Tuesday, January 11, 2011

 NDS Nicoli Sudoku PSP - Third Collection - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» Sudoku is a game of logic and numbers where the digits 1 through 9 are placed within a 9x9 play board. Sounds simple enough but the rules dictate that each number can only appear once in any one row or column. Furthermore, the 9x9 board is broken up into nine distinct 3x3 areas that can only hold the numbers 1 through 9 in its squares and no number may be repeated in each 3x3 area.

   If that sounds like your kind of game,
Nicoli's bringing out a PSP version of their popular Sudoku puzzle collections. One of the oldest Sudoku producers on the planet, Nicoli started doing business in 1980 and still creates all of their Sudoku puzzles by hand. A poor but diligent slob in Nicoli's offices painstakingly uses his experience and skill to create a Sudoku puzzle that probably takes 15-30 minutes each. Due to Nicoli's meticulous creation of Sudoku puzzles, every Japanese newspaper syndicates the company's puzzles for their daily readers.

   In addition to the Sudoku puzzles, Nicoli also includes three bonus games that they specialize in producing: Slitherlink,
Masyu, and Yajilin. All four games support game-sharing and ad hoc connectivitity for multiple players. Preorders are welcome to ship on March 10, 2011 at JPY2800 or US$36.90.

 NDS Starry Sky Planet (Hoshizora Planet) - Import Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» Hoshizora Planet was originally released in 2000 for the PC but it's coming back to the Japanese market with a remake by Cyberfront.

The twinkling of the stars in the night sky...
Equals the amount of people's joy,
The amount of people's sorrow
The amount of meetings and separations,
And the number of forgotten dreams.

   The protagonist in Hoshizora Planet has been away for seven years but he returns to his hometown. Everyone's older and he notices that his childhood friends including Souma Ranko, Hoshimi Hitomi, Sasha Norberg, and Sanada Kyouko have all grown up into beautiful women. Shortly after he returns however, an incident causes him to remember a tragic event that took place seven years earlier...

   The PSP remake features new scenarios scripted by creator Hajime Yamada, new graphics, additional character voice snippets, and story changes. Preorders are welcome to ship on March 10, 2011 at JPY5800 or US$68.90. A limited edition is also available for preorder which includes a Vocal Album (Soundtrack) and a Special Booklet (illustrations, interviews).

 NEWS General Updates  

Slow Striker
«©NCSX» Our shipments of DC Fast Striker are still in transit from NGDEV but they should arrive this week. We'll probably never use DHL for European shipments again but the Christmas and New Year holidays were likely factors in the slow delivery.
Holiday in Japan Yesterday
  
We forgot that every second Monday in January is Seijin no Hi or Coming of Age Day in Japan... which sort of messed up this week's early release chances for Arcana Heart 3. Due to the holiday yesterday, all new releases are on regular delivery schedule for later this week.
Nintendo 3DS
  
Preorders for the Japanese version of the Nintendo 3DS should kick off next week if alerts from suppliers are correct. We watched a bunch of the Nintendo World 2011 exhibitions over the weekend and Kid Icarus 3DS looks good.