Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Metal Gear Solid 20th Anniversay Ultra Detail Figure - New

Konami's Metal Gear 20th Anniversary celebration continues with a collection of five "Ultra Detail Figures" featuring four versions of Solid Snake and one rendition of Raiden as follows:

- (A) MGS2 Solid Snake in blue and black outfit
- (B) MGS2 Raiden in gunmetal-grey body suit with sword
- (C) MGS3 Solid Snake in black combat uniform
- (D) MGS4 Solid Snake in black Octocam outfit
- (E) MGS4 Solid Snake as old guy with white hair

Each figure measures 17cm or 6.69" tall and bits of accessories are included in each package such as a black knife for Old Snake and Snake in Octocam outfit, a silver knife and silencer for Solid Snake (MGS3), and a katana, gun, and extra hand for Raiden. All orders
will ship today.

Dual Shock 3 [Silver] - New Import, Restock Tomorrow

The Black and Ceramic White Dual Shock 3 controllers have sold like gangbusters over the past couple of months. Gangbusters. It's about time for a color variant however and Sony ships a Satin Silver DS3 which has the appearance of metal but is really just shiny painted ABS. Preorders will ship today but please note new orders submitted this afternoon will ship tomorrow at JPY5500 or US$58.90 from NCS. Jan Code: 4948872411813

Spectral Force Genesis - Preorder

If NCS had to write a tagline for Spectral Force Genesis and promote the game to the Asian market, we'd go with:

The World of Neverland in your hand!!!

When you type three exclamation marks after a sentence, it adds extra excitement to the text. Or something like that.
The year is 1064 and a battle-weary Neverland faces another brutal war. Players take on the role of a leader who uses diplomatic tact and military tactics to unite the 40 principalities of Neverland under a single flag. Battles are fought through the manipulation of generic icons which represent entire columns of soldiers. In addition to the regular edition, a limited edition (bonus CD, book) is up for preorder.

Mugen no Frontier: Super Robot Taisen OG Saga - Preorder

Enter the realm of Endless Frontier which is comprised of six worlds where fighters roam the land and battle it out in step-by-step action. Billed as an adventure game with a strategic fighting element, players visit the worlds of Dune Polis, Elfe Tale, Varna Kanai, and others to bout against enemy squads. Unlike the average 2D fighting game where a player controls a character directly and throws out every punch and kick, Mugen no Frontier is a more measured affair. Attacks and combos are triggered by pressing a button or button sequence which is then played out on screen ala Super Robot Wars style.
According to the preorder information from Banpresto, the company will give away a bonus Special Drama Soundtrack in 50% ratio.

Beatmania IIDX 14 Gold - Preorder

Few games have gone on to last as long as the Beatmania series but when it's a genre-defining pioneer with a devoted fanbase, maybe it's only fitting that the game endure into perpetuity. Or somewhere close to that. Konami's Beatmania IIDX 14 Gold was released over a year ago in arcades but home consumers will soon get a chance to "Make It Money!"

BMIIDX 14 is all about the bling. Gold. Appropriately enough, there's a highly energetic song dubbed "Gold Rush" by
DJ YOSHITAKA-G feat. Michael a la mode where the lines, "Make It Make Money" and the recitation of all the Beatmania game title iterations such as "Shioa Sty!" may be heard. The CS version features roughly 90 songs from the usual suspects such as Sota Fujimori (Andromeda), Kosuke Saito aka kors k, Toshiyuki Kakuta aka L.E.D. and more. The standard game modes such as Beginner, Tutorial, Free, Expert, etc make their expected return. New features include selectable difficulty levels for 2-player games and a new points system for unlocking songs.

Preorders are welcome to ship on May 29, 2008.

Bleach Heat the Soul 5 - Preorder

In Bleach HTS4, the primary game mode was "Character Master" where players selected a champion and 2 supporting partners. In Bleach HTS5, it's all about the "Tag Master" mode where fighters engage in tag team action. The other modes include Time Attack, Free Battle, Soul VS, Survival, and Training for captains who need a little practice. Two new characters will join the tried and true cast - the fearsome Cirucci Thunderwitch in all of her garter-wearing glory and a pink-haired lad named Zaeruaporo Granz.

Preorder Bonus
Sony will give away a bonus sports towel with first production preorders in a 30% ratio. This means that we'll receive 90 towels if we preorder 300 copies of the game.

General Updates - Preorder

Import Schedule Updated
The full listing of Japanese imports has been updated with new releases that are expected from now to the end of May. Distributors in Japan haven't opened up reservations for titles being released in June yet but they should be starting them up shortly.
We're guessing the special editions of Metal Gear Solid 4 might attract some interest even though the USA version of the regular edition is expected to ship on the same day (June 11-12) as the Japanese version.
PS3 60GB Consoles
There's been a surge of interest in the Japanese 60GB PS3 recently but please note that we'd advise holding off on purchasing since Japanese suppliers have hiked prices and the dollar/yen exchange rate is very unfavorable at the moment. Based on the inventory information we're privy to, there is still adequate supplies of new 60GB units available from our partners in Japan. We'll post another update if we see a sudden drop in inventory but we don't expect that to happen in the near term.

Square Enix Minimum Collection - Clearance Sale

In honor of Final Fantasy X-2 (April 2003), Square released a bunch of merchandise tied into the game. Today's offer is part of that merchandising march from yesteryear. The SQEX Minimum Collection features a trio of posable, highly detailed and beautifully painted miniature figures. Rikku, Yuna and Paine measure roughly 2" tall with limbs that sport two points of articulation each. For example, Rikku may pose with her arms outstretched and elbows at an angle while her leg shoots outwards and bent at the knee. The girls wouldn't be complete without their weapons which is why a pair of slicers are included for Rikku, the Tiny Bee guns for Yuna, and an ebon-class sword is thrown in for Paine to employ.

NCS Sale Offering
Pricing per Square Enix Minimum Collection is set at US$25.90 which includes free shipping by USPS Media Mail within the United States. All stock is new and will be pulled fresh from factory cases that we received about 5 years ago. [View larger photos] Jan Code: 4988601403047