| Ridge Racer Type 4 arrived yesterday and it's another excellent
racing game from Namco. The Jogcon pad that is included with the special package adds
another dimension to the Ridge series in the form of a handheld driving wheel (dial) with
feedback. We've been waiting for something like this for a while and hope that publishers
will take advantage of this new controller in future racing titles. NCS very much prefers
the Jogcon over the huge driving wheels of yore with names such as Mad Katz, Game Source,
etc. Stepping on foot pedals while playing a racing game in a living room setting just
never seemed too appealing. The jogcon is shaped like other Playstation pads with
ergonomic hand grips and is molded in the general shape of the original PS joypad. The
dial is located at the center of the controller and is easily accessible with your thumbs.
You "jog" it like a VCR fast forward/rewind wheel. There is enough resistance on
the dial to make it feel substantial and not cheap. Driving a vehicle in Ridge 4 is a snap
with the car responding to both micro and macro moves on the dial beautifully. Like real
driving, you occasionally have to make minor adjustments as you cruise through the road
and the Jogcon allows for these adjustments faithfully. The jogcon is not a heavyweight
controller (it weighs a little less than the Dual Shock) and yet it produces a
surprisingly strong and forceful response when you make hairpin turns or battle to remain
on asphalt after swerving out of a steep curve. You'll find yourself wrestling with the
dial on certain occasions. We like it. NCS is curious about the mechanism being used
inside but haven't had the chance to open up our pad yet. The Jogcon is the third
innovative controller that Namco has supported the Playstation with. The NeGcon
was the first, the Guncon was the second and the Jogcon
is the third. We expect a lot more cons from
Namco in the future. NCS will have stock of Jogcons, without R4, next week at US$39.
Pre-orders are welcome. |
| Additional quantities of Ridge
Racer R4 will arrive on Monday. NCS will be able to accept new orders for the
special R4 Jogcon package. |
|
| Another company
has faxed details of their Magic Key territory convertor for the Playstation. The
Magic Key is essentially a modified Pro-Action Replay card that will play import games on
any Playstation console. NCS has tested roughly 5 different cards from various vendors and
have found them all to be unreliable and unfeasable for retail. We expect the same poor
results with the new sample that is shipping next week but we'll test it thoroughly just
to be sure. We'll check Poporogue with it also to see if that will run. The new Magic Key
is expected for retail sale on December 15. |
|
| The Bulleta
Vampire Saviour figure from Capcom's Real Hero figure series has been restocked at US$25.
Bulleta's package includes a machete, an uzi, a dagger, a basket, and many other items.
Bulleta can grasp the weapons in her left hand. The other Vampire Saviour figures such as
Morrigan, Victor and Jedah are also in stock at US$25. A complete posting
of the figures that we have in stock will be listed on Monday's update. We were going to
update this week but the Dreamcast debacle sidelined a lot of plans. |
| What a week.
It's been a trying and haphazard couple of days but at least we're living in interesting
times. We should have an improved Dreamcast forecast next week along with sunnier skies as
all of our delayed cartons finally get delivered. That is, if the UPS truck doesn't get
blown up on the way. It seems anything and everything can happen nowadays, to our chagrin. |
|
|
| SONYPS Capcom
Generation Vol. 05 is in stock today at US$49. |
| Everything else is expected on Monday
due to odious and pernicious delays. Oh well, life is never easy |
|
|
|
| We made it
through yesterday without even mentioning the Dreamcast. Not much has changed over the
past 48 hours but prices in Asia have become unstable. Certain companies are maintaining
high prices in a monopoly type arrangement but others have broken rank and are offering DC
consoles at roughly 15% off their premiums set only this past Monday. The only problem is
that supplies remain limited although they are improving. Sega is now shipping DC consoles
directly to Japanese stores every Thursday in Japan. The numbers are sketchy but we are
estimating 75,000 units per week to meet demand. Japanese exporters remain reticent in
supplying overseas markets because Sega has imposed an embargo on DC consoles and are
tracking serial numbers. No word on what the punishment will be if they find the culprits
that have shipped DCs to Europe and America but we can't imagine that it involves
dismemberment. One way around the serial number tracking is very simple - remove the
sticker from the bottom of the console and carve the serial number label right out of the
DC carton. The adhesive that binds the sticker to the DC is not particularly strong. Our
advice remains the same: The Dreamcast will bid down soon and normal prices will
enable Sega fans to grab their own DC units. Not that there's much to play right now but a
new, cutting edge console is always cool to have. Stay tuned. |
|
| Can't get enough Dreamcast? Can't even get a
Dreamcast? Get the next best thing - a Dreamcast keychain that looks exactly like it's big
brother. Expected on December 21, the DC keychain will ring in the holidays at US$3
per unit. Pre-orders are welcome. |
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Third party
Dreamcast cables will begin hitting the market over the next couple of weeks. Here is a
look at what is expected from Asian manufacturers.
| RGB cable (requires
modification to DC) |
$12 |
| RGB cable (direct plug-in) |
$22 |
| S-Video cable |
$15 |
| A / V cable |
$8 |
| XRGB-1 and
XRGB-2 users will get to utlize their upscans for even better Dreamcast video quality with
the RGBs. |
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Send e-mail to ncs@escape.com |
Next week: PC-Engine
restock, Dance Dance Dance! |
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