Originally published on Bemanistyle

Back when news of this year’s brand new DanceDanceRevolution titles surfaced during July’s E3 event, Konami of America went out of its way to state it was going to feature “major licensed master Latin tracks.” While we were initially ignorant about the impact these Latin tunes would have on the final product, DanceDanceRevolution X2 released in North America on Oct. 27 and it became clear exactly how far Konami was looking to go in featuring Latin-style music in the title. Of the title’s 60 songs, nearly 17 percent of the list features Latin songs and/or artists and it seemed as if the company purposely went out of its way to reproduce Konami originals in this styling in bringing revival songs from previous entries into the mix. It’s hard to deny DanceDanceRevolution is as global as it has ever been, originating from its humble, nine Konami original songs on the original DDR arcade cabinet, evolving to later include European influence with the company’s Toshiba EMI partnership and, finally, breaking out into recognizable tunes made popular in America. While Latin-style songs are hardly nothing new to series, what attributed this focus to load almost one-fifth of DDR X2 with this music genre?

“We believed that the PS2 market in Central America is relatively large, so we decided to implement Latin/Spanish-influenced licensed and Konami original songs that might be better accepted in that region and for the residents in North America who enjoy this type of music,” stated series producer Naoki Maeda in a recent e-mail interview with Bemanistyle.com. Looking at recent events that have unfolded in 2009 between Central America and Sony, perhaps saying the previously untapped video game market in the territory is large could be an understatement.

A February announcement made by Sony Computer Entertainment America officially put the company’s consoles and services available to the territory for the first time(1). Prior to this point, residents of the area had to either swallow heavy-hitting price tags for systems and games thanks to customs taxes and import tariffs or take part in playing pirated copies of games titles. In fact, a 2008 editorial by Pascal Clarysse, who was formerly a marketing manager for Lik Sang, commented on Edge Online that a popular title such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl could cost as much as $110 U.S. at retail in Columbia – a real slap to the wallet when you take into account that Clarysse states the minimum and average wage in the country is $260-280. Because of these limitations, he states the Game Boy Advance and Playstation 2 continue to be the best-selling systems in Central America(5) and when you factor in the huge install base the PS2 has in Brazil – the largest in the territory - it becomes easier to understand SCEA’s decision to officially enter the market(2).

“The significance of the Latin America market is huge. Obviously from a population standpoint I don’t think it’s a big secret that this is a huge opportunity. We will put a number of resources in place to cater to that market,” stated Sony Computer Entertainment America’s Vice President of Sales Ian Jackson one year ago at a BMO Capital Markets Interactive Entertainment Conference. “… We’ve identified the Brazilian market as probably the biggest market opportunity for us, and that will be the third part of our launch which will take place over Spring 2009."(3)

Thanks to the official distribution of Sony product in Central America, the distribution has made the prices of official games a bit easier to swallow for the 13 countries within reach of Sony Latin America, even though the territory has some fierce competition in the form of the regional Zeebo console and pirated discs that provide games at a lower price. Regardless of where players are receiving their games, it can’t be denied that gaming is a huge hobby in Central America and the Playstation 2 is a common system, much as it is worldwide, where it has been cut to a $99.99 U.S. price tag. Konami’s efforts to market DanceDanceRevolution to this territory rolled off of Sony’s momentum in the region as X2 and Hottest Party 3 made appearances the weekend prior to the titles’ release at Latin America’s largest video game event, the eighth-annual Electronic Games Show in Mexico City, which saw more than 30,000 attendees(4). As such, Konami certainly isn’t ready to give up on the system, which still has a full year to follow Sony’s intention to give the Playstation 2 format a 10-year life cycle.

“We still look at the PS2 as a competitive platform in today's global market but the so-called next generation consoles like the PS3 and Xbox 360 have great possibility of permeating throughout the world even more,” noted Konami's Naoki Maeda. “Our goal is to foresee the needs of the market and provide titles with the hardware that best suits these needs.”

Before the attempted penetration of DDR into the Central American territory, however, local players had long been accustomed to Andamiro’s Pump It Up series, a cheaper arcade alternative that served as the go-to dancing title for this territory along with Korea. In 2005, Mastiff CEO Bill Swartz, who was at the time preparing Pump It Up Exceed for a home console release in North America, told Edge Online, “It's insanely popular in Latin America and Korea. Every year in Mexico City there are tournaments. This year's drew more than 15,000 people and they had to open the doors an hour early to avoid a riot. " Interestingly enough, the same interview has Swartz stating the release features “lots of Latin music,” showing the dancing game market has in some form catered to the territory for a number of years(6). According to Maeda, the global appeal of DanceDanceRevolution stems from the art of dance being a global language that is enjoyed by everyone across the world, however, cultural differences are what tend to bring such “market targeting” into play.

“The global appeal of DanceDanceRevolution lies in the fact that the main idea of the game is ‘dancing,’ which is a method used to express oneself that can be seen throughout the world,” he explained. “However, there are several different types of dancing which can come from elements such as the characteristics of a country or what they deem beautiful. We believe that holds great importance in that the recorded music fitting the dance type of a specific region is essential.”

Of course, targeting the Latin music market isn’t an unfamiliar endeavor, with Konami of Japan releasing Mambo a Go Go (which, unfortunately, missed the U.S. market with an intended, but cancelled, release under the name Mambo King) and SEGA developing Samba de Amigo during the Latin pop craze that hit at the turn of the century. Even though neither title had a huge impact, if any, on North America, Maeda noted Konami hasn’t given up on the theme as long as its games are openly available to the region.

“Yes, depending on the location of where we release our titles and the characteristics of the people in the country, we would like to provide content that is geared more toward that region,” he stated. “Music in Southern America has its own characteristics with a very unique history and developing games with these themes are in one of our best interests.”

Will the adjusted focus help Konami and its DanceDanceRevolution series in the long run? Only time will tell in the long run, but, currently, the company is keeping a positive focus on the market for now.

“Our view of Central America is that there are several unknown elements in the market, but features such as their national trait where they look at things objectively and with the way ‘dancing’ is positioned in their lifestyle, we believe that it is a very hopeful market,” concluded Maeda.

[1] Official SCEA Press Release, “Sony Computer Entertainment America Expands into Latin America” - GameSpy
[2] Theo Azevedo, “Produção do PlayStation 2 e jogos no Brasil é aprovada” – UOL Jogos
[3] Staff, “SCEA: Latin America is a Huge Opportunity for PS2” – Playstation Universe
[4] Official Michael Meyers Public Relations press release – “Eighth-Annual Electronic Game Show Draws 30,000” – (received internally by Bemanistyle.com)
[5] Pascal Clarysse, “Gaming in Latin America” – Edge Online
[6] Staff, “Pump it Up” – Edge Online 

I actually thought Elebits for the Wii always had a ton of potential and I did thoroughly enjoy the series' debut on the system.  It's always had a bit of appeal with me, which is probably what drove me to seek out this interview back in 2006:

Hide and seek makes its way to the Nintendo Wii in Konami fashion on Dec. 12 when Elebits hits the shelves. Konami's Wii debut will have players fishing around various environments in pursuit of Elebits, creatures who create the world's energy, in single-player and multiplayer game modes.

Using the Wii Remote, players will take their place at the helm of a capture beam that will allow them to alter the environment in order to uncover Elebits or lure them out of hiding.

Finding Elebits gives the capture beam a bit of a charge and upon leveling up the gun's power, heavier items are able to be lifted to find even more Elebits.

For the releases of the game in the United States, Dennis Lee of Konami was able to take a few minutes out of his schedule and explain everything Elebits has to offer as well as give insight on what it is like to develop such a unique concept.

Aaron Auzins: Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to answer our questions. First off, could you introduce yourself to our readers and briefly explain your involvement with Konami?

Dennis Lee: Hi Aaron, my name is Dennis Lee and I'm a group marketing manager with Konami. I'm in charge of all marketing activities for a number of Konami titles, one of which is Elebits.

Aaron: Of course, Elebits is the first title for the Nintendo Wii from Konami. How long did it take to put together Elebits and how does beginning development for a title before a system is even launched differ from other titles the company releases?

Dennis: Developing a launch title for the Wii is inherently different from creating a game for other new systems because you have to get up to speed with how the controller works and how to integrate it into your game.

You can't necessarily fall back on your experience with other platforms because they don't always apply with the Wii. It's definitely been a great experience for the developers to start working with the Wii early, because they have been able to learn the system and all its quirks and also create an amazing new game at the same time.

Aaron: What has it been like developing a title from the ground-up that utilizes the functionalities of the Nintendo Wii remote controller?

Dennis: As I mentioned in the previous question, the controller is what makes the Wii so unique, and this philosophy carries over to the development side as well. There are just to many ways to utilize it, the developer has to make some tough decisions about what works best and what feels right in the context of the game.

With Elebits, the team has created a control scheme that uses the pointing capabilities of the Wii controller, but doesn't try to do too much with it to the point where it is cumbersome to control. The game really espouses Nintendo's belief that games for the Wii should be intuitive and easy to control.

Aaron: Elebits comes to the new system as one of the few new properties on the Nintendo Wii. How did the unique concept of the Elebit creatures come about?

Dennis: Since the Wii is a new system that is so different from all the other consoles, it made sense for us to have our first game be a new property that is totally different from something we had ever attempted.

The development team really wanted to create some memorable characters that would stick with people, so they made them very cute and also gave them distinct personalities so it's easy to believe that they could be a part of the world with humans.

Since Elebits are the only source of energy in the game's world, there's an indirect reference to some of the energy issues our society is facing that is presented in a very thoughtful way when you play the game.

Aaron: What kind of game modes can we expect from Elebits? Will it utilize the system's online capabilities in any fashion?

Dennis: In addition to the game's single player story mode, there's an edit mode where players can create their own stages, a challenge mode where you try to fulfill certain puzzle-based objectives and a multiplayer mode in which up to four gamers compete to collect the most Elebits in a certain amount of time.

While Nintendo's WiiConnect24 service isn't yet up and running, Elebits does support the service. Players will be able to share levels they have created in edit mode with their friends and also trade screenshots, adding a very impressive dose of replay value to the game.

Aaron: How will the game unfold in the single-player mode? Are there unlockables and secrets for players to uncover throughout the game or anything else to encourage multiple plays through the game?

Dennis: The single player story mode has more than 25 different stages. The player will be given a rank at the end of each stage, from C to S (the best). Depending on what rank they achieve, they may be able to unlock additional items to use in edit mode or a new challenge mode stage.

You can also unlock background information on each of the Elebits as well as information on each of the objects you have interacted with. The challenge mode stages really test your skills with the Wii controller, so you'll definitely want to unlock each one.

Aaron: The game will be for up to four players at the same time. How will the multiplayer aspects pan out for a group of Elebit hunters?

Dennis: Up to four players will be able to compete simultaneously in the game's multiplayer mode, competing to see who can collect the most wattage in a given amount of time.

Everyone's cursor is on the same screen, so players can decide how often they want to change what player has control of the camera. The action can get amazingly frantic in multiplayer mode, with objects flying all over the stage and capture gun beams shooting in every direction. It's a great change of pace from the single-player game that puts the players' reflexes and aim to the test!

Aaron: What types of environments will players be able to seek through during the course of the game? How will the environments change and what kind of interaction can be had as the players capture Elebits?

Dennis: The game begins in the main character's home, but you'll also make it outside the house and explore different areas throughout the city. There's a lot of variation in the levels and even a major twist about halfway through the game that I don't want to spoil.

Players can interact with different object as they collect more Elebits and wattage. For example, players can put a turkey in an oven, turn it on and watch as Elebits pour out at the temperature increases.

There are a lot of great puzzles like this throughout the game for the player to figure out that push the game's interactivity in some really fun ways.

Aaron: What was it like for you to work on the company's first title for the Nintendo Wii? What are your impressions of the system?

Dennis: From my impressions of Elebits and some of the launch titles, the Wii is a great new system. Nintendo has delivered on its promises to create an entirely new gaming experience and I look forward to seeing what new properties and game play mechanics emerge as a result.

Elebits is one of the first games that was created from the ground up for the Wii so I hope people get a chance to try it and find out what the system can really do from a creative standpoint.

Aaron: Once again, thank you for taking the time to talk to us about Elebits by Konami for the Nintendo Wii. Good luck to you and your team as the title releases Dec. 12.

Dennis: Thanks Aaron. I hope you and your readers enjoyed learning more about Elebits.

Since nestlekwik recently posted his older previews that included Konami's announcment of a U.S. release of its wildly popular Japanese game beatmania IIDX, I thought I would share my review of it. Hopefully, this will help players who saw Nestle's post and wanted to know more.

Konami gives the U.S. a small slice of the IIDX pie with the U.S. release of beatmania. While a good bit cheaper than importing any of the Japanese versions, do Americans get a decent taste of the goodness?

If you have played any music/rythym game before, you probably have heard of a game known as beatmania. The game was the first Bemani game ever made and kickstarted the music genre back around 1997. Its spin-off, beatmania IIDX (pronounced Two DX) upped the ante and added more keys, more songs, more ... everything. Since then, Japan has received a new IIDX at least once every two years. A few years ago, Konami decided to try its luck at bringing this game to the States. While still a fun little game, it's missing a lot from the Japanes titles - though, if you never played the imports, it'll be fun for awile.

We crave Gameplay

The game is played a lot like any other music game you can think of with the diffrence that you use a keyboad-style controller with a spinning disc-like object that is there to simulate a turntable. There are seven "keys" on the table that are about as big as a mouse button. The goal of the game is to pick between 5Key or 7Key mode, and then hit these keys and spin that turntable in time to music by following falling blocks (much like RockBand).  Like Rockband, failing to hit the note will resuilt in the note not being played at all, but unlike most other titles, if you are offbeat here, then the song is played offbeat, making it hard to get back on the timing. The game judges you by the note, flashing words like "Great!" or "Poor" to tell you how close you were to hitting a note on time. The "Just Greats" (or a flashing "Great") that was in all the Japanese versions was replaced with the word "Perfect!". The change doesnt seem to change the gameplay however.

Another change the gameplay has is the final score at the end of a song, which judges players on their timing much like DDR or In The Groove. The judgement has been changed to resemble that of DDRMAX, and now you are awarded a grade two time higher than you would have had in the import versions. Again, this doesn't really change the gameplay, but can get on the nerves of older fans.

The biggest addition to the U.S. release over any of the Japanese ones is the inclusion of an extra, easier chart for each 7Key song. This helps beginners test the waters of the game engine much more easily than ever before.  

We Got Da Beat!

Music games are made or broken by the soundtracks in them and beatmania is no different. Hardcore fans of DDR will recognize a few songs by the artist Good-Cool, and a couple of dj TAKA's fan favorites such as V and Colors. The rest is mostly either old beatmania songs (pre-IIDX a lot of times) or a brand new licensed song such as Moby's Lift me Higher or Timo's First Day. Fans of dance, techno and anything else with heavy beats will be right at home, but naming all the songs is pointless as there are already FAQs that do that.

The bad thing is, out of only 79 songs, you get 20 that are in 5key format and 50 that are in 7Key format, with about eight that can be played using both. And the sad part is songs on 5Key only have one difficulty. This is completely stupid and just proves that Konami thinks that people will forever replay its games even if they don't add more difficulties. The U.S. version of every game it brings us is always dull after you master the harder charts and this is no diffirent. In this game the hardest song is V, which alot of IIDX players have already played and have moved on to harder songs by playing imports.

Thankfully, getting used to the game is very hard, so the challenge is there, but for people who have already played, it's not enough. It's also worth noting that the movies that play when a song plays are, for the most part, just not that great. But you'll probably never notice it while playing.

Other points of interest

So with only 79 songs to unlock and enjoy, you expect there to be extra modes would you? The game has the standard 5Key, 7Key, Two Player, Practice Mode, Double Play and Course Modes you would expect to have in a Konami game, but other than that, there isn't that much to enjoy. The course mode is fun, since you play a set of five songs back to back and have Internet Ranking, but there isn't much new or challenging content if you've played the game before. Not only that, the game is based off of the beatmania IIDX 9th Style interface. What that means in a nutshell is that there isn't that many extra options to spice up the game. And if people are playing two players, both players have to use the same play mods (such as how fast the game runs, what difficulty you're playing, whether you have the turntable turned off, etc). Again, there were other, newer version Konami could have based this off of and it decided to fail us.

In the end, it's probably better to get this if you have never played it and are wanting to give it a chance. If you played the imports a lot, you'll probably just want to stick with those, but at the current price, it's with buying for the controller, which otherwise would cost you around 70 bucks in itself. I would love to see this game reinvented for the U.S. market with all the trimmings and content the Japanese players enjoy, but knowing Konami, it'll probably never happen

GemuBaka Final Review Socre: 2 out of 5

Purely for newer fans or players who are just tired of hearing rock all the time in their music games.