NDS Professor Layton Kyouju Card Pocket 6+ - New, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Slovenly gamers (none of whom are in our audience) are apt to grab a handful of Nintendo DS game cards and stuff them in their pockets where the cards jangle around with lint, dust bunnies, and other unsightly detritus. Mori Games offers a better way to carry NDS game cards with the Layton Kyouju Card Pocket 6+ which holds six games in rock steady retainers and even has a slot to store an extra stylus. The whole shebang closes down with an nifty Layton lid with dual clasp.

NDS Professor Layton Kyouju Pocket Book Pouch - In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Layton is a learned and knowledgeable bloke who probably prefers a good book over the lure of television. Mori Games takes what Layton likes to heart and creates a Layton NDS storage pouch that's shaped and molded to look like a book. The kind that's secured with a zipper. The pouch opens up like a book and holds a Nintendo DS, a touchpen, and a small collection of game cards. The outer covering is cushiony and provides a measure of protection against accidental drops that might otherwise shatter an NDS into three pieces.

PSP Kenka Banchou 3 [The Best] - New Import, In Stock

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» The heroes of the previous Kenka Bancho games have shuffled off to greener pastures. We imagine Yasuo from the first game to be a shopkeeper nowadays, peddling individually wrapped pieces of sushi at JPY100 a pop. Tomoya from the second game is probably still a punk but one with a job. At the local "hostess" bar. Earning his keep as muscle.

The two earlier Kenka Bancho games were cult. They didn't reach the critical mass that would have engendered a wave of merchandising deals but the games were popular enough to ensure another release in order to bring the series to trilogy status. The new protagonist in Kenka Bancho is a fresh-faced youth named Takashi Sakamoto who's living on the wrong side of the school yard. He's tough, fast, and has got a serious problem with authority figures. To that end, he gets into fights with other toughs and bristles in the presence of teachers. Takashi does have one redeeming quality however. He's ambitious. He wants to be the top dog among all the gangsters in all the high schools across all 47 prefectures. To reach his lofty goal, Takashi battles other bruisers in a bid to become the king of all Japan.

Similar to the previous games in the series, Takashi can battle multiple enemies at once and engage in Menchi-Beam contests. Errands, missions, and objectives also pop up from time to time to give players a bit of variety in the action. At one point in the game, an incident causes Takashi to shear all of his hair off. We thought it was a symbolic rebirth of sorts.

NDS Nintendo DSi LL - Expected on Thursday

«©NCSX» The Japanese tend to make their game machines smaller as time goes by. The bulky PS3 slimmed down earlier this year to the aptly named Slim PS3 and the PSP-3000 is slightly slimmer than the PSP-1000. Nintendo reverses the trend towards smaller sizes by releasing the Nintendo DSi LL last week. It's a big'un and bigger than the NDS, NDS Lite, and NDSi. The prices for the NDSi LL are still higher than expected but they've moderated a bit since the launch last weekend. NCS will receive a batch on Thursday of this week and our pricing is set at US$259.90 for either the Dark Brown, Wine, or Natural White color variants. We'll be bringing them in on a weekly basis and prices will probably be stable this month. Blame the weak dollar.

The Nintendo DSi LL's screens measure 4.2" compared to 3.25" on the original DSi but it's also a larger and bulkier handheld to accommodate the larger screens. The battery lasts 13-17 hours according to Ninty. A selection of software is preloaded into the system as follows:

» DSi Internet Browser (standard software)
» Moving Memo - Create animations and share them (aka Flipnote Studio)
» Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters (Note: Japanese language)
» Brain Age Express: Math (Math is the universal language)
» Meikyou Kokugo Rakubiki Jiten (Japanese dictionary program)

Preorders are welcome to ship on Thursday of this week. Please note that NCS doesn't expect any supply shortages from Japanese suppliers but we're leery of importing bulk quantities at higher prices, especially with the yen near 14-year highs against the US dollar.

NEWS General Updates

Mushihimesama Futari v1.5 Regular Edition Update «©NCSX» Copies of Mushihimesama Futari v1.5 (Regular Edition) without the bonus Futari v1.01 DLC card have already been spotted in Japan over the weekend. We had a copy overnighted to us just so we could verify. The new printing of the game has a different product SKU (5AD-00004) and the pink circular sticker isn't pasted on the front cover. NCS' inventory of the game still contains the DLC card but we'll update our product description once they're gone and only the 2nd printing is available. Comparison photos.

Best Seller The best selling game over the weekend was the USA version of Backyard Football 2009 for the Nintendo DS. The regular edition of Xbox 360 Mushihemesama Futari was a close second runner-up.

NEWS Japanese Import Outlook - Arrivals on Friday

NDS	Kaijuu Busters	Namco
	Pretty Rhythm Collection	Sonata
	Relaxuma * Rhythm: Mattari Kibun de Da Run³	Rocket
	Yggdra Unison: Seiken Buyuuden	Atlus
PS3	FolksSoul: Ushinawareta Denshou (the Best Reprint)	SCEI
	Ryu Ga Gotoku 3 - (the Best Reprint)	Sega
PSP	Dice Dice Fantasia	Broccoli
	Dice Dice Fantasia Limited Edition	Broccoli
	KSG: Gundam vs. Gundam NEXT PLUS	Bandai
	LittleBigPlanet Portable	SCEI
	Phantasy Star Portable 2	Sega
	Phantasy Star Portable 2 Accessory Set	Hori
	Tokimeki Memorial 4	Konami
	Ys: Napishtim no Hako - Konami the Best	Konami
Wii	Kamen Rider Climax Heroes W	Bandai
	New Super Mario Bros. Wii	Nintendo
	Takumi Restaurant wa Daihanjou!	Dorart
	Tokyo Friend Pack II Ketteiban	Spike
	Wii Remote Controller Blue	Nintendo
	Wii Remote Controller Pink	Nintendo

NEWS USA Release Outlook - Arrivals on Monday-Wednesday

NDS	7 Wonders II	MJumbo
	Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel	Majesco
	James Cameron's Avatar: The Game	Ubisoft
	Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes	UbiSoft
	MX vs ATV: Reflex	THQ
PS3	James Cameron's Avatar: The Game	Ubisoft
	MX vs ATV: Reflex	THQ
	Rogue Warrior	Tri-Synergy
PSP	MX vs ATV: Reflex	THQ
Wii	James Cameron's Avatar: The Game	Ubisoft
	Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel	Majesco
360	James Cameron's Avatar: The Game	Ubisoft
	Rogue Warrior	Tri-Synergy
	MX vs ATV: Reflex	THQ

General Updates

New Import Arrivals «©NCSX» The rest of this week's new Japanese releases have arrived today including PSP Spectral Souls Legacy and PSP Higurashi Daybreak Portable Mega Edition. Three Professor Layton DSi accessories have also arrived and are shipping out today. We're short-staffed today so we'll post full product summaries and images for today's new arrivals on Monday of next week.

Mushihimesama Futari v1.5 Limited Edition Update «©NCSX» The remaining shipments of Mushihimesama Futari LE have arrived and we'll be able to process and fill pretty much everyone's order at the original price of US$109.90. We were short-shipped 8 copies of the game so we probably won't be able to fill 8 relatively recent orders. We've contacted vendors in Japan for potential LE restock but prices for the game have been hiked in the aftermarket. Some retail shops are quoting prices of ~JPY16,100 (US$185.34) but one seller on Amazon.jp wants JPY19,780 (US$228.07) + JPY440 shipping for his inventory. On the wholesale side of things, prices have increased to approximately JPY15,000 (US$172.68) from two vendors in our Japanese distribution network but everyone else is completely sold out. NCS does not plan on purchasing any additional copies at what we consider to be unreasonable prices.

UPS Holiday Schedule «©NCSX» Please note that UPS is not picking up or delivering UPS Ground packages today because they're on a (Thanksgiving) holiday schedule. Normal Ground delivery and pickups will resume on Monday of next week.