived this morning. Arcade fans may have seen the Beatmania arcade cabinet which
features the turntable controller for scratching and blasting def jams. The Playstation DJ
deck will allow the armchair DJ to do the same. The controller features a mini 3"
diameter turntable and five buttons for matching the signals on the Beatmania game screen.
NCS doubts that any another Playstaton game will use the DJ deck, unless Beatmania 2 comes
to market, so this will be one of those novelties that will be spoken about in future
magazines. Retail US$55. |
| The week appears to be light
in terms of new imports but we will update our information by tomorrow morning when the
release schedule is posted. |
|
| Square's Final Fantasy VIII
for the Playstation has been announced for mid-December delivery. Pre-orders are now open
for fulfillment as soon as we take stock. The expected yen price is Y6800. |
| A new shipment of import
magazines arrived today. |
| NCS is already seeing the
effects of the yen's recent strength against the dollar. Major Japanese trading houses
have revised price listings over the weekend to reflect the "market devaluation"
of the US dollar against the yen and most other major foreign currencies. |
Send e-mail to ncs@escape.com |
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