Playstation Network Ticket JPY3000

Stateside players are limited in the ways they can purchase content from the Japanese Playstation Network. Credit cards issued in North America can't be used since the PSN billing system only authorizes Japanese credit cards. EDY cards aren't available to us yet but we were able to import a bunch of Playstation Network Tickets valued at JPY3000 today. We're supplying them for US$36.50. Our vendors in Japan don't have access to the tickets at wholesale and had to pay retail (from Family Mart, no less) and tacked on their mandatory handling charges to obtain them for us. Think of it as a videogame vigorish that's built into the price.
Orders for the PSN cards will be fulfilled digitally. Upon your purchase, an image scan of the 12-digit alphanumeric code will be emailed to you.

Kaze no Stigma 1/8 Ayano Kannagi Figure

Atelier Sai started preorders for an Ayano Kannagi figure about a week ago and we weren't going to bother importing her. Then someone reminded us that gingers (read: redheads) are good luck and Ayano is sort of like Ignis of Jingai Makyo fame. Both carry swords, have full figures, and strike fear into the hearts of men. We relented and ordered a few cases.

Ayano Kannagi hails from the Kaze no Stigma ranobe and animated series where she's the keeper of her family's sacred sword Enraiha and wields a power known as Crimson Flame. The Ayano figure is set at 1/8 scale and measures 20cm tall. Pricing weighs in at JPY6000 or US$58 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late October 2007.

Halloween Musume

When Halloween rolls around in New York City, NCS dodges the mobs of trick or treaters by heading to the annual Halloween Parade in the Village. This will be its 34th Anniversary where throngs of revelers march for about a mile through the cordoned-off streets. Since Halloween is so special in New York City, we're pleased with the 15cm Halloween Musume toy from Cerberus Project which shows off a witch in skimpy duds with symbols of Halloween drizzled about her. Preorders ship in October.

Aria the Natural: Akari Mizunashi Doll

In the year 2301, a young girl named Akari Mizunashi immigrates to Mars. The planet has been transformed into a water world now known as Aqua where travelers enjoys the sights of Neo Venezia by way of gondola. Akari aspires to become a professional gondolier and to that end, gains employment with Aria Company which provides tours throughout the city.
Japanese manufacturer Beagle has opened preorders for a largish Akari Mizunashi posable doll which measures 60cm or 23.62" tall. Since Akari is a gondolier, she's outfitted with a big oar but that's not all. Akari's wears a tasteful blue and white outfit, a gold-colored bracelet, shoes, gloves, and a hat which covers her bubblegum-pink hair. A metal base is included.

Preorders are welcome to ship in Dec 2007 at JPY840,000 or US$790.

Otona no DS Kao Training

Thinking about getting some plastic surgery? Fuggedaboutit. Do some Face Training instead to lift saggy bags underneath your eyes, sharpen your jaw line, and tighten up the loose skin on your face.

We once subscribed to a newsletter called, "Bottom Line" which collected financial tips, health secrets, and other useful information within a handy 16-page publication. That subscription lapsed about a decade ago but there was one article which recommended "facial exercises" to tone the muscles in the face. There was a slow pucker move where you puckered up your lips and then slowly withdrew them to form a Cheshire Cat smile. Then there was the eyebrow exercise where both brows were raised a few dozen times. We've heard about Carole Maggio and her Facercise book which taught readers the benefits of facial exercises to tone up the skin and keep it taut and youthful.

The concept of face exercises isn't new but Nintendo is the first company to create an interactive face exercise regimen where users grimace, grin, and glare their way to healthy facial muscles. If your face is normally stoic and solemn with nary a smile to be seen throughout the day, it's a safe assumption that your muscles need exercising. Smiling uses more muscles than frowning so we recommend smiling like The Joker for optimum facial honing. A camera is included in the package which plugs into the Gameboy slot on the NDS. Once inserted, the camera trains its electronic eye on your face so your doleful mug can be viewed on the touch screen while the software facial exercise appears on the top screen.

Super Mario Characters Figure in Blister 2

A couple of months ago, NCS stocked a bunch of Super Mario Sofubi (Soft Vinyl) characters and promptly sold out. Banpresto soon announced more Mario Sofubi toys which would ship towards the second half of 2007. Another batch of Mario Sofubi toys are now in stock and shipping to preorders today. Smaller than their forebears, each toy measures approximately 5" in height with the exception of Goomba which is only 3.30" tall. Five types of Sofubi figures are in stock and pricing is set at US$15.00 per figure.

Crisis Core: FFVII PSP Bundle Confirmed

After a couple of weeks of managing expectations and confirming and re-confirming our preorder numbers, our Japanese suppliers were able to finalize our preorder quantities for the Crisis Core: FFVII PSP Bundle last night. First, the good news is that we'll be able to stock 750 pieces of the FFVII PSP Bundle which is enough to fill all of our preorder requests received thus far.

The bad news is the pricing is higher than the retail price in Japan at US$409 per CCFFVII bundle. As such, we are opening up preorders on our shop today but please note the following conditions.

» If you submit your preorder today, you are locking in the price of the Crisis Core PSP Bundle at US$409 + shipping. Your order is also guaranteed without fear of an unexpected shortage at the last minute.

» If you submit your preorder today, you will be charged a non-refundable US$50 deposit today. We're instituting this condition in an attempt to weed out the non-serious buyers which have been a problem in the past. We're bringing in a lot of stock and need accurate numbers. Please do not submit your preorder if you're not sure of the purchase. We don't want you to lose $50 because of buyer's remorse.

» Preorders are expected to ship on or around September 13, 2007 pending normal customs clearance for large hardware shipments weighing about a ton.

So, in a nutshell, NCS will be able to supply a large quantity of the Crisis Core FFVII Bundles at US$409 on or around September 13. New preorders are welcome today as well.

Famitsu Wave DVD September 2007

The September 2007 issue of Famitsu Wave features video and magazine coverage of the following software titles:

» Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories / PSP
» Fate Tiger Colosseum / PSP
» Dewy's Adventure / Wii
» Goku Makaimura Kai / PSP
» Gyakuten Saiban 3 Best Price! / NDS
» Onsei Kanjou Sokuteiki: Kokoro Scan / NDS
» Dragoneer's Aria / PSP
» The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion / X360 and PS3
» Musou Orochi / PS2

and the usual assortment of live action features, game challenges, game tests, and general interest coverage.