Here it is, the last issue I have of the The HuBee Network USA newsletter. Released in the winter of 1993, this issue shows an incredible change in layout over the past issues. Gone is the use of cheesy clipart and crude layout design; this issue actually looks quite professional! This issue also utilized red ink to add a bit of color to what would otherwise be a drab, black and white newsletter. It really helps make the newsletter more appealing and eye-catching.

But enough about my general thoughts on this newsletter--let's get to the info inside! Read on for the page by page breakdown...

Page 1

Queen Bee Corner - The Queen Bee gushes over Super Bomberman for the SNES. Who is the Queen Bee? I have no idea. There's a nice disclaimer warning the reader to "make sure your homework is done" before you play Super Bomberman.

Super Multitap Alert!!! - Announcement for the Super Multitap accessory for the SNES which allows four people to play at once. Included in the Super Bomberman Party Pak ($69.99) or separately for $39.99 (available January 1994).

Page 2

Hot new Hudson Soft games! - Four games are showcased here: Beauty and the Beast for the NES, Dig & Spike Volleyball, Super Bomberman, and Bonk's Adventure for the NES.

 

 

 

Page 3

Inspect This! - This page is devoted to Inspector Gadget for the SNES. A blurb about the game accompanies a maze activity. Four features of the game are listed at the bottom, one of which is finally being able to see what Dr. Claw looks like (in the cartoon, he was always shown from behind, usually sitting in a huge chair that hid everything but his arm). There is also an offer for a free Inspector Gadget watch with the proof of purchase from the game. 

 

Page 4

Hudson's Secret Codes - A stage select code for Inspector Gadget and a code for Super Bomberman.

Hudson's Game Tips - Tips for Inspector Gadget and Super Bomberman.

Direct Sales - This is interesting; you had the opportunity to buy games direct from Hudson Soft. You could even buy demonstration versions of the games for a cheaper price.

Credits: The editor for this issue of The HuBee Network USA was C.M. Lazarich.

Well, this concludes the set of Hudson Soft newsletters that I own. I have a lot more newsletters that will be uploaded later from companies like Sunsoft, Acclain, and Enix! Stay tuned!

Posted by Gyoshi at 07:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Girl gamers are growing in number and the Nintendo DS has shown to be pretty female-friendly. Enter Keys Factory's Lovely Boston DS--perhaps the most feminine DS carrying case in exsistence. Now, I'm not a girl, but my girlfriend is, and she owns a DS. So when I noticed this being sold at Play-Asia, I asked her if she'd like to have one over the Hori DS pouch she currently had.  She chose the blue one (it comes in three colors: pink, black, and blue).

About a week later it arrived, and I took some photos for review purposes before handing it over to its new owner. It's a small, pleather purse-like case, with feminine graphics printed on it. The word "girl" is printed on it to make it completely obvious that this product is for the female persuasion. A metal chain with little heart charms on it dangles on one side. So cute! At least, that's what I'm sure most girls would say.

But what about functionality? How well does this thing work as a carrying case? It has a zipper opening, and inside there is a sewn in pouch for the DS to slide into, and another smaller pocket for games or other small items. There is also ample room for the DS charger. The size of the bag is just a bit larger than the DS and is about twice as thick. So as a carrying case, it works well.

But what about a girl's perspective? I asked my girlfriend to give her thoughts on it and she likes it because "it's like a purse" and that the chain "is cute". The only thing she doesn't like is that there isn't quite enough room to also put in her wallet or other necessary girly items. So there you have it, this seems to be a pretty good bag to hold your DS if you're female, and it comes in three different colors: black, pink, and blue.

Where can you buy it? The best places are probably Play-Asia.com or good ol' National Console Support. Play-Asia only has the blue one in stock at the moment, but NCS has all three. Play-Asia is the cheaper choice at $14.90, but it will take a bit longer to receive if you are ordering from the US. NCS charges $20 for each bag.

Additional Links: 

Lovely Boston Official Site 

Photos:

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I've been tracking two "rare" games for quite some time now: Capcom's Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, and Konomi's Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix. These two games were fetching high prices on eBay thanks to their notoriety as being "rare", but have recently become...well, not so rare. So what happened?

Let's look at Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. This game is great for what it is- a zany courtroom/detective style game with a great sense of humor and melodrama. It was a sleeper hit for Capcom, who didn't press a lot of games because of its niche-style gaming. The game's reputation in America started growing, mostly through various discussion boards. And then one fateful day, people started to realize that they hadn't seen the game in stores for a while, and upon further searching, this game couldn't be found at any stores! If I remember correctly, it was toward the end of January of this year that this realization had dawned on people that the game they had repeatedly passed up was now no where to be seen.

Mad searching for the game ensued with success stories popping up here and there. People who had never had an interest for the game were now asking if it was worth buying. Prices for the game on eBay kept going up and up. Sixty dollars...seventy dollars...when would it stop?

March 13th. NCS gets a new shipment of Phoenix Wright and sells the game for $35. The crazy eBay prices fall back down to a normal $35-$45 range and life is as it should be...or is it??

April 14th. NCS sells out of their stock of Phoenix Wright. NCS assures people that Capcom is continuing production of the game and that it will be back in stock sometime in May. EBay prices are still normal. Life goes on.

January 2006. I notice an auction on eBay for Dance Dance Revolution: Mario Mix going for over ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS! Quickly checking all my favorite online stores confirms the fact that this game is nowhere to be found. I had seen the game on store shelves prior to Christmas of 2005, but have since not been able to find it. Was I worried? At first. But then I heard good news from an unlikely source: Nintendo Power magazine. Unlikely because...well, I don't really read Nintendo Power, but I had gotten three free issues for registering some games. Anyway, someone had written in asking why it was so hard to find this game, and the editors actually had some nice information that the action pack was being produced again and would be back on store shelves sometime in March.

March came and went. Then came April--still no sign of Mario Mix. Finally, this week at my local Target I find it-- two new boxes of DDR Mario Mix. Searching online, the game is now available at practically every major game retailer. Amazon. Gamestop. GameExpress. They all have it. The prices on eBay literally dropped overnight. This auction ended on May 21, 2006 at $97.00. Today, similar auctions are ending at retail prices or even below retail.

So what can we learn from these two games? The biggest thing we can take away from this is that today's video game companies are more aware of the demand for their titles than they ever have been before. Supply actually can keep up with demand. Don't overpay for a game by a major company, unless very few people want it. And buy what you like; don't let the market dictate what you should buy.

Don't be a "suck-sore".

Posted by Gyoshi at 10:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Phoenix Wright fans, here are some toys for you! Relive all your favorite moments from the game with this set of figures! Yell "Objection!!" and "Take That!" whilst knocking over rival action figures. The 6 figure set has figures from a range of Gyakuten Saiban games, some of which I don't know since I've only played one of the games so far.

With the popularity of Phoenix Wright rising in the US and with the next game in the series being localized, these figures will surely be sought after in the future. Get em now for $4.90 per figure (blind packaged - you won't know which character you have until you open it) at Play-Asia.com. Figures are made by a company called Ensky; check out the official webpage here. Or if you just want to see better photos, check out this website.

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Page 1 - In The Beeswax: This section is all about rumors and upcoming products. The Super Multi-tap for the SNES and Super Bomberman is announced and planned for June or July of 1993.

In the next paragraph is something interesting: they talk about the 32-bit IronMan system and even attach TTI (Turbo Technologies, Inc.) to the console. Interesting stuff indeed. It is believed that the IronMan eventually became the PC Engine FX. Read more about the IronMan at the bottom of this page: PC-FX World - Facts & Rumors and also here.

Worker Bee: Sachi Interviews Sachi. ...Who the heck is Sachi? And why is she interviewing herself? I actually don't know if Sachi is a woman, but I'm guessing she is based on her answers and the ambiguous clip art. It'd be nice to know what Sachi does at Hudson Soft.

The bottom half of the page has announcements for three games scheduled for the fourth quarter of 1993: Beauty and the Beast, Inspector Gadget, and An American Tail II: Fievel Goes West.

Page 2 - Red Hot Titles to "Bee" Released: This section covers pages 2 and 3. The games featured on this page are Bonk's Adventure, Felix the Cat, and Milon's Secret Castle, all for the Nintendo Gameboy.

I had totally forgotten that Bonk made an appearance on the Game Boy.

Page 3 - Red Hot Titles to "Bee" Released (continued): Page 3 has three more games: Dig and Spike Volleyball!, Super Bomberman, and Battle Grand Prix, all for the SNES.

Wow, I have never even heard of Dig and Spike Volleyball or Battle Grand Prix.

Page 4 - Mailing area and Crossword Contest.

Complete the crossword and mail it in to Hudson for a chance to win a leather backpack, t-shirts, or mugs. I like how the crossword was obviously drawn by hand with no regard for having the boxes be a uniform size.

Well, that completes this issue of The HuBee Network USA! Stay tuned for the last issue!

Posted by Gyoshi at 01:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball fans may want to get in their preorders for an upcoming Hitomi figure. Due on August 31, 2006, this 1/6th scale figure features the cute karate master in her Reticulum outfit. The likeness to her virtual counterpart is pretty good, though her hair seems a little too dark and it's hard to tell if she's wearing her trademark hairband.

Interested parties can preorder the figure at CDJapan.co.jp and will eventually be charged around $70 when it ships (not including shipping). I don't know who is producing this figure and I haven't found another website with more info on this fig. Kotobukiya is the company behind this figure, which should have been obvious to me because of their history with Tecmo creating PVC figures of Ninja Gaiden characters, and producing some DOAX "One Coin" trading figures. Follow the link to preorder this figure and check out some additional photos. You can also preorder it from Hobby Link Japan.

Posted by Gyoshi at 04:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Japanese magazines are great because they usually come with some pretty cool stuff. Take the latest issue of Dengeki DS (formerly Dengeki Game Cube) for example. It comes with an Oide yo Doubutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing) neckstrap, a double-sided poster, an Animal Crossing Schedule Book, and Animal Crossing stickers! That's a lot of extras! It's possible that they're trying to better Famitsu DS by putting out more extras, and if that's the case then I'm all for some friendly competition.

But before we take a look at the extras, let's take a look at the actual magazine. It's always interesting to see how different the Nintendo magazines are made as opposed to the Famitsu Xbox or Dengeki Playstation magazines. The Japanese Nintendo mags look almost like the thick manga magazines with their overly complex covers. You can tell that this magazine is aimed at children. The inside of the magazine is no different from the cover, and it's very colorful and busy. Magazines like this are perfect for hyperactive kids.

Anyways, there's a two-page preview of Final Fantasy III for the Nintendo DS, and it looks fan-flippin-tastic! I am betting that this will be the most beautiful 3D game for the system as the screenshots so far look incredible. There is, of course, coverage of New Super Mario Bros. which came out today in the US, and plenty of strategies for games like Mario Kart and Dragon Ball Z. Animal Crossing Wild World is still wildly popular and a running feature in Dengeki DS is an Animal Crossing section that has a calendar of events for the current month, as well as town tunes and patterns for you to try.

But what about the extras? This issue comes with 4 extras, and the best one is easily the Animal Crossing neckstrap/lanyard. Packaged in a cardboard frame, this neckstrap has a loop at the end of it so you can attach things like your cell phone or Nintendo DS to it. There is also a clip so you can attach your keys or other items. Printed all along the green colored strap are Animal Crossing characters. The matierial used for the strap is somewhat soft and thus, the printing isn't very sharp-looking.

Packaged with the neckstrap is the double-sided poster. One side features New Super Mario Bros. and the other side shows all of Animal Crossing characters! It's a pretty cool poster no matter which side you like. Also included with the magazine is an Animal Crossing Schedule Book which has a schedule of events from April 2006 to March 2007! It even has all of the characters' birthdays listed! In addition, it contains a list of all the items including fossils, bugs, and fish! It's a handy little book to say the least. Last but not least, you get a set of Animal Crossing stickers of some of the characters in the game. See below for more photos!

Additional photos:

Posted by Gyoshi at 06:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Another month has passed and that means more Weekly Famitsu covers to archive. Interestingly, all four covers this month features a human. Final Fantasy XII is still getting major coverage, as is Monster Hunter 2.

Weekly Famitsu 4/7 2006 No.903

Cover: Angela Aki - Angela sings the song, Kiss Me Good-Bye, the theme song for Final Fantasy XII.

Extras: Hi-Complete Bible Vol.97 - Monster Hunter 2

Cross Review Highlights: Another Century's Episode 2 gets 33/40 (8,8,9,8). Fight Night Round 3 for the Xbox360 gets 30/40 (8,8,7,7). Rumble Roses XX gets 32/40 (9,8,8,7). Contact for the Nintendo DS gets 33/40 (9,7,8,9). Jikkyou Powerful Pro Yakyuu Portable for the PSP gets 32/40 (8,8,8,8).

Weekly Famitsu 4/14 2006 No.904

Cover: Roberto Baggio - Italian football (soccer) player. Was named best player in the world in 1993. Seems to be featured in Sega's Pro Soccer Club o Tsukuruu! Europe Championship for the PS2.

Cross Review Highlights: Black for the PS2 gets 32/40 (8,8,8,8). Pro Yakyuu Netsu Star 2006 for the PS2 gets 32/40 (8,8,8,8). Pro Yakyuu Spirits 3 for PS2 gets 34/40 (9,8,8,9), while the Xbox360 version gets 36/40 (10,8,9,9).

Weekly Famitsu 4/21 2006 No.905

Cover: Rosa Kato (model).

This issue features a massive 100 page section devoted to Final Fantasy XII.

Cross Review Highlights: Odama for the Nintendo Gamecube gets 31/40 (8,8,7,8). Densetsu no Stafi 4 for Nintendo DS gets 33/40 (9,8,8,8).

Weekly Famitsu 4/28 2006 No.906

Cover: Hiroko Sato (model).

Cross Review Highlights: Okami for PS2 gets 39/40 (10,10,10,9). Ninety-Nine Knights for Xbox360 gets 31/40 (8,8,8,7). Mother 3 for Game Boy Advance gets 35/40 (10,8,8,9).

Well, that's it for now! Tune in a month from now for the May covers!

Posted by Gyoshi at 02:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hudson (who will be releasing the Bonk series on the Nintendo Wii) has recently been taking a look back at the history of their company. Their website  has some great articles such as an article titled "The Definitive Bonk", and an interview with Hudson president, John Greiner. After reading some of said articles, I became a bit nostalgic and dived into my archives to see what I could contribute to this rememberance...

What I found is what you see here, perhaps one of the least ambitious-looking newsletters in my collection, The HuBee Network USA newsletter.  While other companies went all out and created full-color newsletters or used high-quality paper, Hudson went the economic route. It looks as if they used a simple computer program like Print Shop to create this. Don't get me wrong, the information within the newsletter is actually decent for its time period, but it's hard not to knock the cheesy clip art.

Page 1 - Super Adventure Island for SNES announcement: coming April 20th!

Hudson Soft Secret Agent application info.

Page 2 - This page has two smaller pages printed on it so you had to hold the newsletter horizontally to read it. Gameboy Newsflash: Adventure Island for the Gameboy. The blurb about the game abruptly ends in the middle of a sentence. In The Future: Felix the Cat for the NES. Atomic Punk Contest Winners: winners from a contest that must have been in Issue 1. The Bees Mailbox: hints and tips for XEXYZ, Adventure Island 1, and Milon's Secret Castle. Another Worker Bee: profile of Michael Perry, then Product Manager for Hudson Soft USA.

Page 3 - Word Search: by completing the word search, you could mail it in and receive a Hudson Soft catalog.

Page 4 - Mailing label area. Lots of wasted space; they could have easily put some more info on the bottom half of this page.

I have two more issues of The HuBee Network newsletter that I will be posting soon, so please check back later!

Posted by Gyoshi at 08:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Three words: IMPROVED BREAST PHYSICS.

Three more words: INSANE FAN SERVICE.

Check out the trailer HERE!

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Around September of last year I registered my first Sony system--a PSP to be exact, and soon after I was asked to join Sony's G.A.P. (Gamer Advisory Panel). I didn't think anything of it at the time; I simply figured it was something everyone was invited to once they registered a Sony system. Apparently it's a bit more exclusive than that and soon after, I was asked to be a part of the Siphon Filter: Dark Mirror beta test. "Pretty cool!" I thought to myself.

Months passed, and nothing much came out of being part of the GAP until two weeks ago when I received a somewhat large package in my mailbox. Opening it revealed the pretty stylish baseball cap you see above. It's a Nu-fit hat so it's got the elastic band on the inside for a snug fit and a clean look in the back. The Playstation logo sits in the bottom right corner of the front, and at the back it says "Gamer Advisory Panel". I like the Gray color and the simple design; it goes well with a lot of different outfits. Also in the package was a short note welcoming me to the GAP. Is this all I'll get as a welcome package? Other members have been getting a packet with a membership card and a t-shirt. I guess time will tell.

Photos:

Posted by Gyoshi at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)