Dance Battle Audition Portable

During an audition, an aspiring star attempts to impress talent or casting agents by singing and dancing. Move and flow like Deer Park Spring water and you might get a callback. Audition Portable is sort of like that. Based on the popular Audition Online game for the PC, PSP players get to follow arrow cues ala DDR and watch as their onscreen dancer performs. If you hit the cues brilliantly, the dancer sways and spins like a hero. Botch the cues however and your tiny dancer may appear to be inebriated as her two left feet get in the way of themselves.

Audition Portable features a 67 song track list with a mix of Korean pop, trance, club music, and more. While one can play the game solo, a network mode option allows up to six players to participate. As mentioned earlier, the cues consist of a sequence of arrows that point north, south, east, and west. To match them, tug on the d-pad accordingly in the directions as they appear. Once the string of cues have been hit, wait for the "closing cue" to complete the move. As you finish each string, you'll be ranked with "Miss," "Bad," "Cool," "Great," and "Perfect." Chain a number of "Perfect" rankings together and you'll be earning bonus points to scale up your score and racking up Den points. For the uninitiated, Den is the coin of the realm in the world of Dance Battle Audition. With a man-purse full of Den, players may purchase goodies and outfits. Occasionally, a red-colored arrow cue appears which indicates a reversal move. For example, if a red up-arrow appears, push downwards on the d-pad. «more»

Audition Portable Special Edition

The special edition of Audition Portable includes the following items in addition to the game software itself.

» 100,000 Den Item Coupon
» Spiral bound desktop calendar
» Dance Battle Audition daily diary for chronicling your life
» Puffy sticker cell phone strap featuring a couple of dancers
» Dance Battle Audition Portable Original Soundtrack Vol. 1 minidisc
» Decorative simulated wood grain packaging

Final Fantasy AC 1/4 Scale Sephiroth Statue

Hot on the heels of the Final Fantasy Advent Children Cloud Strife 1/4 Scale Statue, Square Enix has started preorders for a 1/4 scale version of Sephiroth who also hails from the Final Fantasy Advent Children feature film.
In the movie, a bad boy named Kadaj led two other thugs named Loz and Yazoo against Cloud and friends. The hoodlums were looking for Mother. When they found her in a case containing Jenova's remnants, Kadaj transformed into the silver-haired Sephiroth.
The Sephiroth 1/4 scale statue measures 45cm or 17.71" tall and depicts the warriors in a becalmed pose where he hefts a sword in his left hand and stares out into the distance. There's apparently a wind blowing because the ends of his hair are lively. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late October 2007 at JPY50000 or US$400 from NCS. We will package this item in a double container for protection against shipping damage.

Portrait of Pirates Neo 1 Renewal

Manufacturer Megahouse has started preorders for a "Neo 1" reproduction of the first Portrait of Pirates figures, namely Luffy and Namie in their original poses from the first POP set.
Luffy may be spied to the left where his straw hat is off his head and hangs behind him. Luffy is apparently content with standing there and cracking his knuckles. On the right, Nami coyly wields a blue staff while dressed in a bikini and a pair of dungarees.
Each figure measures 20cm tall or 8" tall. A platform is included with each character for display purposes. Namie's staff and Luffy's straw hat are included with the figures in the packaging and may be "attached" to the figures as shown in the photos. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late September 2007 at US$45 per figure.

Japanese Preorder Update

According to the publisher preorder solicitations, the first production of Wii Kidou Senshi Gundam MS includes a bonus Gundam Memorial disc and the first batch of DS Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 5 will include a bonus DS Lite shell. Please note that allocation ratios may affect the quantity of bonuses that we receive. The two portable Yu-Gi-Oh games will include 3 bonus cards each.
Nintendo DS
7/05	Chibi-Robo DS	Nintendo
7/12	Ganbaru Watashi no Kakei Diary	Nintendo
7/19	Cinnamon Ball Kurukuru Sweets Paradise	Rocket
	Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 5	Tomy
7/26	Mame Goma Honobo no Nikki	TDK Core
8/02	Kikansha Thomas Kokugo Sansuu Eigo	Rocket
	Suraidoadobencha Magukiddo	Nintendo
8/09	Donkey Kong Jungle Climber	Nintendo
	Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters GX Card Almanac	Konami
8/23	Hayate no Gotoku!	Konami
	Hayate no Gotoku! Limited Edition	Konami
Playstation 2
8/02	J.League Winning Eleven 2007 Club Champion	Konami
Playstation Portable
7/26	Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX Tagforce 2	Konami
Nintendo Wii
7/26	Kidou Senshi Gundam MS Sensen 0079	Bandai
	Mario Party 8	Nintendo

Zelda: Mugen no Sunadokei Touch Pen Set

A new Zelda game titled "Zelda no Densetsu: Mugen no Sunadokei" which translates to "The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass" is scheduled to ship later this month. To sort of tie into the release of the game, gashapon king Yujin has announced preorders for six Zelda-themed touch pens which are slated to ship in September 2007. Will anyone still remember the game three months after the fact? This question and many more will be answered when NCS takes delivery of the touch pens this autumn and throw up the usual photos.

Six varieties are on offer which feature the Zelda Mugen no Sunadokei logo and two-tone colors per stylus. Each touch pen is adorned with a loop for tethering purposes. Preorders are welcome today and NCS will supply the touch pens in complete sets of six for US$20.

Evangelion Angel Headwear

Over the past decade or so, the regularity of Evangelion merchandise was something that we took for granted. Every month or so, toys, towels, bedsheets, matryoshka dolls, and other miscellany would reach the market and fans would eat it all up. A new Evangelion movie is scheduled to bow this summer in Japan and it's only fitting that another flood of merchandise reach market henceforth. Japanese manufacturer Plex starts things off with officially licensed hats that are based on three Angels from the Evangelion mythos.

The Third Angel named Sachiel faced off against Shinji but eventually self-destructed. The Sachiel hat (left) features the doleful image of the Angel dead-center and two appendages on the side that look like Sachiel's shoulders. The fabric that drops from the sides is meant to represent its droopy arms.

On the upper right, we have the Zeruel Hat which is based on the Fourteenth Angel. The skull face is there along with its beam-weapon port which packs a wallop.

Looking towards the lower right, the orange-colored Sahaquiel hat represents the Tenth Angel. Although Sahaquiel has three eyes in the animation series, we only spy one of them...

Preorders for the EVA Angel Hats are welcome to ship in mid-late August 2007 at US$19 per hat.

Relakkuma Mat

Relakkuma has one of those faces where you take one glance and say to yourself, "I know him. I know this %$&#$ animal from somewhere." We're guessing it's the ears but the soulful and expressive eyes may also be the cue to rouse feelings of familiarity.
To ensure that Relakkuma is always on your mind, System Service has started preorders for a mat which measures 60 x 44cm in area which converts to 23.62 x 17.32" imperial. The mat is made of a cushiony material which may be perfect for the bedroom, the game room, or perhaps even the bathroom. Whatever room you choose, you'll soon be able to step on Relakkuma's face with a combat boot or a waffle slipper. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late September 2007 at US$19.00/mat.