Marvel 3age Sofubi Series 3 - New Import

«©NCSX» The third series of Marvel 3age figures feature another five characters and repaints from popular Marvel comic books as follows:

» Black Spiderman » Hulk Repaint Version » Iron Man Repaint Version
» Spiderman Pearl Version » Wolverine Repaint Version

Each figure measures approximately 10cm or 3.93" tall and is contructed of PVC. Please note this product listing is for the complete set of five figures which are packaged in their respective factory sealed and individually marked cardboard boxes. Pricing reflects special arrangements to import the set stateside. New orders are welcome.

Yoko Ritona Real Image Version - Import Preorder

«©NCSX» Most of Yoko's PVC incarnations in the past have been somewhat comical ala her Nendoroid and Revoltech turns. Even when Yoko was sculpted to look sexy in the Polygonia and Gift figures, she still had the "anime look" upon her buxom personage. It's time to get serious however.

The latest Yoko rendition from Max Factory is a "Real Image" figure which measures 27.50cm or 10.82" tall and is made of PVC. The "Real Image" designation means she's designed to look like an actual woman. Her body is proportioned properly with long limbs and her bosom appears natural instead of otherworldly. Yoko's face is also realistic with normal-shaped eyes and faintly rouged lips. Max Factory eschews the humongous "anime" eyes the Yoko possesses in the Gurren Lagann series... eyes which have been known to sparkle brighter than the Pleiades star system. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late Sept 2009 at JPY9333 or US$98.90 from NCS.

Daemon Bride Coin-Op Kit - Import Preorder

«©NCSX» We've been more selective with the kits we import every couple of months and Daemon Bride will be another one that NCS skips. If Chinatown Fair gets it in however, we'll stop by and drop a few dollars. Examu's upcoming 2D fighter doesn't look bad but it looks a bit cookie-cutter and the characters are archetypal to a tee. The storyline involves pacts with angels and demons which imparts the fighters with weapons and powers

Form Factor: PCB EX Board (15/31khz) System Board
Manufacturer: Examu/AMI
Controls: 8-way joystick and 4 Button
Players: Up to 2-Players
EX Board Complete Kit Price: US$3190 (includes shipping from Japan)
Delivery Date: July 16, 2009

Dr Slump Suppaman Figure - Import Preorder

«©NCSX» The glasses-wearing Arale Norimake, her creator Senbei Norimaki, and the indomitable Unchi-kun are only a few of the characters featured in Akira Toriyama's Dr. Slump franchise. One of the more deplorable characters in the series is a Superman parody named "Suppaman" who looks like the American comic book hero but there's major differences. For one, Suppaman is obese and his stomach bulges so much that his costume appear to be bursting at the seams. Suppaman also doesn't have any super powers. None. He can talk loudly and threaten people but there's little else he can do to back up his words.

If you look past the differences, there are some similarities between Suppaman and Superman. Suppaman's alter-ego is a reporter named Kuraaku Kenta (whatever) and they both wear a blue/red costume. They also share the same haircut and steely-eyed stare that tends to make evildoers shrivel. Suppaman also wears the hiragana for "Su" on his chest which is close enough to Superman's legendary letter "S." Taki Corporation's Suppaman toy figure won't set the world on fire or set any sales records but it'll be good for a few half-hearted laughs. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late June 2009 at JPY4800 or US$53.90 from NCS.

Real Arcade Pro Joysticks - Preorder

«©NCSX» A new production of the Hori Real Arcade Pro joysticks for the PS3 and Xbox 360 are slated for release in mid June and early July respectively. Please note that the supplies are being described by the distributor as "very limited" which probably means we won't get all of our requested quantities but we've submitted our numbers already yesterday and we're hoping for the best. The following are being manufactured again:

» PS3 Hori Real Arcade Pro 3 Joystick - Shipping in mid June 2009
» UPC: 873124001822 / SKU: UHP3-07 / Price: US$129.90

» X360 Hori Real Arcade Pro EX Joystick - Shipping in early July 2009
» UPC: 873124001815 / SKU: UHX3-10 / Price: US$139.90

Hori is also releasing another batch of the PS3 Fighting Stick 3 and the X360 Fighting Stick EX2 but we're not really interested in either of them since the RAPs are where it's at.

Preorders are welcome to ship according to the dates listed above. If anything changes between now and then, we'll post an update.

Bleach: Heat the Soul 5 (PSP the Best) - Import Preorder

«©NCSX» In Bleach Heat The Soul 4, the primary game mode was "Character Master" where players selected a champion and 2 supporting partners. In Bleach Heat The Soul 5, it's all about the "Tag Master" mode where Shinigami, Humans, Arrancar, and others engage in tag team fighting action that runs fast and fluid.
Players select two characters from a roster of 31 combatants and then go to war against another duo. Similar to previous Bleach HTS games, the action takes place on a 3D battlefield where a versatile camera zooms in and out as the fighters draw close to each other and range far away. When special attacks are triggered, a short cinema takes over which shows the blazing theatrics to bombastic effect. Intuitive controls and a simple evasion system make Bleach HTS5 an easy game to get into without much time investment required.
The other game modes include Time Attack, Free Battle, Soul VS, Survival, and Training for rusty captains who need a little practice. In addition to the aforementioned 31 character roster, two new fighters 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. Preorders ship on July 9.

General Updates

NEWS Tatsunoko vs Capcom Stateside NCS recently sold out of the Japanese version of Tatsunoko vs Capcom but we've ordered some more. We'll probably be sitting on those restock copies for a while since Capcom has confirmed that they'll be bringing the game over to North America. There's no date or price announced yet but we're assuming Winter 2009 at a price point of $49. All that remains for Capcom to do is increase awareness of who exactly the motley crew on the side of Tatsunoko are. Battle of the Planets (Gachaman) was a loooooong time ago and Yatterman, Tekkaman, Ippatsuman, etc never aired in North America.

NEWS Demon's Souls Update Unlike the special arrangements over each of the past two weeks, no new supplies of Demon's Souls were diverted to NCS' account this week. If there's any change in available supplies in Asia, we'll update accordingly but another production of the game is scheduled for late May 2009.