Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Street Fighter Excellent Model Capcomaniax - Preorder

In recent merchandising history, Megahouse's most memorable toys have been the One Piece Portrait of Pirates figures. That might change this summer when the Street Fighter Excellent Model Capcomaniax figures featuring Ibuki and Rainbow Mika reach market.

Ibuki made her Street Fighter debut in the SFIII series where she kicked and chopped her way to the top. Ibuki's figure cuts a slender and wispy frame which is in direct contrast to the brickhouse that is Rainbow Mika. She's the gorilla-like blonde to the right. Mika made her debut in Street Fighter Alpha 3 where her wrestling talents were on display for all to see. The Ibuki figure measures 33cm tall and Mika measures 22cm in height. Preorders for either figure are welcome to ship in late July 2008 at JPY5500 or US$60.90 each from NCS.

Ghost in the Shell S.A.C. Tachikoma SSS Ver. - Preorder

Wave rolls onwards with their popular W.H.A.M. (Wave High Advance Model) series of toys with a new Tachikoma variant. There's been six other Tachikoma W.H.A.M. toys released to market already and the upcoming version is dubbed the "Solid State Society Version" which is packaged with a trenchcoat-wearing Makoto Kusanagi fixed-pose figure.

The Tachikoma measures 17.30 x 17.30 x 11.6 cm (6.81 x 6.81 x 4.56") in dimension and is constructed of blue ABS. The mech's standard weapons include a grenade launder and a gatling gun which may be mounted on the mech's undercarriage. Preorders are welcome to ship in late August 2008 at JPY5000 or US$49.90 from NCS.

Ikkitousen D.D. Kanu Unchou Swimsuit Ver. - Preorder

Kanu Unchou is very desirable. We know this because toy manufacturers have announced and/or shipped nearly 10 figures featuring the raven-haired warrior since the beginning of 2008. Is it overkill? Yes, but if the market can continue absorb all that Kanu, there's the likelihood that even more of Miss Unchou is on the way later this year.

The latest figure announcement fits Kanu into a 2-piece bikini and gives her hair that is whippier than usual. Kanu's left hand is lifted upwards which may be used as a perch for her sandals. Kanu's bikini top and bikini bottom may be removed for the au natural look. For a bit of extra realism, Kanu's "skin" beneath the bikini will reveal tan lines which are colored lighter than her surrounding skin. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid July 2008 at JPY6800 or US$69.90 from NCS. Jan Code:
498250955506

Tales of Destiny: Leon Magnus 1/8 Scale Figure - Preorder

Namco originally released Tales of Destiny in December 1997 and introduced memorable characters such as Stahn Aileron and Rutee Katrea to the world. In January of this year, Namco re-released the game for the PS2 under the title of Tales of Destiny Director's Cut which was a remake that included the option of playing the game from Leon Magnus' perspective instead of Stahn's default view. Leon's only a teenager but he serves the kingdom of Seinegald with maturity and fortitude.

The re-release of TOD for the PS2 has stoked interest in the heroes of the game and the first figure on tap is a 1/10 scale sculpture of Leon Magnus which measures approximately 16cm or 6.29" in height. Kotobukiya lists the construction material as PVC and the figure is fixed-posed. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late August 2008 at JPY4500 or US$50.90 from NCS. Jan Code:
4934054780037

Marimokkori Jumbo Calculator - Preorder

The Japanese are enamored with the miniaturization of everyday objects such as donuts, dogs, UFO catcher machines, Van Gogh paintings, and pretty much everything under the sun. Occasionally, products go the other way and are super-sized. The most impressive product blow-up in recent memory was the human-sized Gundam robot which cost roughly $3500 each. NCS sold six of them and marveled at the sizes of the boxes that held the robot's parts.

Calculators are generally palm-sized electronics that are cheap to produce. System Service won't have any of that small stuff. They want big calculators which measure 29 x 20cm (11.41 x 7.87") in size and feature a Marimokkori (green munchkin character) theme. Two styles are on offer - a dark-green calculator and a fire-red variant. The calculators are also "green" in that they run on solar power. Preorders are welcome to ship in mid-late August 2008 at US$20.90 each.

General Updates

Grand Theft Auto IV - In Stock
Some chain stores around New York City stayed open last night for GTA IV. The game arrived yesterday but distributors weren't allowed to release it for fear of breaking the official street date. We weren't sure what the penalty would've been for breaking street but we think a sternly worded letter was in store for anyone allowing the game to be sold early. As such, all preorders will be shipping out this afternoon.

The PS3 version of the game may be played on any Playstation 3 console whether it be Japanese or European since there are no region-lockouts on PS3 game software.

The Xbox 360 version of the game is region-locked and cannot be played on European or Japanese Xbox 360 consoles.
Jikkyou Powerful Pro 3
The new date for the game is May 29, 2008 after it was delayed from its original ship date of April 24, 2008.

Gamecube Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 2 - Clearance

Original Product Description - December 4, 2003
«©NCSX»
Tomy's cel-shaded sleeper of a fighting game sees a sequel this winter when Naruto 2 reaches market with an updated version where four players may fight at once. When we first imported the original Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen, we figured it would sell well for 3 weeks and flame out. Surprisingly, we found ourselves restocking the game month after month as players on message boards and chat rooms praised the game's merits and tactical depth. Buyers rolled in . Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and many more of the extensive manga/anime cast return for one-on-one fighting on nicely rendered 3-D backdrops.


Sale Offering
: NCS' remaining inventory of
Naruto Gekitou Ninja Taisen 2 for the Japanese Gamecube is new, factory sealed, and in mint condition. Pricing is set at US$15.90 per copy which includes free shipping by USPS Media Mail within the U.S. Please note that Japanese Gamecube games require the use of the Freeloader boot disc before they will play on USA Gamecube consoles. Larger Photos.