Friday, May 18, 2007

Super Mario Bros 50cm Statue

In Japan and Asia, many households and businesses place a Maneki Neko or Fortune Cat near the window or door to bring good luck and prosperity. The fortune cat lifts up a paw in salutation while the other paw holds a koban or gold coin close to its belly.
We look at the Mario 50cm (19.68") tall statue as the video game equivalent of Maneki Neko and it'll potentially bring good fortune into local arcades, video game shops, and amusement centers.
The world's most famous plumber smiles and welcomes visitors into an establishment with a flourish.. We're of the opinion that a retail store which places one of the most successful video game characters near its front doors can only invite fortune into the establishment. Mario will also attract curiosity seekers who'll enter the shop to marvel at its girth. Think of it as feng-shui for the gaming industry.
As an aside, all of the stores that we've sold these types of Mario figures to are still in business and successful. That's not to say that Mario will save a flagging business or a shop that's competing against a newly opened Gamestop or EBGames next door... Most customer preorders have shipped as of yesterday and new orders are welcome to ship today.

General Updates

PSP Bleach: Heat the Soul 4
Looking ahead to next week, the latest Bleach game for the Playstation Portable leads preorders. Apparently, the first batch of the game will include a bonus clear file folder with Bleach artwork on the front and back. We'll post up images of the bonus once the shipment arrives on Wednesday or Thursday of next week. Bleach: HTS 4 introduces the Soul Blaze System
and retains the mission-based action found in previous Bleach HTS games.
TOY AquaRain
All preorders for the Aqua Rain product will be filled next week. We'll post up additional photos and videos of the product once we get a chance to check it out thoroughly.
PC Ragnarok Online Poring Mouse
A restock shipment of the Poring Mouse may be delivered to us at the end of May. The shipment is tentative because we've submitted an order for the new production of the mouse but Hori has not confirmed the allocation yet. If you are interested in receiving a notification if and when the mouse is available again, feel free to contact us with the header of "Poring Mouse."
NEWS Email Account Change
As of June 01, please note that the email accounts of service@ncsxshop.com and nconsole@earthlink.net will no longer be active. Please continue to contact us at support@ncsxshop.com.