BeatmaniaIIDX for US Suggestion

[tora]

Here is the thing, a friend and I were talking about getting BeatmaniaIIDX. But, being the cheap bastards we are, we don't have the money to import it and kill our PS2s just to play it.

So I ask, "How come Konami has never thought about bringing Beatmania, or more preferably, BeatmaniaIIDX to the states?" We both shrugged, and he said something about Amplitude and Frequency.

Then it dawned on me, why can't we get Konami and Harmonix to bring the Beatmania series over to the states? They could even throw in licensed material for all I care, but it would still be BeatmaniaIIDX, yes?

Let me know if this sounds like a reasonable thing to actually get Konami's attention about.

~Tora
_________________

[YoshiFan]

Beatmania was released in the US, only in the arcade though but it had the name of Hip Hop Mania.

As for why Konami won't release IIDX in the US, I have heard 2 theories why-

1. The difficulty of the game. The steep learning curve would discourage most people and reviewers.

2. The price. Look at how many people refused to consider Steel Batallion because of the price tag. Even with Donkey Konga, I have heard people say that if the controller + game cost more than $70, they would not buy it (even though that would still be reasonable IMO). Even if Konami could release IIDX with the controller (standard one) and a game for $99.99 which would be a great deal considering how much it is to import it, most gamers in the US would probably say that's way too expensive for a game.

[sniperman99]

yea true true.beatmania and beatmania IIDX belongs in japan.same with all the other music games besides DDR.
_________________

Member since sunday, august 1, 2004

[Geneity X]

The reason I think IIDX will never make it here is because Konami watched Beatmania (Hip-Hop Mania in the US) fail horribly here, probably because of the learning curve. So Konami would be thinking "Why spend all the money to convert a bunch of IIDX machines for US audiances and release it for home if we're just going to lose all the money?".

They SHOULD make an effort to port some Bemani to the US and especially for home versions, but the arcade versions would have to get popular first, before people would buy home versions for a "high" price like $100.

I think another reason no Bemani is being ported for US arcades is because KOA went bankrupt a while ago which killed all Konami US arcade games. They got up to DDR 4th Mix US, Precussion Freaks 5th Mix US (somewhere around there), Hip-Hop Mania, and probably more.

Konami made an entire different series of DDR called Dancing Stage for the UK and everywhere else that isn't the US and Japan. What Konami should've done was specialize DDR for the US with licensed tracks in the arcade versions of popular American artists, same goes for Hip-Hop Mania and any other attempted Bemani US ports.

But whats past is past
_________________
Andalucia Forum

[Mr Monday Night]

[davidbrit2]

Yeah, I don't think Percussion Freaks is intended for the US (even though it's pretty much all in English). But I wonder if that version is technically not illegal to import, like the other Japanese games.

Anyway, Konami doesn't have a great track record for trying that hard with US Bemani arcade games.

Guitar Freaks 1st Mix - Has about 10 songs. Whoo.
Pop'n Music 1 - About 12.
DDR USA - Well, it's not too bad, but when it's like a third the size of current Japanese versions, do you really think it will sell?

Then there were the Hiphop Mania games. I think they released about 3, and if Complete Mix 2 was anything like the Japanese version, that's the only one that stands the slightest chance of being any good. Everything before that is mostly garbage, and I'm even talking about the Japanese ones.
_________________
history of us recession

[Regenesis]

Honestly I'd fault their timing more than their efforts...you can't really blame them for not continuing to invest in a series that's not making money. The American DDR machines came out about a year or two before the craze really started to hit big here...HipHopMania came out at least 5 or 6 years ago and Beatmania's popularity is just starting to reach critical mass over here...basically they tried to market it to an audience that wasn't ready for it, and now that we'd actually be receptive to new American Bemani, they're unwilling to try again citing previous failures.

And the closure of KOA's arcade division doesn't help things either...And like others have said, costly controllers will keep people away too. You can get a cheap DDR pad for $20...I think that's a good indicator of what the masses are willing to pay.

So for now it seems we're going to have to be happy with DDR, EyeToy Groove (and hopefully other games utilizing that interface) and the handful of Dual Shock-based rhythm games that manage to show up stateside (though come to think of it we haven't seen any of those in a while...)
_________________

[Larrikin]

How much does a IIDX controller or a regular Popn controller cost, when you ARENT importing one. I don't think the Popn controller cost much at all and I cant see the IIDX controller being over 60 bucks.
_________________

FREE PSP||EARN CASH FOR DOING SURVERYS

[Larrikin]

Post [Another]
_________________

FREE PSP||EARN CASH FOR DOING SURVERYS

[davidbrit2]

When buying in the US, used PNM controllers will probably be in the $60-80 range, and a used IIDX controller will probably be closer to $80-100. If you find any local shops that carry imported goods, chances are either of them will be at least $100 new.

Compared to what they sell for new in Japan, I seem to remember that's a pretty hefty mark-up. I think it comes to like $60-80 for a new IIDX controller over there. And older 5 key controllers like the ASCII are probably even cheaper than that. Konami could definitely release them here in the US in some form, but even at a reasonable price, will the market be willing to support it? Judging by disappointing sales of Frequency and Amplitude, I'm inclined to say no.
_________________
Ferrari 195 S

[xphoguytonyx]

i wish beatmania were in usa. well home version, i want to play something new ... of course from konami. i suck at guitar freak haha..
_________________

Site coming sooN....
www.DDRTX.Net
Dont come to my site if u going to spam...



~~~Tony~~~

[[sync]]

that sucks how koa is afraid to brind IIDX here...its a really good game. the learning curve if acceptable...just play beginner mode. but yeah i do think that koa did release things too early and were too quick to pack up things the moment they saw thing taking a turn for the worst.
_________________

is it me or does Quasar sound....sad?

[Regenesis]

Just something for people to consider: there are 2 rhythm games coming out in the US with specialized controllers: Namco's "Taiko Drum Master" (Taiko no Tatsujin) and Nintendo's Donkey Konga. Taiko's an awesome game...simple to play, but tons of fun, and from what I've heard Donkey Konga's gameplay is similar, so that should rock too. I'd strongly recommend that everyone with the means to do so purchases one or both of these games as a show of support for rhythm games in the US.
_________________

[Tekked]

I am just still floored that they are bringing a game about playing a JAPANESE drum to the USA instead of a watered down version of Guitar Freaks or Drummania or something the American audiences would be able to at least identify with. I mean, come on, so many people love playing guitar and drums (or wish they could) in the US, because its considered "cool".
I still think its crazy Konami hasn't brought that game stateside. All they would have to do is tear the difficulty down a bit for impatient American audiences and add in some American songs, run a few ads, and boom! Hello, profits.

Beatmania, I'm not sure would make it big over here. Average American teenagers would probably think it uncool to be DJing by pressing keys. They'd be like, "I just want to use the turntable! Whats with all these keys?" or something like that to immitate what they see rappers and hip-hoppers do in their music videos, which is not BM or BMIIDX. I would love to be able to play BM/BMIIDX for a bit less cash, but our culture just isn't as fond of quirky games like Japan's; we have to have hardcore games that make us feel "cool", like Grand Theft Auto and countless basketball and street racing re-hacks. And that, my friends, really sucks because that is why Konami won't bring it to the states.
_________________

Just because it makes sense...does that really make it true?

[DKW]

I certainly think IIDX can be a tremendous success here (and c'mon, is it really that hard to make a seven-button controller with a cheapo record?). But they gotta scale down the difficulty tremendously. There's absolutely no two ways about this. Forget all the nonsense about "becoming a better player" and "challenge". The first is getting people to play in the first place, and you do that by giving them something they can do. Period. To this end, I say don't even bother with a Beginner Mode; use Light 7 for that purpose, and make at least a fifth of the songs simple timing exercises. I know, a child can do that...that's the point.

As for the songs, they just need to get as good a variety as possible. If they can get some cheap American licenses, so much the better.

It'll probably never happen, of course, but sometimes you just gotta think of what might have been...

[Larrikin]

[Andy the happy mod-man]

[davidbrit2]

[Dark Hogosha]

[MJSi24]

I don't think IIDX would sell very well here. It's just not straight forward enough. Like DDR and Karaoke Revolution are really straight forward because they use simple concepts. On DDR it tells you to hit left when the left arrow reaches the stationary left arrow, at which point you hit the corresponding left arrow on the dance pad. In Karaoke Revolution you just sing, or for that matter hum. They are very straight forward. IIDX isn't as straight forward though. I remember when I first played it, it took a while to figure out what the scrolling lines meant, even longer to figure out what the purple ones meant. Even more, it just plain looks weird. It's this obscure keyboard and the lines on the screen do not necessarily line up with the physical keys (like in keyboard mania or drum mania). Don't get me wrong, of course IIDX is fun (although i've only really played it maybe 3 times), but it's too complicated for American gamers.