Nintendo Prize Collection Sofubi Figure 3 - New Import

«©NCSX» The Nintendo Prize Collection versions of the Mario Sofubi Figures are smaller versions of their DX Sofubi brethren. The latest set features five figures which have posable arms (when applicable) as follows:

» Mario - Same old design from the very first Sofubi set
» Green Yoshi - Wears brown boots as if to mimic Mario's footwear
» Yellow Yoshi - Green boots on a yellow beast don't really match
» Wario - The width of Wario is thrice that of Mario
» Goomba - Identical to the Goomba in the second Mario Sofubi set

Note that the Mario, Green Yoshi, and Goomba figures are the same exact figures from previous NPC Sofubi Figure sets but the Yellow Yoshi and Wario are brand new. Preorders have shipped as of yesterday and new orders are welcome to ship this afternoon. «NCS Photo Gallery»

Super Mario DX Sofubi Figure 7 - New Import

«©NCSX» Bandai has been pushing the same old Mario Sofubi figure for years now. They've never changed the design or detailing of the toy and they're not about to start now. The seventh Mario Sofubi series gives us another bout of deja vu with an identical Mario figure but at least Toad is different. Mario is dressed in his regulation-issue red and blue attire and measures 22cm (8.66") tall while Toad is 18cm or 7.08" in height.

Both Sofubi figures feature posable arms and their heads may be twisted from side to side for limited posturing. Preorders have shipped as of yesterday and new orders are welcome. «NCS Photo Gallery»

Weekly Famitsu Vol. 1048 - New Import, Subscriptions

«©NCSX» The final 2008 newsstand issue of Weekly Famitsu features print coverage of the following new games and news releases:

» Special Scoop! on Monster Hunter G and Monster Hunter 3-tri for the Nintendo Wii - A look at the characters, villages, and of course, the monsters that populate both games is featured in a 13-page spread.
» 2009 New Year Special Interview with the movers and shakers of the Japanese gaming industry on their projects and outlook for the coming year. Hideo Kojima wears a black-star-on-white shirt for his photo.
» White Knight Chronicles miniature game play guide.
» Nifty Riz-Zoawd feature which is supplemented by clever advertising from D3 Publisher that depicts the Scarecrow, Tinman, and Lion.
» Special 20-page Squaresoft article which checks out FFXIII, FFVII Adventure Children Complete, Kingdom Hearts 358/3 Days, and KH Coded.
» Famitsu's annual 2008-2009 Yearbook which looks back at significant events from each of the past 12 months of the year. A cow is the motif.
» The Pick Up Food pages checks out the latest in prepackaged ramen.

Famitsu Wave DVD Feb 2008 - New Import, In Stock

«©NCSX» The February 2008 issue of Famitsu Wave DVD includes print and video coverage of the following games and events:

» Shirokishi Monogatari (White Knight Chronicles) [Playstation 3]
» Let's Tap and Let's Catch [Nintendo Wii]
» Mirror's Edge [Playstation 3 and Xbox 360]
» Way of the Samurai 3 [Playstation 3]
» Tatsunoko vs Capcom [Nintendo Wii]
» Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion [Arcade]
» Devil Survivor [Nintendo DS]
» Argos no Senshi: Muscle Impact promotional event with cosplay
» Awards 2008 special feature on the top games of the past year
» Famitsu's very own rolling Uchizawa sits down with a number of developers including Suda 51 and Masahiro Sakurai.
» Left for Dead and Idolmaster [Xbox 360]
» The next issue will feature Street Fighter IV

New Year 2009

NCS wishes all of our visitors a Happy New Year. We'll be closed for business tomorrow but we'll return to normal operations on Friday. Please note that UPS is on an abbreviated pickup and delivery schedule today - Ground packages won't be delivered or picked up but will resume on Jan 2.

Looking back at 2008, it wasn't too bad a year for the company despite the global slowdown but some things stood out as follows:

1) ThePlanet data center explosion in early June which knocked our main shop offline along with numerous other sites for about 4 days.
2) The Japanese yen rallied like gangbusters against the U.S. dollar but it's probably not done yet... unless the BOJ intervenes like it did in the previous decade. The yen rose 19% against the dollar in 2008.
3) We bet correctly on the direction of a few bubble markets including oil. One clue was Goldman pumping calling for $200/bbl. Another was contango during the summer months. Yet another was retail piling into the crude trade. Three strikes. There's nothing but blue skies at the top and glaring "certainty" that TEOTWAWKI is nigh at the bottom. For 2009, gold looks toppy - similar signals that clued us to crude's demise are present.