Monday, September 28, 2009

PS3 Final Fantasy XIII Lightning Edition PS3 Bundle - Preorder

NCS Preorder Synopsis
«©NCSX» Male leads have dominated the rosters of RPGs since the olden days of gaming when titles such as Wizardry and Ultima captured the imagination of players. Back then, there was nary a lass to be found except maybe as a scullery maid in Lord British's castle. Or something like that.

Square diverges from convention by making a girl named Lightning the lead heroine in the upcoming Final Fantasy XIII. Lightning is a reasonably attractive strawberry blonde and we think she likes the color pink. How else to explain the design of the FFXIII Lightning Edition bundle which features a pink etching of Lightning on the top of the ceramic white console? The lettering for "Final Fantasy XIII" located on the lower-left corner is also pink but the engraved "PS3" is grey which balances out the pinkish hues. Lightning looks to the left while hefting up a crooked sword that might be mistaken for an oversized fountain pen.

The FFXIII PS3 includes a 250GB hard drive, a ceramic white Dual Shock 3, and standard cabling to hook everything up. Pricing for the FFXIII bundle is set at JPY41,600 but vendors are charging a premium over the retail price due to potential shortages. To add to the pricing pressure, the US dollar's been traveling on a downward slope against the Japanese yen over the past few weeks which has been painful to watch. Due to the weakness of the dollar and our inability to peer into the future, pricing for the FFXIII Lightning Bundle is tentative and may change in the event the dollar's value continues to erode precipitously against the yen. Preorders are welcome to ship on December 17, 2009.

BARWARE Miku Hatsune Project Diva Glass Cup - New Import

NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» NCS imported the Gyakuten Kenji Teacup earlier this year and we add two more game-related cups to our collection this week. The Miku Hatsune Project Diva Glass Cup measures 12cm (4.72") tall and 6.5cm (2.55") in diameter and holds roughly 8 ounces of liquid. Two styles are on offer as follows:
»
Clear glass with white/green Miku Hatsune Waveform imprint
Jan Code: 4531894360445 [初音ミク ―Project DIVA― ミク波形グラス]

»
Clear glass with black/white Miku Hatsune Speaker imprint
Jan Code: 4531894360438 [初音ミク-Project DIVA-ミクスピーカーグラス]

X360 Mushihimesama Futari v1.50 - Region Free

«©NCSX» The good news was posted on Kotaku on Sunday morning and spread around the gaming internets like brushfire. Cave's making the upcoming Mushihimesama Futari v1.5 region-free and playable on U.S. Xbox 360 consoles. Shooters sell well for us but we also understand they're a niche product. Not everyone loves a shooter and that's okay. While a top-notch shmup like Mushihimesama may be positioned as a premium product in Japan that commands full price at retail, there's no way it'll sell at full price stateside because the "mass consumer" audience (read: Big-Box-Superstore traffic) isn't dedicated enough to support a shooter at US$60. Shoppers might consider a purchase if the price is at the magic level of $19.99 like Raiden Fighters Aces for X360. The operative word in that last sentence is "consider" since shooters are a tough sell in Shop-Mart-Land.

One of our own examples we can throw out is Ikaruga on the Dreamcast. That was our best selling import game ever and NCS probably sold 35% of the entire production. It took us three days to process, pack, and ship all of our preorders. However, when Ikaruga was ported over to the US Gamecube in 2003, the overall sales numbers weren't great. We still had copies as of last Christmas although we did eventually sell out at US$80 per copy. We got more than full price... but we had to wait 5 years.

NEWS Japanese Import Outlook - Arrivals on Thursday-Friday

NDS

Blue Dragon: Ikai no Kyoujuu Bandai

Chara-Chinko Interchannel

Inazuma Eleven 2: Blizzard

Level 5


Inazuma Eleven 2: Fair

Level 5

PS2

Osouji Sentai

Compile


Osouji Sentai Clean Keeper H Limited Edition

Compile

PS3 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Tecmo

Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Premium Box

Tecmo


Shin Sangoku Musou MultiRaid Special Koei

Trinity Universe Nippon Ichi

Trinity Universe Limited Edition

Nippon Ichi
PSP Gran Turismo SCEI

Macross Ultimate Frontier Bandai

Macross Ultimate Frontier Limited Edition Bandai

Mana Khemia 2 Portable+

Gust

Mana Khemia 2 Portable+ Premium Box

Gust


Shadow of Memories

Konami

360

Shin Sangoku Musou MultiRaid Special Koei
Wii

Dead Space Extraction

EA


Hula Wii: Motto Jouzu no Fura o Odorou!!

MileStone

NEWS USA Release Outlook - Arrivals on Monday-Wednesday

NDS Battle of Giants: Dragons UbiSoft

Family Feud Ubisoft

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days Square

The Wizard of Oz: Beyond the Yellow Brick Road Xseed
PS3 Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Tecmo

Tornado Outbreak Konami
PSP Beaterator Take 2

Undead Knights Tecmo

Gran Turismo Sony
Wii Deca Sports 2 Konami

Family Feud Ubisoft

Hidden Mysteries Titanic Activision

MySims Agents EA

Tornado Outbreak Konami

Valhalla Knights: Eldar Saga Xseed
360 BCFX: The Doug Williams Edition Aspyr

Tornado Outbreak Konami

SOTW L-Dis for PC-Engine - Sale

NCS Sale of the Week Offering: September 28, 2009
Original Release in Japan: April 5, 1991

«©NCSX»
New and factory sealed copy of L-Dis for the PC-Engine CD-Rom which was released nearly 2 decades ago. L-Dis is a horizontal shooter with a comical bent where players pilot a chunky red ship with big eyes. The game was released for the Japanese Virtual Console earlier this year for the fee of 800 Wii Points (playable with the Wii Remote rotated counterclockwise by 90°) but if you're the type who prefers a hardcopy with instruction booklet and jewel case, here's your chance.

Product Condition
NCS' remaining inventory is brand new and factory sealed from our original warehouse inventory from the Spring of '91.

Sale Offering

Pricing per copy of L-Dis is set at US$28.90 each. If you reside within the continental US, NCS recommends shipping by USPS Media Mail for the most economical domestic carriage cost. International customers can select USPS First Class Airmail International which delivers within 6-12 days.

Product SKU: NSCD-0005

JAN Code
:
4988616002051
Japanese Product Name:
エルディス (CD-ROM)
Compatibility: PC-Engine
Manufacturer: Masaya