Devil May Cry 4 Premium BD Pack - Preorder

When Capcom's latest Devil May Cry game ships later this month, it's probably going to be a big deal in Japan. It won't be lines-snaking-around-the-block-in-front-of-Softmap big but only Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy inspire that kind of love and devotion. Still, DMC4's going to get PS3 gamers jazzed and the game should help sell a bunch of consoles.

Sony hopes to goad PS3 hardware sales by collaborating with Capcom to release a Devil May Cry 4 + Ceramic White Playstation 3 [40GB] console. To reward buyers of the bundle, Capcom throws in a premium DMC4 Blue-Ray movie which spans 60 minutes. Pricing is set at JPY47,800 or US$495 from NCS. Preorders are welcome to ship on January 31, 2008.

Valkyrie Profile Sculpture Arts - Preorder, Ships in May 2008

Square Enix's Valkyrie sculpture was originally scheduled to ship in November of last year. Then it got delayed to a future date. Japanese vendors re-opened preorders for the item last night with a new ship date of mid-late May 2008.

Classic Norse mythology (or a bastardization thereof) re-entered popular culture in 1999 with the Japanese release of Valkyrie Profile on the Playstation. The game sold well and we figured that was that. Countless games come and go and die, never to be seen again. Fast forward nearly a decade later and Valkyrie Profile is still steeped in today's gaming culture with sequels, merchandise, and toys. Kotobukiya adds another toy to the Valkyrie Profile ranks which ships in a few months. When built and fully assembled, the Lenneth sculpture measures 43cm or 16.92" in height and nearly half that in width. Pricing is set at JPY55000 or US$475 from NCS.

Sonic Heroes - Stock Clearance

The tri-force of Sonic, Knuckles and Tails zip, zoom and fly like superstars in Sega's latest take on the Sonic franchise. Instead of controlling a single character or a single character with tag-along, players maneuver the three heroes all at once with the ability to shift between them during the course of play. Teams may be set in formations with one hero as lead while the other two walk in flanking motion. Like a gang.

Of course, if Sonic team isn't to your taste, there's three other teams to choose from - Chaotix, Dark Team, and Rose Team which consist of trios of champions from the array of Sonic games. Each group goes through a plot tailored to their specific talents and one team more suited to a particular skill set will encounter levels that are different from other teams.

Sale Offering
Today's sale stock is new and the price is set at US$23.90 per factory sealed copy of Sonic Heroes [Asian or Japan] for the Japanese PS2 which includes USPS Media Mail shipping within the USA. Please ignore the shipping quotation on our shop for this offer. It won't be charged to you.

Uki Uki Chocobo - Preorder, Ships in April 2008

The Chocobo Fushigi no Dungeon line-up of games made the yellow-feathered Chocobo a superstar in Japan. With stardom comes merchandising. Lots of merchandising. Witness the latest exploitation of Chocobo's good name in today's product offering from Square Enix.

Uki Uki Chocobo. Rubber Ducky Chocky. Think of it as a herald of the next generation of bathing toys for the tykes of today. Chocobo measures W75mm x H90mm x D90mm (2.95 x 3.54 x 3.54") in size and floats above water like a swan. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late April 2008 at JPY980 or US$13.50 each from NCS.

Fate/Unlimited Codes - Preorder, Ships in June 2008

Saber battles Archer and other characters from Fate/Stay Night in Capcom's upcoming 3D fighting game based on the popular TYPE-MOON franchise. The cast of characters include Assassin, Berserker, Shirou Emiya, Rin Tosaka, Lancer, Rider, Caster, and Gilgamesh. The arcade release is only being sold in kit form for use with Namco's System 256 coin-op hardware. Just to be clear, the kit only includes a DVD containing the game code and purchasers will need to provide the System 256 hardware to operate the disc.

Pricing for the kit is set at JPY298,000 or US$2750 from NCS which includes EMS shipping directly from Japan to any residential address on Earth. Except maybe the ones in Antarctica. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late June 2008. Since the System 256 is based on PS2 hardware, patient gamers can expect Fate/Unlimited Codes to be released for the Playstation 2 in the Sept/Oct frame for about US$65 from NCS.

King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match - Preorder, Ships in April

A decade has passed since the original KOF '98 graced the gaming world with its presence. We still play it every once in a while to test fighting strategies and admire its perfect balance before shuttling it back into storage. KOF '98 is one of those rare fighting games where any fighter featured in the character roster can become a tournament level champion if the player is good enough.

SNK announced KOF '98 Ultimate Match last year but preorders were opened up recently. The new game features updated backgrounds, new moves for the characters, a revised Extra Mode, and an entirely new mode dubbed Ultimate Mode.

KOF '98 is being released on the Taito Type-X platform and NCS is accepting preorders for a full Type-X PCB kit (US$2350) and a HDD kit (US$1875). For the latter, you'll only receive the hard drive containing the game code. Preorders are welcome to ship on or around March 18, 2008.

General Updates

Martin Luther King Holiday The stock market, government offices, most banking institutions, and the US Postal Service are on hiatus today due to the Martin Luther King holiday. Fifteen years after Dr. King's death in 1968, a bill was signed into law which made MLK's birthday a national holiday.

Dairantou Smash Bros X [Region Lockout, Possible Shortage] There's been a rash of preorders for Nintendo's upcoming Wii Smash Bros game in the past few days. As a precaution to customers who may be new to the world of Wii imports, please note that Japanese Wii games cannot be played on a USA Wii console. Dairantou Smash Bros X is scheduled to arrive and ship to preorders on January 31, 2008. Update: Last night, vendors in Japan warned us that there might be a shortage of the game so we're closing preorders today. If the information turns out to be erroneous, we'll accept new preorders again.

Japanese Import Outlook - Arrivals on Wed-Thurs

NDS	Hijouguchi Exit DS	Taito
	Kawaii Koneko DS	MTO
	Prince of Tennis Driving Smash! Side King	Konami
PS2	Lucky Star	Kadokawa
	Lucky Star DX Pack	Kadokawa
PSP	Yggdra Union	Sting