Talk with NCS

[Mike]

I really don't understand where the hell this topic has gone but the premise to this whole fucking thing is this:

IF YOU PRE-BOOK A GAME YOU GOD DAMN BETTER WELL FOLLOW THROUGH

DONT BE A FUCKING PIMP

BE A MAN (whether your a kid or not..it's time to learn)

FOLLOW THROUGH WITH YOUR WORD

You like English huh? Fucking FANTASTIC! Nobody gives a rats ass!

PRE-ORDER an English copy and FOLLOW THROUGH!!

OH WAIT! You PRE-BOOKED WITH NCS DID YOU?!
BUT YOU LIKE ENGLISH BETTER HUH?!

BUY YOUR GOD DAMN JAPANESE CART, SELL IT ON EBAY, THEN GET YOUR ENGLISH ONE.

FOLLOW THROUGH.

 

[Tom]

Is NCS taking preorders for Sengoku 3 yet? I think wagesofsyn said he preordered his,but I haven't seen anything on the site about it.

 

[TonK]

I think this whole thing about not following through on the pre-orders shows that alot of people are "ALL TALK" and "No-SHOW" when it comes down to it. I wonder how it's going to work with the AES2. I bet half of the people who say they'll buy it "FOR SURE" won't and have some lame excuse why they won't like, it doesn't have a red reset button or the corners are too boxy on the system.....whatever......Just watch and see.....

Why when I posted this months ago I got flamed? Turns out I was right the whole time!

 

[Liquid Snake]

<STRONG>...., if you choose to not buy English carts, great. All that means is there is one less person to drive up English cart prices and feed the evil collector market. Isn't it nice that you can choose to buy Japanese or English, should you so desire? </STRONG>

It's excellent to have two choices but I just don't want people using some stupid excuses to get English version (...cart value will go up or something).

<IMG SRC="smilies/ohno.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/ohno.gif" border="0"> <IMG SRC="smilies/ohno.gif" border="0">

 

[chainsawyak]

Originally posted by RyoGeo:
<STRONG>Christ on a FUCKING crutch! Are we actually taking the time to yell at one another over which release we choose to buy!?!?!?!?! Having to choose in and of itself is a good thing! My God, here we have not only a reproduction of Metal Slug 3 available for those that missed out the first time, but an English release to choose from as well.

Isn't that a good thing? I bought MS3 the first time and loved it. I was really happy to see that and English cart was coming out, so I bought it too. I've now given SNK double the fun. That's a GOOD thing for the Neo and for SNK, last I checked. And, to get technical, I've given them triple the fun considering that I bought the NCS re-release as well because I said I would when NCS initially offered.

If there is an English release of Sengoku 3, I will buy that one as opposed to the Japanese one. And why? Because that's the fuckin' one I want, that's why. Japanese Neo spines SUCK. I can't read Japanese and they use practically the same friggin' font for every goddam release; all 100 plus of them. The Shin Samurai Spirits has a white spine and non-descript Japanese characters on it. How bland can you possibly get. I like the English one better. Oh no, I must be a collector! GIVE ME A BREAK!

I do however like many of the Japanese covers better. And, should I buy Metal Slug X at any point, I'll probably get the Japanese one, because I think the Camo is cool. OH NO! The collector market is focusing on camo now! DAMN THEM! Japanese MSX is now more expensive! AHHHH! Doesn't that sound stupid?

People canceling orders is one thing. That's wrong. I certainly don't need three Metal Slug 3's, but I wanted to follow through on my commitment, so I did. But don't any of you for one FUCKING MINUTE tell me that I shouldn't buy an English release of something should it become available. My Sengoku is English, my Sengoku 2 is English and if I can get a Sengoku 3 in English, god dammit, I'll buy one. If not, I'll get the Japanese one and I will then SHUT MY NOISE TUBE AND BE HAPPY AT THE FACT THAT THERE ARE STILL GAMES TO EVEN BUY!

Fuck me runnin'. Sure is a lot NOISE in here about there being choice in the market place. And Silent_Liquid_Goemon_Scope_Snake, if you choose to not buy English carts, great. All that means is there is one less person to drive up English cart prices and feed the evil collector market. Isn't it nice that you can choose to buy Japanese or English, should you so desire?

Maybe people are right. ALL Neo gamers are idiots. We have no games to buy, we bitch and whine that the Neo is under appreciated. We get Japanese games to buy, we complain that the prices are still so high and that NGF will Freak them. We get both English and Japanese to buy, now all of a sudden English shouldn't even be a CHOICE because only those dick head collectors buy them as speculators anyway.

Y'know what? All of these arguments come from a bunch of people (myself included) that don't have important enough things to worry about and a high money, low sense ratio. And before I hear, "Hey I ain't rich! I work hard for my money!" just ask yourself if someone in Rwanda thinks you're rich. To someone living in a mud hut, every single one of us lives like the King of fucking Siam; even the minors working hairnet jobs to be able to afford these games.

If I can buy Sengoku 3 in English, I will and I will be goddam happy. If I can only buy Sengoku 3 in Japanese, I will and I will be goddam happy.

End of line...</STRONG>

Amen to that RyoGeo... I was just reading through all these posts and saying to myself "what the fuck is wrong with everybody?" You guys are acting crazy.

It's amazing to me to read the amount of spite people have on these boards towards collectors... In any other scene collectors with U.S. versions of every game released (take the Turbo Grafx 16 for example) the huge collectors are looked up to. Not in the Neo scene, oh no. Collectors are automatically seen as "thieves" and "greedy" because of two fucking people who wouldn't even be around if it wasn't for the real fans of the system...

You guys seem to be under the false impression that the Japanese version is for us... You guys know what language we speak in America? We speak English. Common sense would dictate that the English version of the game is intended for us. I bet you 90% of the people that buy the Japanese version who live in America just stare at the Japanese text in some kind of "otaku" awe thinking the game is somehow for you... But it's not. You guys should all cancel your preorders for the Japanese version and support the English release, I think that would speak to SNK a fuck of a lot more than boosting the sales of the Japanese version. There are plenty of people in Japan who want the game, many more than here in America, and those people will buy the game. That's why SNK is making so many more copies for them, because there are more Japanese who want to buy the game. And that's a fact.

I know those might be harsh words, but nowhere near as harsh as the rest of you guys are being to people who just want to buy the English version. Normally I would not say something like that. If the Japanese version of a game is all I can get, than I'm cool with getting it. But this time it's not, we have an alternative in the form of an English version, and I think everybody passing it up for the Japanese version is not helping as much as they could. Shawn has a lot more money on the line here than NCS does. I love NCS to death, they are without a doubt the greatest online import shop around, but you guys saying that cancelling with NCS and going for the English version is somehow hurting the cause are just plain wrong... SNK is still getting your dollar vote in some form, and that's all that matters here.

Phew, I'm done ranting.

 

[Mike]

THAT IS NOT THE POINT AT ALL....

Damn man no matter how I spell it out to you guys....

What is for who, and what SNK is making for us is not the point!

The point is...

IF you make a pre-order, pay for it.

Plain and simple.

Yes its true, SNK is still getting your $ BUT! For how much longer? For how much longer will people "just cancel" their pre-order?

DONT YOU SEE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT?

IF YOU, TRULY, DONT SEE WHAT IS WRONG WITH CANCELING A PRE-ORDER AT THIS STAGE IN THE NEO GEO'S UP AND DOWN LIFE THEN YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT.

PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

 

[chuckclown]

i agree every one loves to talk but does nothing.and if you talk about apples they talk about oranges.

 

[RyoGeo]

Agreed. Don't cxl.

 

[Orpheus]

my stance on this is that YES, meybe I should be dragged out on the streets and beaten sensless by you all for cancelling my order but I am REALLY set on the english slug 3 cart. for the "collectors value", FUCK NO! thats A bunch of crap to me. its because I cant stand the japanese spines(I love the front and back art work though <IMG SRC="smilies/drool2.gif" border="0"> and I prefer most all my neo games be european/english be it the pocket,cd or the AES home cart.
I was going to just buy the copy from NCS and just sell it on Ebay BUT with the new re-release the demand for that game on Ebitch has PLUMMETED. most of the auctions I see now for japanese slug 3's dont even have one bid!
so to all of you I say: get your self A copy of slug 3 no mater what language it be in and cherish it till the day you die (I know I will) cause let me tell you some thing
I dont even have A home cartrige system and I am probably still going to pick this cart up. making it the most expensive paper weight I have. <IMG SRC="smilies/loco.gif" border="0">

 

[Big Bruno]

I think the main thing with the NCS preorders is that MS3 would not even be out if it was not for efforts by NCS amoung others dealers.

SO the options were people preorder Japanese MS3 from NCS or another company just to get a release.

Foruntitly the quanity needed was reached and the japanese MS3 was released. So now NCS has all the MS3 in for filling the preorders that people communited to.

But becuase there now is a second option on this cart people are basically going back on there word with NCS to buy the English MS3.

well that is great I guess for those people on the short term. After all they have a english MS3 now instead of the japanese one.

However if you think any company is going to commit to doing something like this again you better forget it. Becuase if you figure they order say 500 MS3 carts and only 250 follow through with the preorders. Then it is going to take 1000 people next time to send in preorders for the next release.

Beleive me I think what Shawn has done with getting Metal Slug 3 made in English is great and I would love to have one. But The NCS MS3 I bought to support NGH carts. if I were to cancel my order or just not pay for it just to buy the english I would be defeating the purpose of why I bought the Japanese MS3 in the first place. Because like most I already have this cart as well.

Everyone has a right to change there mind, just make sure it is for the right reasons.

I edited this to add for those people that bought all 3, Thanks as well. I know Shawn and the Neo store stand to lose a lot of money if not all the MS3 carts are sold, and I do not want that to happen either.

However NCS has been coming out and supporting the Neo product wise for a long time. I just hate to think that they woudl be in the same boat.

Idealy I wish they would have sold the english version. Even if it cost more to buy like $350 or so, then I could have just switched my order over to english. But that is not going to happen so here we are.

[ September 06, 2001: Message edited by: Big Bruno ]

 

[chainsawyak]

Originally posted by Mike:
<STRONG>THAT IS NOT THE POINT AT ALL....

Damn man no matter how I spell it out to you guys....

What is for who, and what SNK is making for us is not the point!

The point is...

IF you make a pre-order, pay for it.

Plain and simple.

Yes its true, SNK is still getting your $ BUT! For how much longer? For how much longer will people "just cancel" their pre-order?

DONT YOU SEE WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT?

IF YOU, TRULY, DONT SEE WHAT IS WRONG WITH CANCELING A PRE-ORDER AT THIS STAGE IN THE NEO GEO'S UP AND DOWN LIFE THEN YOU ARE A FUCKING IDIOT.

PLAIN AND SIMPLE.</STRONG>

See, this doesn't make sense to me... If I had known about the English release back when preorders opened for the Japanese one I certainly would have waited. That wasn't the case though, so I had no way of knowing, nobody did.

Cancelling with NCS and going with Shawn's English release is not cancelling at all! It's merely shifting your preorder! If I was to cancel with NCS and then not get any version, then yes, I would be going back on my word.

Look at it this way.

When I preordered a Japanese copy back in June, I was telling SNK I wanted a copy of their game. Now here we are, three months later with the option of an English version. I cancelled my order for the Japanese version, and put in an order for the English version. I'm still telling SNK I want their game, I haven't backed out on any promises I previously made, the only thing that's different is who gets my money, but it all goes back to SNK anyway... I don't see what the problem with this is...

Maybe I don't understand and I'm just a "FUCKING IDIOT." I think it's just you guys making a big deal out of something that's not necessary.

 

[Narkoleptx]

I think there have been some very valid points made regarding pre-order cancellations, but when it comes down to it, people will always continue to cancel, whether it be other obligations or just a change of heart.

NCS EXPECTED preoder cancellations, and it's likely they weren't any worse off than they are for any other home cart release. I'm sure that they ordered close to what they anticipated being able to actually sell, and all canned preorders were likely figured into the equation.

The only surefire way to curb this is to require a deposit. Too low of a deposit, and we'd would probably still see a lot of people backing out. Perhaps $50 non-refundable deposits could curb that?

I don't blame Shawn at all for asking for the money up front... He'll take a much bigger financial hit if this release doesn't go over well than NCS will.

We should all continue to support whichever version we prefer, and if we do, hopefully, we'll continue to have a choice! I don't read Japanese, and I prefer to have US versions of games...I told NCS that when I inquired about Sengoku 3. Let them know what you want, people.

- Kyle

 

[wagesofsyn]

Originally posted by Tom:
<STRONG>Is NCS taking preorders for Sengoku 3 yet? I think wagesofsyn said he preordered his,but I haven't seen anything on the site about it.</STRONG>

There's not an official link that I know about, but the instructions they had on their site a while back were to e-mail them with "Sengoku 3 AES" as the subject line, requesting to be put on the preorder list. Here's a copy of the e-mail I received:

Hello, thanks for your Sengoku 3 reservation. We
will contact you with an update once the price of the game is
determined and once again when the game is available to ship
to our customers. Feel free to let us know if you have any
questions on this release.

Regards,

NCS, Inc
******************************************

I would encourage anyone who can to preorder this game and support SNK and support NCS for carrying this game. I'm not backing out of this reservation, and as Mike said, no one who makes a preorder should.

 

[chimpmeister]

Originally posted by Narkoleptx:
<STRONG>I think there have been some very valid points made regarding pre-order cancellations, but when it comes down to it, people will always continue to cancel, whether it be other obligations or just a change of heart.

NCS EXPECTED preoder cancellations, and it's likely they weren't any worse off than they are for any other home cart release. I'm sure that they ordered close to what they anticipated being able to actually sell, and all canned preorders were likely figured into the equation.

The only surefire way to curb this is to require a deposit. Too low of a deposit, and we'd would probably still see a lot of people backing out. Perhaps $50 non-refundable deposits could curb that?

I don't blame Shawn at all for asking for the money up front... He'll take a much bigger financial hit if this release doesn't go over well than NCS will.

We should all continue to support whichever version we prefer, and if we do, hopefully, we'll continue to have a choice! I don't read Japanese, and I prefer to have US versions of games...I told NCS that when I inquired about Sengoku 3. Let them know what you want, people.

- Kyle</STRONG>

You hit the nail on the head Kyle. Exactly what I was getting ready to post while reading the end of this thread. While the cancellation of preorders is unfortunate (I carried mine through in addition to ordering one from Shawn), there are things to consider:

1) As you say, NCS should require a non-refundable deposit, and yes $50 sounds like a good amount, for every Neo Geo cartridge preorder. Simple, they must protect themselves and this is one way to do so.

2) MS3 will continue to be in high demand all over the world, and I'm sure NCS will be able to move any unsold stock in a reasonable amount of time.

And on this point, think of this: How many carts total were made on this reproduction (combined)? About 2000 seems to be the consensus. How many Neo Geo systems and gamers are there all over the world? 200,000 or so, maybe more? And how does 2000 compare to 200,000 systems?

Demand WILL soak up the existing supply of these carts, ESPECIALLY FOR A GAME LIKE METAL SLUG 3!!! It is TOO GREAT a game to fall by the wayside, a masterpiece, AND has never been ported to ANY other home console. In fact, since there were ONLY 500 English carts made, those too will be snapped up in short order! 500 is NOTHING in the total, a drop in the bucket!! Once people see and check out the English cart, they WILL move very well I'm SURE.

So anyway although I can understand the concern about preorder cancellation, I think things will work out OK in the end. For the future I think if NCS required a deposit, it would stabilize their sales of Neo carts. I personally have NO PROBLEM giving them a deposit, and no one else should either. <IMG SRC="smilies/glee.gif" border="0">

 

[LWK]

On my brief stay in the online scene I have noticed people will fight over just about anything.
Most neo fans cannot except the fact something good may happen, since we have all been conditioned to endless BS.
So to be honest this is a hopeless scene with whiners and price raisers.
The whiners whine about the price raises, the price raises continue to raise prices.
Is whineing a solution? FUCK NO.
YOU WANT ENGLISH GET ENGLISH.
YOU WANT JAPANESE GET JAPANESE.
WHY IS THAT SO FUCKING HARD TO UNDERSTAND?

YOU ARE THE CUSTOMER,YOU MAKE THE GODDAMN CHOICE.
Nobody here is a nazi, nobody here is evil.
Nobody here has a new pair of diapers.
First we should be happy to even have these kind of options in the first place.
Why do we kill everything good on sight?


You want to whine about something good?
SHUT THE FUCK UP!

And Silent scope, are you mad because the MS3 japanese will shit dive in value? Was it not you and me who were opposed to "stock market" prices?
Now that the Jap ms3 will be affordable why are you so pissed?
Your not becoming a reseller right???????

[ September 06, 2001: Message edited by: Lord Wolfgang Krauser ]

 

[Ralfakick]

I did not order either one (something about student loans) but I think a lesson is learned as far as in retail standpoint. I know that neo news moves extremely slow, but the people selling the Neo carts to NCS should have mentioned to them that an American version was comming out. I know that Ncs primarily does Jap stuff (I have seen some American neo games on the website), but if they had more hindsight, maybe both could be offered. That way everyone could be happy. I can say that I don't know the whole story, but that is something I perceive could have happened. I do know that more stores to buy neo the better.

 

[rarehero]

Originally posted by Big Bruno:
<STRONG>I think the main thing with the NCS preorders is that MS3 would not even be out if it was not for efforts by NCS amoung others dealers.

SO the options were people preorder Japanese MS3 from NCS or another company just to get a release.

Foruntitly the quanity needed was reached and the japanese MS3 was released. So now NCS has all the MS3 in for filling the preorders that people communited to.

But becuase there now is a second option on this cart people are basically going back on there word with NCS to buy the English MS3.

well that is great I guess for those people on the short term. After all they have a english MS3 now instead of the japanese one.

However if you think any company is going to commit to doing something like this again you better forget it. Becuase if you figure they order say 500 MS3 carts and only 250 follow through with the preorders. Then it is going to take 1000 people next time to send in preorders for the next release.

Beleive me I think what Shawn has done with getting Metal Slug 3 made in English is great and I would love to have one. But The NCS MS3 I bought to support NGH carts. if I were to cancel my order or just not pay for it just to buy the english I would be defeating the purpose of why I bought the Japanese MS3 in the first place. Because like most I already have this cart as well.

Everyone has a right to change there mind, just make sure it is for the right reasons.

I edited this to add for those people that bought all 3, Thanks as well. I know Shawn and the Neo store stand to lose a lot of money if not all the MS3 carts are sold, and I do not want that to happen either.

However NCS has been coming out and supporting the Neo product wise for a long time. I just hate to think that they woudl be in the same boat.

Idealy I wish they would have sold the english version. Even if it cost more to buy like $350 or so, then I could have just switched my order over to english. But that is not going to happen so here we are.

[ September 06, 2001: Message edited by: Big Bruno ]</STRONG>

oops.. sorry to take up so much room..
i ll just say that BB. thats the most intellegent
thing i read about this entire matter.
your either
gonna bitch about, support shawn.
or support ncs.
personally i think shawns a great guy but
i deal with ncs on a pretty regular basis.
and it sounds funny but it hurts me to know that they might order
NEO goods again... but with more reserve...
i know if i was running a biz like ncs. i would
feel dissapointed. and very tired.
ncs was a big part of SNK rereleasing MS3
why rerelease?
why not just release Sengoku 3 like they planed
and skip MS3 altogether? because vendors gave
SNK a number. and SNK thought it was do able.
just some food for thought.
im done with this thread. i think most of your
are just bitching just to see your post count go up <IMG SRC="smilies/wink.gif" border="0">
hahahahah...
im almost up to 1000 <IMG SRC="smilies/smile.gif" border="0">

:B

 

[evil wasabi]

Originally posted by TonK:
<STRONG>I remember saying something WAY back when we first heard about the MS3 re-release and everyone saying, "I pre-ordered one!" I remember getting flamed for it! But you know what? I was FUCKING RIGHT!

People emailing NCS for a pre-order and not following through...SHAME!

NCS should have asked for the money up front like Shawn did. EVERY ONE of Shawns pre-orders are paid for. No need to worry about anyone not following through. I used my pre-order money to buy something else...

I have my SUPER LIMITED EXTRA RARE GOLD STICKER WORTH-MORE-THAN-YOUR COPY of MS3 and I'm satisified with it.</STRONG>

Yep you were right,but thing is think of it this way,say ncs asked for money up front,
wouldnt it be the same half that would go on to pay for it anyway? while the other half dont bother! this would mean they get less orders and less reason to make the cart happen.
So in a way cos there was no upfront payment
they got twice the preorders they would have got than if they asked for cash.
So in a way even those that didnt go on to pay for the cart made it happen.
Just a thought,although it probably would have been made anyway.

 

[VinylBoy]

This whole debate around whether or not people should have stuck to their pre-orders or not with NCS revolves around one thing... mainly the support of respectable dealers with future Neo Geo titles.

Sure... regardless if you buy the Japanese one from NCS or the US one from Shawn you'll be supporting SNK. But beyond that, those who cancelled their pre-orders with NCS may put the whole community at risk if NCS decides not to support the Neo Geo anymore... and that's bound to happen sooner or later if people continually back out on pre-orders. I'm not saying that Shawn doesn't have the ability to find future titles, but in this stage of the game we need ALL the support we can get... and we'll lose one of our best sources for Neo Geo games if people continue to play "fairweather" with their orders just so that their collection can "look" good.

Those who pre-ordered with NCS should have known from the beginning that they were getting a Japanese copy. Once they heard about the US version, all they should have done is maybe order a special US insert and/or manual from Shawn for a small fee just so they can replace the paperwork themselves. That way, NCS won't be slapped in the face for actually making efforts that go way beyond our own personal abilities to find games, and Shawn can still be rewarded for his deeds for supplying US materials, regardless if you buy the full package or not. This would have been a more ideal and more fair thing to do.

 

[Shawn]

Originally posted by VinylBoy:
<STRONG>Once they heard about the US version, all they should have done is maybe order a special US insert and/or manual from Shawn for a small fee just so they can replace the paperwork themselves. That way, NCS won't be slapped in the face for actually making efforts that go way beyond our own personal abilities to find games, and Shawn can still be rewarded for his deeds for supplying US materials, regardless if you buy the full package or not.</STRONG>

There should not be any extra manuals, inserts, or cart stickers for English Metal Slug 3. I am not aware of a partial package option or upgrade service being offered from the Neo Store. You may have heard other sources offering printed materials as a service, but the original & official SNK production is limited to 500 complete pieces.