Bemanistyle[dot]com

0D Beat Drop (XBLA)

nestlekwik — 20 Nov 2009 - 02:28 PM

Seemingly out of nowhere, Arc System Works has shifted from “That Guilty Gear company,” broadening its horizons with a handful of rhythm gaming installments, a good many of them actually hitting the United States courtesy of Aksys Games. While some of those titles seemed more like attempts to jump on the Rock Band/Guitar Hero bandwagon (Drum King, Rockin’ Pretty), last week 0D Beat Drop fell into our laps giving us something outside of the ordinary. If you can imagine a smashing of Puyo Puyo and Every Extend Extra Extreme with splashes of the face button timing-based rhythm genre, you have a very good idea of what to expect. In that regard, it could be said that 0D Beat Drop borrows from such influences a little too much for its own good, but, still, the end result is a satisfying and engrossing experience.

The formula I laid out above can explain the title in a nutshell: You take puzzle piece connection mechanics of Puyo Puyo, implement the graphical presentation and BPM analyzer of a Q! Entertainment game (E4, Lumines) and prominently feature music which dictates the overall gameplay. At face value, 0D Beat Drop might seem a like a confusing and intimidating game, but once a player dives in and gets a grasp of the mechanics, that is actually pretty far from the truth. To clear pieces from the playfield, players have to line up at least three of the same icon, however, actually removing the pieces from the game can only be done by performing a beat drop, which is done by pressing the X button in time to the beat of the music. When you see that the other face buttons rotate the active piece and the analog stick or d-pad maneuver the pieces, anyone who has played a puzzle game will know exactly what to do. In fact, the simplicity of the title could potentially be one of the game’s biggest hooks.

To create value for your $10, this simplistic gameplay can be enjoyed in a span of modes that pit single players against one-on-one gauntlets of CPU players, teaming up with a CPU to take on two other computer-controlled players or tackling a series of four-player battle royales. The single-player modes also allow players to attempt a series of trails (clear “x” blocks simultaneously, obtain a “x” chain, etc.), tackle a target score as fast as they can in time trial or load up a song of their own via the hard drive or Xbox 360 compatible music device to jam to. Obviously, though, the real meat of the gameplay is in facing off against human opponents (or in the case of co-op, teaming up with a friend) in the same one-on-one and battle royale formats. While, unfortunately, players can’t share their streaming mp3s analyzed into the game, multiplayer modes do encompass both offline and online features, rounding out a very robust range of options for a downloadable puzzler. You could view these modes as standards for the genre and state that little changes between the modes aside from the number of players involved and where attack pieces are sent, however, as it stands, 0D Beat Drop offers more features than some full-priced retail discs.

No matter what mode the player is in, though, the premise is the same - players launch gameplay with an accompanying piece of music, with the BPM analyzed and displayed in the form of an equalizer that pulses from the bottom to top in time with the current tune. At first, music game purists may scoff at the lenient timing window to active a beat drop, which, at the beginning encompasses roughly half of the equalizer. However, as players beat drop, successive drops accumulate a combo meter that awards more points to the player and sends more attack pieces to the opponent in the appropriate modes. As the combo meter builds up, the beat drop timing window gets smaller and smaller until it is nothing more than a tiny sliver at the top of the equalizer, really testing the player to flawlessly hammer out drops in time to the beat. Thankfully, the combo doesn’t reset if players opt to not beat drop and place pieces down on the field manually, allowing players to set up some nasty chains and links that will send the maximum amount of garbage over to the opponent. While the system sounds like a gimmick at first, the mechanic is implemented quite well and in tandem with beat dropping offers some sound risk and reward strategy – you can save your combo and build up a great attack, but, at that same time, opponents can send over garbage and ruin your plan.

0D Beat Drop controls naturally and operates just as well as any other popular puzzle game, which is a godsend when your opponent has your playfield filled with garbage pieces. When you toss in the fact that only a few buttons are used to play the title, the game is a great pick-up-and-play title that should appeal to anyone who has enjoyed a title such as Tetris or Puyo Puyo in the past. The span of modes can keep anywhere from one to four players occupied for some time and while the gameplay is extremely fast-paced and versus games can end in a flash, this does make for a great party feel where players can pass the controller around without having to wait forever for another go. That being said, with the frantic gameplay, some of the attacks can feel extremely unfair, with garbage piece totals easily reaching a total of hundreds. This is sort of remedied by allowing for a fever drop that depletes your combo meter if you beat drop after allowing more than 40 garbage pieces to fall on your playfield. The fever drop changes the colors of some of the pieces on the playfield and results in a mass clearing of your field. However, these attack pieces easily allow the opponent to immediately activate a fever drop in return, effectively creating a wacky balance in the gameplay. In the long run, however, skilled players will still be able to go back and forth and the simple nature of activating the fever drop gives less skilled players an easy means to stay competitive.

Surrounding all of the action is a rather impressive presentation, from which the appeal of the title draws heavily. Obviously, music is a huge portion of the game and on this front, 0D Beat Drop doesn’t disappoint with a small collection of varied electronic tunes that range in BPM values, along with featured material from the Japanese act Sweet Vacation. In reality, the song collection explodes when players use the BPM analyzer feature, so not enjoying the content provided by Arc System Works isn’t an excuse for players. Of course, these songs ring through in great quality and do not get drowned out by the gameplay, which features the now-common sound effects of shifting and rotating the puzzle pieces and the booms of pieces clearing off the playfield. It’s all easy on the ears, yet, somehow, it remains prominent and noticeable even amidst the most feverish puzzle session. The graphics seem like they were pulled straight out of Every Extend Extra Extreme, with the brightly-colored digital overlays and equalizer-influenced meters. Also taking a page from Lumines, there are a number of background and puzzle piece skins to choose from to mix up the scenery. While the visuals do appear to be heavily borrowed in concept, there are a variety of interesting skins to see and the use of color really make the visuals pop from the screen. Huge chains and fever drops litter the screen with explosions of light and are extremely pleasing to the eyes. Integrating with the Xbox 360, 0D Beat Drop does allow for players to use their Microsoft Avatars as in-game characters and while they may look a little out of place among the vivid visuals, their animations add to the victories and defeat encountered in gameplay.

Overall, 0D Beat Drop may not be the greatest puzzle game on the market, but it definitely hits toward the top of the list of offerings on Xbox LIVE Arcade. The rhythm aspect gives the title a hook to separate itself from the “match three” and other general puzzle games flooding the market and with the breadth of options available in-game, 0D Beat Drop is a very worthwhile purchase given its price of admission. There are a lot of obviously-borrowed elements, some odd balance issues and overly-difficult CPU characters in some cases, but with a few friends, it’s very easy to look past the title’s minor issues and put some quality multiplayer time into it. When you factor in the ability to load your own songs into the game, the replayability is amped up considerably and leaves players with a mean to expand their song selections and find tunes that they enjoy the most. While this release was easy to miss in the shuffle of a couple of big weeks at retail, we definitely recommend going back to this puzzle-rhythm fusion.

The Beatles: Rock Band Undergoing Holiday Campaign, Documentary

nestlekwik — 20 Nov 2009 - 02:10 PM

In order to promote The Beatles: Rock Band for the holiday, Harmonix and MTV Games have a new holiday spot lined up to promote the game through commercials as well as a special behind-the-scenes documentary of the game's development to be aired on VH1 Classic on Friday, Nov. 27 at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT. The half-hour special will sport interviews from Giles Martin, co-producer of The Beatles LOVE album project and music supervisor for the game, and Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. Other developer interviews will be included along with never-before-seen footage of the Harmonix creative team visiting the Abbey Road Studios to present Sir Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr with work in progress for the game.

Tom Petty Headlines RB Update, EU DLC Details for Wii

nestlekwik — 20 Nov 2009 - 01:57 PM

For Thanksgiving week, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers get the honor of headlining the weekly DLC update for Rock Band, adding in six songs from the band. Harmonix is also throwing in three songs from various artists with the goal of giving LEGO Rock Band players more content to play to. Scheduled for Tuesday on the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii and Thursday (I'm assuming the press release is correct even though that is Thanksgiving Day and last year's updates were done on a Tuesday - the release does indicate release dates are subject to change, though) for the Playstation 3 are:

Go-Go’s – “Our Lips Are Sealed” +
Kelly Clarkson – “Miss Independent” +
P!nk – “Who Knew” +
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “A Thing About You (live)” +
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “American Girl (live)”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Even the Losers (live)”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Here Comes My Girl (live)” +
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Mary Jane’s Last Dance (live)”
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers – “Refugee (live)” +

+ indicates the track is deemed "appropriate" for LEGO Rock Band

The price for each individual song is $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points or 200 Wii Points), while Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 owners can purchase the Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Live Anthology Pack for the price of $9.99, £4.99 UK, €7.99 EU (800 Microsoft Points).

The given press release indicates no news in regard to Rock Band Unplugged DLC additions.

Elsewhere, our good European friends were not able to pick up the Nintendo Wii version of Rock Band 2 for the Nintendo Wii until Oct. 9. As such, Harmonix has been announcing that, much like we saw in the U.S., the DLC library will be updated regularly with back-catalog tracks. If you are in the territory and want to check out the list of tracks available on the service at the moment, you can visit the appropriate thread on the Rock Band official forums.

Newest Sana Album to Accompany pop'n portable Complete Set

nestlekwik — 20 Nov 2009 - 09:44 AM

Konamistyle has today announced a brand new album from Bemani vocal veteran Sana, entitled ボクをさがしに (which I believe translates to something like "Searching for Me," correct me if I am wrong, please). The album appears to feature a total of 13 tracks, however, Konamistyle is only teasing about half that list at the moment, pointing out the album will include songs that were previously only available on Konami Music Full and even Liebe from pop'n music 18:

1 ボクをさがしに新曲 (Original to album)
2 Liebe～望郷～（ﾘｰﾍﾞ） AC pop'n music 18 Sengoku Retsuden
3 Infinity Of Our Love Elebits
4 Indigo Bird KONAMI♪MUSIC FULL
5 White Eve AC pop'n music 9
6 シーサイドスプリング (Seaside Spring) Arrange Collection Vol. 1 Vocal & Piano
7 神秘の森 (Forest of Mystery) Arrange Collection Vol. 1 Vocal & Piano

The album will release at the price of 2,800 Yen (roughly $31.47 US, 21.19 EU at the moment) on Feb. 4, 2010, which, conveniently, is the same date that pop'n portable drops for the Sony PSP. As such, Konamistyle is already plugging a Complete Set package for the game.

The goods lined up for the package currently include:
*pop'n music portable
*pop'n music V-Rare Soundtrack 17
*pop'n music Badge Collection (Special #2)
*pop'n music AC 6~9, CS 6,7 Illustration Book
*Sana's ボクをさがしに album
*"Original Portable Cleaner" - I think meaning a screen wipe/cloth
*Original (PSP) Pouch
*Original e-AMUSEMENT PASS case

All of the above will total 13,770 Yen ($154.74 U.S.; 104.20 EU), but there is also another special edition package that includes the game, the V-Rare soundtrack, the portable cleaner and the pouch for 6,420 Yen ($72.16 US; 48.59 EU).

As always, keep checking back as we'll continue to update on pop'n music portable as the information becomes available and we'll be sure to let everyone know once these special packages hit Play-Asia.

Sana Album Konamistyle Page
pop'n music portable Complete Set Page

Come on down!

eddie — 20 Nov 2009 - 01:09 AM

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Happy 20,november everybody!
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DanceDanceRevolution X2 Location Test Announced

Pie-kun — 20 Nov 2009 - 12:31 AM

Fresh off the heels of their recent United States CS releases, Konami has announced a location test for the Arcade version of DanceDanceRevolution X2. The location test will take place at Tokyo Leisure Land in Akihabara, Tokyo, about five minutes from the Akihabara station on foot. The hours are 10AM to 1AM from November 25th to December 3rd.

And, by the way, when this test was announced, it was the 20th of November Japan time. Just a coincidence?

As always, you can expect bemanistyle to report all the news from the location tests as it comes.

U-san, the Arcade director, also made a post regarding the X2 location test on the DDR FROM STAFF BLOG, which we've translated into English for you here:

Quote:

It's been a while! Thank you for waiting, everyone!

I'll be going to the DanceDanceRevolution X2 location test. It runs from November 25th to December 3rd at the Tokyo Leisure Land store in Akihabara.

I'll see you again when we write our first report.
Bye!
-U@ Arcade DDR

Win a 0D Beat Drop Download for the Xbox 360!

nestlekwik — 19 Nov 2009 - 08:20 PM

If you haven't seen the news yet, we reported on the announcement of 0D Beat Drop for the Xbox 360's LIVE Arcade service back before its release. The title hasn't been out for a full week yet, but a few of the Bemanistyle staff have checked the game out and, so far, we're enjoying what the title has to offer. We're going to have a full review of the title later this week, but we're also looking to let two (2) lucky Bemanistyle.com users in on the action if they haven't yet picked the game up. Aksys Games, the U.S. publisher of this Arc System Works' produced title, has been kind enough to provide us two download codes for the online title, which we're going to give away in this very post.

All you have to do is leave a comment in this post stating that you would like to enter for a chance to win one of the two download codes. We will be picking the winners at random on Friday, Nov. 20 (this Friday), so we will require that all entries be received by noon EST on that date. It's that simple, so don't miss out on the chance to win 0D Beat Drop and enjoy this unique puzzle-rhythm experience.

There are just a few rules to keep in mind - please post only once: We will delete multiple entries from the same username and if we discover multiple accounts made a single person, we will disqualify all such entries. Since this is an Xbox LIVE title, you will need an Xbox 360 system and online access to claim your prize. Major Nelson indicates the title has launched in every territory where Xbox LIVE is available, so the contest is not limited to those in North America. Please participate fairly and be sure to check out 0D Beat Drop, which does feature a free demo on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Current Bemanistyle.com Events - Nov. 19, 2009

nestlekwik — 19 Nov 2009 - 08:10 PM

As we approach the weekend, we thought we would highlight some of the upcoming events here at Bemanistyle before most of us shut off our brain for the upcoming holiday week.

* First up, don't forget about our current-running 0D Beat Drop contest. Thanks to Aksys Games, we are giving away two download codes so a couple of lucky Bemanistyle users can partake in this unique puzzle and rhythm game experience. If you want to enter, be sure you make a comment in the appropriate contest thread - PLEASE NOTE: Do not comment in this post to enter this contest; you have to comment in the original post to be entered. All entries must be received by noon EST, so you have about 15 hours left to partake in this extremely easy way to land one of Xbox LIVE Arcade's newest titles.

* It's been a bit since we've mentioned this, but, also, don't forget that we have a new raffle going on in which one lucky winner will find themselves with:

DJ Ning beatmania IIDX Arcade Style Controller (NRC-300)
beatmania IIDX 16 EMPRESS + PREMIUM BEST (PS2)
beatmania IIDX 16 EMPRESS ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK (+ Konamistyle Pre-Order Gift)

The raffle costs $10 per entry and we would like to remind everyone these proceeds benefit our current donation drive for future upgrades to the site. Users have until Jan. 3, 2010, to enter this raffle, at which time Nick Randall from mydjsobad will draw the winner.

Anyone interested in entering the raffle should make their donations to the following link:

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* Lastly, we've been wanting to organize Bemanistyle community play nights for a while and seeing as all Xbox LIVE regions other than Europe have a free Xbox LIVE Gold weekend from Nov. 20-23, we thought this weekend might be a good start. Since we're working on short notice here and eddie is going to be out of town, there are no extravagant plans as of right now, but I'll be online at various times tomorrow night to play 0D Beat Drop. With any time I have Saturday evening, I'll be dropping into Rock Band 2 and Sunday night will be reserved for DanceDanceRevolution Universe 3. To kick off the community nights, if you run into me in any of the games this weekend and identify yourself as a member of Bemanistyle, I'll record your name and enter you into a drawing where one lucky member will receive a prize, which will most likely be an Xbox LIVE 1600 Microsoft Points card. I'll record names once for each game per day, so if you run into me on all three nights, that means you'll have three chances to win!

The free weekend allows Xbox LIVE Silver members to use any of the services (such as online play) available to Gold members for free for one weekend (don't get too angry Europe, you receive this the following weekend). As such, I hope to see a few members online this weekend - feel free to add my GamerTag, which is nestlekwik. We're also looking to your feedback on what dates, times and games work the best for you and no worries as we'll eventually look to extend to other systems in the future. Let us know what you would like to see in the future for this event!

Umloud! Event Looking to Raise Cash for Child's Play Charity

nestlekwik — 19 Nov 2009 - 02:48 PM

Chris Kohler of Wired, Joe Markert of Gamehelper and John Seggerson of Telltale Games are looking to create a spiritual successor to last year's Fünde Razor event with Ümloud!, a Dec. 9 Rock Band 2 jam session in San Francisco that will benefit Penny Arcade's Child's Play Charity, which provides toys and games to children's hospitals in the United States.

The event will be held at the DNA Lounge and, thanks to Harmonix Music Systems, will feature a full-blown Rock Band 2 stage setup. Ümloud! will have its doors open at 7 p.m. and continue on until 2 a.m. Attendees are suggested to donate $10 upon entry, which also places visitors to the event into a raffle that includes prizes and limited edition gaming swag donated by sponsors.

Those looking to perform on the grand stage will have to sign up and pledge a donation, stemming from the standard package of $40 ($10 per member, but the donation price is cut to $35 if you pledge online) that includes a coupon for a piece of swag at the location's merch table, up to a $120 pledge that is limited to 15 bands and includes a list of perks.

For more information, check out the official Ümloud! Web page.

A Reminder About Bemanistyle.com's YouTube Channel

nestlekwik — 19 Nov 2009 - 02:35 PM

As we are increasing the scope of our media and coverage, we would just like to take a moment to remind everyone of our Bemanistyle.com YouTube channel, which is home to a variety of material including the recent jukebeat videos, videos from E3, various promotional trailers and more. I'll be looking to add in other bits and pieces if I still have them in my archives, including completely random and/or pointless videos of music game relevance such as the following:

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For some reason I still have that video from back in 2006 of a bootlegged DDR cabinet fitted to run DDR EX CS (U.S.). Well, at least eddie found it to be interesting. Does anyone else have any bootleg cabinet stories to share?

Keep checking back to the YouTube page where you'll be able to see all of the videos we're looking to post on the site here and down the road, we'll be putting up other small trinkets that might not appear on the site, so feel free to befriend and follow us on YouTube.

Also, if you're into this kind of thing, Bemanistyle.com also has a Twitter feed you can jump on by checking us out at the username bemanistyle if prefer your musing at 140 characters or less.

Konami's Mobile App Titles All at 99 Cents Through November

nestlekwik — 19 Nov 2009 - 02:10 PM

Those with an iPhone or iPod touch might be interested to know Konami Digital Entertainment has recently dropped the price of all of the company's app store titles on the format have now been reduced to 99 cents up through Nov. 30.

On the Bemani front this includes both DanceDanceRevolution S and DanceDanceRevolution S+. S features three gameplay modes, 26 songs and 18 characters, while S+ has functionality to implement downloadable songs to expand the content of the game.

If you're a fan of Konami's overall catalog, though, you'll also find games such as Frogger, Metal Gear Solid Touch, Silent Hill: The Escape and Power Pros Touch among other titles at the same price. Just keep in mind this offer is only running through the remainder of the month.

As we always like to point out when news of DDR S perks up, bacon has crafted a dandy guide to the Japanese DDR S right here on Bemanistyle so if you would like a heads-up on how the title shapes up, give the story a look over.

jukebeat Location Test Report - Sherman Oaks Castle Park

eddie — 18 Nov 2009 - 03:01 AM

Not long ago we reported that Konami was taking a second stab at a North American jubeat Location test, this time under the name "jukebeat". This version of the game is based on the jubeat ripples interface and features a songlist comprised mostly of original English licensed tracks. It's clear the second you see the attract mode on the machine that jukebeat was the selected name so they can market the machine as an interactive Jukebox. How this will tie into e-amusement and an overall release plan is yet to be seen, but one can bet that if this game does see an actual release the addition of updates with new songs is inevitable.

At this test the game was set to 1 song for 4 tokens, which at roughly 1:30 per song seems like a lot of money. Especially when compared to the 3 minutes you get from a game of Guitar Hero AC. This may not be the final pricing structure, and given the nature of the test itself and Konami's apparent desire to keep it somewhat under wraps (we have no idea when it started, or when it will end) that they may be using it as another way to get accurate public play results. Whatever the case may be, the pricing structure as it stands is a little whacked.

It was clear that these were the same machines from the UBeat location test earlier in the year with new marquees and a new instruction card panel. The 2nd cabinet was non-functional due to a messed up coin slot. Also of note is that the employees got on us after about 10 minutes about our cameras, limiting the amount of related media we could obtain. This was due to a policy at the location itself, not because Konami was mandating no photography (no one was tending to the machines while I was there, and the arcade was virtually empty.)

Many of the new songs were very fun to play, and the options, gameplay and interface are exactly as you would expect from a US port of jubeat ripples. This version definitely seems to have a ton of potential, so here's hoping that the true public perception is positive enough to merit a legitimate release. The game is as fun as it's ever been, and the potential of a largely licensed songlist is rather exciting, although not too surprising given the direction all of the US CS releases have taken as of late.

version number: I44:U:A:A:2009101300

New Songs

Alice Cooper - School's Out [1/5/8]
Baha Men - Who Let The Dogs Out [3/6/8]
Basshunter - Now You're Gone [2/4/7]
Basement Jaxx - Do Your Thing [3/6/9]
C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now) [3/5/7]
Coldplay - Viva La Vida [1/5/7]
Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me 'Round (Like A Record) [2/5/8]
Earth, Wind & Fire - September [3/5/8]
Kelly Clarkson - I Do Not Hook Up [2/5/7]
Los Del Rio - Macarena [1/5/7]
Metro Station - Shake It [1/5/8]
OK Go - Here It Goes Again [3/6/7]
Panic At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies [2/6/8]
Phoenix - 1901 [2/5/8]
Pitbull - I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) [3/5/6]
The Ramones - I Wanna Be Sedated [2/6/8]
R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World As We Know it (And I Feel Fine) [2/6/8]
Technotronic - Pump Up The Jam [2/6/8]

Revival Songs

A-Ha - Take On Me [2/5/6]
Darude - Sandstorm [3/6/7]
Ki*Ki - Happy Happy [2/6/9]
Mutsuhiko Izumi - Orpheus In The Underworld [3/8/9]
Mutsuhiko Izumi - Polaris [2/5/8]
Mutsuhiko Izumi - Snow Goose [5/7/8]
Snow - Informer [2/5/8]
W.T. Orchestra - William Tell Overture [3/7/9]

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Dead Or Alive - You Spin Me 'Round (Like A Record) [ADVANCED]
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Introduction & Attract Mode
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note: Our report on this location test is for the sake of informing everyone and preserving this data under the circumstance that the title is not released. We are unsure on Konami's stance on promoting the test and do not condone organized mobbing of the location, although we do encourage everyone that is able to go check it out for themselves and try a few songs. Out of respect for the companies involved, the community, and the potential release of this title let's all cooperate to allow the results to be as accurate as possible.

Konami Opens pop'n music portable Product Page, Reveals Partial Songlist

Pie-kun — 17 Nov 2009 - 08:15 PM

Although we've known about its release for quite some time, Konami has finally opened its official product page for pop'n music portable, set to be released on February 4th, 2010 for the Playstation Portable (PSP).

As previously reported, the game features five button, seven button, and the original nine button modes, but Konami has given the button layouts for players who were curious about how the gameplay would translate on the PSP system.

The layout is as follows (Starting from button on the very left to the button on the very right):

1: Left directional key.
2: L shoulder button.
3: Down directional key.
4: Up directional key.
5: Square button.
6: Triangle button.
7: Cross (X) button.
8: R shoulder button.
9: Circle (O) button.

Still confused? Take a look at the screenshot Konami's provided in the pictures below.

Besides the button layout, there's also a vague description of "Adventure Mode" that simply states "Play as either Mimi or Nyami and travel through Pop'n Land. Pop'n Battle with characters blocking your path while unlocking new songs". Several screenshots have been provided to help shed a little bit more light on the mode as well.

Songlist-wise, pop'n music portable will boast a final songcount of over 80 songs and when players clear songs in game mode, they can listen to them in the PSP-exclusive "music player mode", so you can listen to your favorite pop'n songs on-the-go. To give you a little something to hold you over until the release date, they've also provided a partial songlist on the website:

[暗黒サイケデリック (Ankoku Psychedelic)]暗黒サイケデリック (Ankoku Psychedlic) / ALI PROJECT
[愛をとりもどせ!! (Ai wo Torimodese!!)] 愛をとりもどせ!! (Ai wo Torimodese!!) / すわひでおとメカスワオ (Hideo Suwa to Mekasuwao)
[ウィーアー！(We Are!)] ウィーアー！ (We Are!) / よしくん海賊団 (Yoshikun Kaizokudan)
[創聖のアクエリオン (Sousei no Aquarion)] 創聖のアクエリオン (Sousei no Aquarion) / ♪♪♪♪♪
[カルマ (Karma)] カルマ (Karma) / ♪♪♪♪♪
[ブルーバード (Blue Bird)] ブルーバード (Blue Bird) / ♪♪♪♪♪
[残酷な天使のテーゼ (Cruel Angel's Thesis)] 残酷な天使のテーゼ (Cruel Angel's Thesis) / ♪♪♪♪♪
[風吹けば恋 (Kaze Fukeba Koi)] 風吹けば恋 (Kaze Fukeba Koi) / ♪♪♪♪♪
[嘘 (Uso)] 嘘 (Uso) / ♪♪♪♪♪
[シャイポップ (Shy Pop)] ネガイゴト (Negai Goto) / 肥塚良彦 (Yoshihiko Koezuka)
[アーバンメ�*ウポップ (Urban Mellow Pop) Psychology / SENAX
[ニューソウル (New Soul)] My Own Swan / Redshift
[撫�*��*ック (Nadeshiko Rock)] 凛として咲く花の如く (Rin Toshite Saku Hana no Gotoku) / 紅色リトマス (Koushoku Litmus)
[ガールフッド (Girlhood)] �*クブテ (Rokebute) / 水玉フミッパーズ
[ボーイズＲ＆Ｂ (Boy's R&B)] Always / Shoichiro Hirata feat.RayZY
[オンラインラブポップ (Online Love Pop) / 恋のミラクル☆　（Koi no Miracle) / るるるSYSTEM
[コンティネンタル (Continental)] 走り続けて (Hashiritsuzukete) / 秋桜 (Kosumosu)
[ウェルフェア (Welfare)] つばめ (Tsubame) / あさき (Asaki)
[ガラージハウス (Garage House] together 4ever / Sota Fujimori feat.yoshiko
[超�*華流行�*�曲] 桃花恋情 / TЁЯRA

And wouldn't you know it, there's one song you can barely make out in one of the screenshots that's not on that list

[NEO ACO] (fly higher than) the stars / sugi & reo

Keep checking bemanistyle in the months leading up to the release for more news. Meanwhile, treat yourself to the screenshots below.

A Few Random Tidbits in Music Gaming - Nov. 17, 2009

nestlekwik — 17 Nov 2009 - 02:37 PM

* Fans of the Xbox 360 avatar system might be pleased to know there is now a selection of goods based on the DJ Hero and Band Hero franchises available for purchase in the avatar marketplace. You'll see a mix of clothing articles and interactive items your avatar can freak out over and if you want to take a look at the offerings, I have the links buried into the game titles listed in the previous sentence. With the featured downloads, now you can have your avatar scratch on some double decks or sport some of the clothing featured in Band Hero.

* Speaking of DJ Hero, which released on Oct. 27, the NPD Group has indicated the title has sold 123,000 in the month of October. Not too bad for just five days.

* Clickgamer has launched a new gaming application entitled DJ Nights: Global Tour, which appears to have a similar setup as Konami's beatmania title, however, screenshots (such as the one featured as the article image) seem to suggest the gameplay involves three keys and two turntables. A press release states players tap, shake and record scratch during gameplay to create the beats and perform music. Of note in the game is a MusiGames technology developed to decode multiple MP3 files simultaneously to, in effect, produce what we typically refer to as keysounding. The title features names such as Emilio Fernandez, Tom Cloud and Tiesto and can be downloaded at $2.99.

* We have already reported on the full details for Sgt. Pepper's album release in The Beatles: Rock Band, but if you would like a small preview of the content, check out this quick video:

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* As a bit of an update to the Kanako Hoshino album we reported on yesterday, it appears another Web site update is indicating the CD will be a mini-album. I will admit the text is a bit beyond my Japanese comprehension, but it appears to list some details of the new CD. If you are willing to give us an update on the album, let us know by taking a look at this I-Revo update.

* Last week we mentioned we were looking to step up on reviews and one more has been made available via retrodating. We now have a review of The Beatles: Rock Band available on our site, which can also be accessed at our Bemanistyle sitewide review page.

* Empty Clip Studios has announced it is compiling a shooter that pulls data from a player's music collection to create levels. No specific platforms are announced as of yet, but the title is slated to release next year. Entitled Symphony, the following trailer is about all we know about the title's gameplay at the moment. We'll definitely be sure to follow the title and update as more information becomes available:

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pop'n music (Wii) Released in North America

nestlekwik — 17 Nov 2009 - 02:14 PM

This really snuck in under the radar, but after seeing online listings detailing pop'n music Wii is in stock for North America, I was able to confirm with Konami of America that the title is indeed in stores now and available for sale. The suggested retail price of the title in the U.S. is $29.99, which might make the experiment a little easier for dedicated pop'n music players to bare.

We still at this moment have no indication of what songs are being featured in the North American version, but Konami's releases are indicating 40 songs will be included with extras being made available via DLC. If you happened to have picked this one up, make sure you let us know what your thoughts are.

Seattle DDR Regional Results, Commentary

nestlekwik — 16 Nov 2009 - 10:55 AM

Thanks to BLueSS, courtesy of the PNWBemani community, we were able to learn of the results of the Nov. 14 regional qualifier for the DDR National Tournament along with the member's personal thoughts on how the tournament functioned.

Quoted from BLueSS at PNWBemani: "... Coming into the tournament, nobody from the Seattle area had high expectations due to the horrible news we had heard about the previous tournaments. Overall, though, most of us were fairly impressed with how well things actually worked out, despite everything that could have gone wrong.

There were 34~ entrants with the majority of players (including the top ones) being from our PNWBemani forum here. The top picks going into the tournament were our top players, several of whom were practicing for a couple weeks for the tournament. They were Keby (Kevin), Amber, and Suko, all of which placed in the top 4, with the exclusion of Andy Burns, who was a surprise entrant who did very well!

As said earlier, the staff knew nothing about DDR. This led to some humorous lines, such as "Keep your stuff off the DDR," and an announcer who was funny, but knew nothing about the game. This also led to some bad parts, such as the staff 1) Not knowing you can't play a tournament song on Extra Stage, 2) Accidentally choosing the wrong song half of the time, 3) Not knowing why players were complaining about the pads.

Seattle Gamework's pads have never been in tournament condition, although to their credit, the pads were repaired several times the day of the tournament and were almost to the level of Bill's (Masterman Vending) machines during tournaments ran at his venues.

The tournament staff were temporary hires from Craigslist, with the exception of the Konami rep who was intent on having everything done her way. To their credit, we were very thankful that they acknowledged that the pads needed repaired several times, however, they only started caring after Kevbo (Kevin Boddy, who was here from out of town) talked to them. Since he was the winner from one of the other Regional DDR Tournaments, apparently, he had enough credibility for this lady to listen to him. Thankfully he was there, because they let him even test the pads after the repairs to make sure they were ok ... but if he wasn't there I have a feeling our tournament wouldn't have been so good.

For a tournament that started at 1PM, they were still at the final 8 at 6PM. I had to leave at that point, so I don't know how the rest of the tournament went. It was long because the staff didn't know what they were doing for two of the parts and took a 1 hour break to eat, a 30 minute break to figure out who moved on/bracketing ... and the bracketing wasn't seeded properly, so several players went over to get that fixed.

All the songs were chosen from the official song lists provided, with the tournament staff spinning a prize wheel to choose which song got chosen. The wheel was not very well calibrated as there was about 40 minutes of The Least 100 Seconds played during the tournament and she had to rewrite the songs on the wheel several times to get them evenly distributed.

The winners/placement was:
1) Amber
2) Kevin (Keby)
3) Andy Burns
4) Suko

It was a fun time, as the majority of our Seattle DDR Community was there. This will probably be the biggest tournament we will have in our area, as it also had some entrants from outside the community. It was a good time and, thankfully, didn't turn out as bad as we were expecting. The Seattle Gameworks staff and manager were very nice and helpful at making sure the tournament ran ok, the tournament staff were ok once Kevbo showed them the pads sucked and almost everyone had a good time ..."

BLueSS and the members of PNWBemani have additional comments and information as well as photos of the event on the community site if you are interested. Congratulations go out to the winners as we look forward to the Dec. 5 finals to be held in Las Vegas.

SCEA's Ad Hoc Party Feature Officially Making Its Way to North America

nestlekwik — 16 Nov 2009 - 10:35 AM

While Japan has been kicking back and enjoying the feature for a good year now, Sony Computer Entertainment America has finally issued releases and announcements detailing the PSP to PS3 Ad Hoc Party will be made available in North America soon. Many savy North American players have already been downloading the feature through the Japanese version of Playstation Network but now the process will be easier to manage thanks to a local means to obtain the service.

For those not in the know, the Sony Playstation Ad Hoc Party service allows players to hook their PSP system up to the Playstation 3, with the console and software acting as a Wi-Fi bridge, pushing the PSP's ad hoc functionality through the Internet. This means players will be able to enjoy multiplayer with anyone else that owns a copy of the game through Wi-Fi instead of being limited to local players. As the PSP builds some major steam through 2009, this will open the doors for more multiplayer opportunities in the system's music game efforts, which, if you are an import player, provides for a wide span of titles including the expanded DJ Max series, Taiko no Tatsujin, Pump It Up, Audition and more. In the United States we have DJ Max FEVER, Parappa the Rapper, Gitaroo Man Lives! among other titles, so, what say you Bemanistyle users - will this feature get you to dust off some your older PSP games or bring you back for more PSP play than normal?

Rock Band to Offer Them Crooked Vultures Single as DLC

nestlekwik — 16 Nov 2009 - 10:22 AM

Xbox 360 owners will find yet another song added to the catalog this Tuesday as "New Fang" will be made available as a Rock Band DLC song on the same day as Them Crooked Vultures release its first (and self-titled) album. The very same track will eventually make its way to the other formats, hitting the Playstation 3 on Nov. 24 (that week's PS3 updates will hit Tuesday as opposed to Thursday due to Thanksgiving) and, finally, the Nintendo Wii on Dec. 3. The band is a gathering of Dave Grohl of Nirvana and Foo Fighters fame teamed up with Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin. When the track launches, it will be available at the price of $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (or 160 Microsoft Points/200 Wii Points).

Pre-Order, Teaser Announcement Surface for New Kanako Hoshino Album

nestlekwik — 16 Nov 2009 - 10:08 AM

Earlier today we received a tip from Bemanistyle user _____Cait that Bemani vocalist Kanako Hoshino was going to receive another album treatment, straight off the heels of the release of her April release of Prism.

Kanako Hoshino's official Web page teased the album, dubbed [Starry~the way to the SIRIUS~], confirming the new album, however, the post indicates details will be released at a later date, currently leaving us in the dark on what exactly will be featured in this CD.

The lack of details hasn't stopped Play-Asia from already offering up pre-orders on the album, though. The pre-order page states Play-Asia is anticipating the album to release Dec. 23 at the list price of $21.90 US, but if you jump on pre-ordering the album right now, the site is offering a limited time offer to snag the CD at a 10 percent discount - $19.71 US.

Of course, as details surface, we'll be sure to provide updates on the album.

Taiko no Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! release 11/19

red shoe paul — 16 Nov 2009 - 09:03 AM

The second Taiko No Tatsujin for Wii releases this Thursday in Japan! Also, a new unlock 'story' is being implemented?

Quote:

You have a mission, you have to develop baby taiko Watadon, the more frequent and the better you play, the faster Watadon grows up and can start composing songs for you or unlock sound effects. Seek to become the best Taiko player and take up challenges or receive new songs through the Taiko Mail Services.

You can order Tatsujin Wii Dodoon to 2 Yome! over at Play-Asia for only $48.90.