Pikmin 2 Plushies - Preorder

Nintendo released Pikmin 2 on the Gamecube over 4 years ago but it doesn't matter. The lovable Pikmin, Chappi, and Captain Olimar (don't forget his buddy Louie) still live in the hearts of fans the world over. How does NCS know this? Because we still get inquiries for Pikmin products every day. Every. Day. Sanei probably gets 100x the inquiries that we do and maybe that's why they're re-releasing the Pikmin 2 plushes this September. We'll follow their lead and start accepting preorders today.

Uki Uki Chocobo - New Import, Photo Gallery Update

NCS' photo gallery of the Uki Uki Chocobo toy has been uploaded and updated online. We've also uploaded the set to Flickr earlier today.

Preorders have begun shipping as of yesterday but any remaining reservations will ship in the next day or two when the remainder of our shipments arrive. New orders are also welcome to ship in 1-2 days.

KORG DS-10 Synthesizer - Preorder Update

NCS opened preorders for KORG DS-10 a couple of months ago and things were hunky-dory as preorders flowed in and interest was high. Last week, one of our vendors warned us that the distribution of the synthesizer-software would be limited to Amazon's Japanese website only. At first, we figured it was a mistake. AQI wouldn't do that would they? We waited for confirmation from another distributor and unfortunately it's true. This means no one else can get it - not Tsutaya, not SofMap, not Family Mart nor Lawson. No one. Except Amazon.
EVIL
Our distributor is offering to help us order KORG DS-10 from Amazon directly but that means paying the retail price, taxes, and shipping fees. After crunching the numbers, NCS came up with the new price of US$62.90 instead of US$48.90 when we originally started preorders.

Due to the change in the product offering, we'll contact everyone by email who submitted a preorder in the past few months to re-confirm their interest at the new price level. We're saddened by the "exclusivity" of KORG DS-10 in Japan but we'll try our best to get it into the hands of musicians and music fans who have preordered with NCS over the past few months. In the meantime, new reservations are welcome for KORG DS-10 which is scheduled to ship on or around July 24, 2008.

Miniature Mania Gyoza no Shogun - Preorder

There's a hole-in-the-wall eatery near our office building that sells four fried dumplings for a dollar. They're greasy, glistening with oil, and piping hot. We know they're not healthy or good for you but a buck doesn't go far anywhere else... except there. Four dumplings is basically a relatively filling lunch for a wretched dollar.

When Bandai started preorders for the Miniature Mania Gyoza no Shogun straps on Tuesday night, we thought of that fried-dumpling-hole-in-the-wall. In Japan, gyoza are fried dumplings and the photo to the left shows six of them on a platter. Instead of wolfing it down however, you're supposed to attach it to your phone. In addition to the gyoza strap, Bandai's Miniature Mania set of food-themed straps include a plate of fried chicken and a beef dish. Preorders for the complete set ship in Oct 2008.

Playstation 2 Cinnabar Red Rendition - Preorder

NCS is perfectly content with our Ceramic White and Satin Silver PS2 consoles in the slim silhouette but we're sort of intrigued by the Cinnabar Red version. The coloring is reminiscent of the Char Aznable Gamecube from a few years ago - a deep solid crimson that seems to be attempting to absorb even more red from its surroundings.

The new Cinnabar Red PS2 will be released tonight in Japan and we expect our first shipment on Monday of next week. Please note the Fourth of July holiday on Friday will delay our import shipments. Pricing is set at US$195.90 and preorders are welcome to ship on Monday.

General Updates

Sengoku Basara X Limited Edition - Photo Gallery We're currently sold out of the regular and limited editions of Sengoku Basara X but we'll restock in a couple of days. In the meantime, we've uploaded our photo gallery of the items included in the limited edition of the game. There is a correction on the amount of cards included in the package - it's actually 96 cards instead of the 47 we posted last week. One card sample may be seen to the left.

King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match - Update A fairly large vendor in Japan offered 320 copies of KOF '98 UM last night but by the time we had a chance to respond in the morning, all of their stock was sold. Gone. We're not sure what's going on but the game has been one of the best selling PS2 releases this entire year. We'll update accordingly once additional supplies are available but we're targeting Monday of next week for our next restock date.