Monday, January 21, 2008

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

USA Release Outlook - Arrivals on Wed-Thurs

NDS Advance Wars: Days of Ruin Nintendo

Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Sega
PS3 Burnout Paradise EA
Wii Endless Ocean Nintendo

One Piece Unlimited Adventure Bandai
X360 Burnout Paradise EA

Myclone AS-5 Transformers - Stock Clearance

The Myclone series hits AS-5 and reaches its conclusion with the third and final revelation of miniature Transformers figures from Takara. The level of detailing is rather high with grooved guns, facial features, PVC armor, and other potentially endearing touches. The AS-5 Transformers don't transform but each figure possesses posable limbs, twisty heads and weapons which move.

One of six possible Transformers (Meister, Lamboru, Thrust, Metroplex, Dinosaurer, and Ramjet) are randomly inserted in each hexagonal shaped box along with a mounting pedestal. Two Chaser figures (Alert and Dirge) are also randomly inserted into the boxes for hopeful fans to find.
Each factory case contains a total of 12 hex-boxes which contain one random Transformer. Due to the impermeability of the cardboard containers, NCS is unable to determine which bots are each individual box.

Sale Offering
Today's sale stock is new and the price is set at US$50.00 per factory sealed box of 12 toys which includes UPS Ground shipping within the USA. Please ignore the shipping quotation on our shop for this offer. It won't be charged to you.