e-AMUSEMENT is an online service offered worldwide by Konami

Konami

is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...

 to enable exclusive online features in games, such as Internet Rankings and unlockable content. It is utilized by multiple Konami games as listed below, including the arcade and the PlayStation 2

PlayStation 2

The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...

platforms.

Magnetic Cards

Before 2006, every game using the e-AMUSEMENT system used its own magnetic cards to save data. Five cards with different designs were usually produced for each game, usually featuring themed artwork related to that version. These were sold from an automatic dispenser, and a random card was dispensed each time. Other arcades allowed players to choose a specific design, or buy all five together. Even so, only one card could be used at any one time, as each card could hold data for only one player.

Konami also released "special" cards from time to time, usually inside the box of a home version game. The home release of Beatmania IIDX 10th Style contained a special, limited edition magnetic card for the arcade version of Beatmania IIDX 12: Happy Sky.These limited edition e-AMUSEMENT magnetic cards would sometimes offer new features for the players who used them, such as unlocking secret songs.

e-AMUSEMENT Pass

In 2006, Konami replaced the old magnetic card system with the "e-AMUSEMENT Pass", a contactless smartcard. Konami has since upgraded all e-AMUSEMENT arcade games to use this pass. The player now only needs one such card to store data for all e-AMUSEMENT games.

Additionally, the card is protected by a 4-digit PIN

Personal identification number

A personal identification number is a secret numeric password shared between a user and a system that can be used to authenticate the user to the system. Typically, the user is required to provide a non-confidential user identifier or token and a confidential PIN to gain access to the system...

, which must be input into the arcade game before it will start. The e-AMUSEMENT Pass can also be linked to a mobile phone "Konami NetDX" account, allowing players to access their scores and other data on their mobile phone. On some games, customization of the game can also be done through the NetDX system.

In event the e-AMUSEMENT Pass is lost, its existing data can be transferred over to a new pass with the usage of the e-AMUSEMENT website.

e-AMUSEMENT in Beatmania IIDX

Beatmania IIDX

is a series of rhythm video games and the sequel to Beatmania that was first introduced by Konami in Japan on February 26, 1999. IIDX has since spawned over 19 arcade releases and over 13 console releases on the Sony PlayStation 2...

 

Beatmania IIDX is one of the prominent games using the e-AMUSEMENT service. It allows players to register scores and records, use a live Internet ranking system, and unlock new songs.

When registering an e-AMUSEMENT Pass for the first time with a Beatmania IIDX machine, the player is issued a "IIDX ID". The IIDX ID can be used to select other players as rivals and track your progress compared to them.

Users subscribed to the Konami NetDX service can also customize the game UI, by changing the graphics, system music, displayed categories and combo counter.

Beatmania IIDX 9th Style was the first version to use e-AMUSEMENT, and is the only version which allows use of the card readers without a live network connection. All subsequent versions require a direct connection to Konami's e-AMUSEMENT service for the card readers to function. Various attempts have been made to overcome this (mostly by US arcades), but so far no attempt has been successful, and card readers continue to be useless outside of Japan.

Beatmania IIDX 13: DistorteD was the first version to use the new "e-AMUSEMENT Pass", previous versions used the magnetic card system.

e-Amusement in Dance Dance Revolution

Dance Dance Revolution

Dance Dance Revolution, abbreviated DDR, and previously known as Dancing Stage in Europe and Australasia, is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, Dance Dance Revolution is the...

 

DDR SuperNOVA was the first ever DDR title to support the e-Amusement Pass.

e-Amusement is used for a Rival system and for automatic uploading of scores to Internet Ranking. The boss songs Fascination MAXX, Fascination ~eternal love mix~, Healing-D-Vision and CHAOS were unlocked to machines with access to e-Amusement, but e-Amusement functionality was not available in America. However, Fascination ~eternal love mix~ was unlocked on SuperNova in the US with a patch CD which also fixed sync issues. The song Beautiful Life by ARIA and the Nonstop course Back Dancers were also E-Amusement exclusives, only appearing from September to October to promote the release of the film Back Dancers.

Most e-Amusement functionality from SuperNOVA is identical on SuperNOVA 2, and save data from SuperNOVA is retained for SuperNOVA 2. SuperNOVA 2 is also the first Konami game to support e-Amusement outside of Asia, with the first connected unit located at the "Brunswick Bowling and Billiards" location in Naperville, Illinois

Naperville, Illinois

Naperville is a city in DuPage and Will Counties in Illinois in the United States, voted the second best place to live in the United States by Money Magazine in 2006. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 141,853. It is the fifth largest city in the state, behind Chicago,...

.

In DDR X, e-amusement was also used in transmitting EDIT DATA to other machines with an active e-amusement that are frequently played EDIT DATA's by players.

Due to global release of DDR since DDR SuperNOVA, starting from DDR SuperNOVA2, unlock codes can be use in unlocking hidden contents to those game centers that doesn't have e-amusement service in other countries. Currently, DDR is the only KONAMI game that has unlock code feature aside from its e-amusement capabilities.

e-AMUSEMENT in GuitarFreaks

GuitarFreaks

is a music video game series produced by Konami. The player uses a controller to simulate the playing of an electric guitar. The game consists of music predominantly from rock and roll and J-Pop genres, and is now in its 19th version, GuitarFreaks V8, which was released in March 28, 2011...

/DrumMania

DrumMania

is a music video game series produced by Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., where colored notes travel down the screen which correspond with color coded parts of an electronic drum set...

 

GuitarFreaks 10th Mix and DrumMania 9th Mix were the first GF/DM games to support e-Amusement. GuitarFreaks and DrumMania V3 was the first version to use the new "e-AMUSEMENT Pass". The two games support rivals, unlocks, and also allow players to battle against other players over the e-AMUSEMENT network. e-Amusement support was also provided outside of Japan during a location test of an English build of GuitarFreaks and DrumMania V4 at the same Naperville bowling alley e-Amusement made its American debut at with DDR SuperNOVA 2.

e-AMUSEMENT in Otomedius

Otomedius

is a side scrolling shooter by Konami which featured personification of space fighters from various Konami games. The main characters are mostly females, designed by Mine Yoshizaki, with a set of equipment resembling space fighters from side-scroller games by the same company like Gradius,...

 

The use of e-AMUSEMENT will allow Internet Ranking and players will be accumulate special and powerful items as the player increases experience.

e-AMUSEMENT in Pop'n Music

Pop'n Music

, commonly abbreviated as Pop'n, PM or PNM, is a music video game in the Bemani series made by the Konami Corporation. This game is known for its bright colors, upbeat songs, and cartoon character graphics...

 

Pop'n Music uses e-AMUSEMENT extensively throughout the recent releases. Since the release of Pop'n Music 9, unlocks have been exclusively remained available to arcades which subscribe to the e-AMUSEMENT service. It allows players to save scores, unlock new modifiers, songs, and characters, all varying from one card to another.

Pop'n Music 14: Fever was the first version to use the new "e-AMUSEMENT Pass", previous versions used the magnetic card system.

e-AMUSEMENT in Silent Hill: The Arcade

Silent Hill: The Arcade

Silent Hill: The Arcade is an arcade game based on the survival horror video game series Silent Hill developed by Konami. The Arcade was first revealed at the 2007 Japan Arcade Operator's Union trade show by Konami...

 

The use of e-AMUSEMENT will allow Internet Ranking and players will be able to start at stages where they previously cleared, instead of playing the game from scratch.

e-AMUSEMENT in World Soccer Winning Eleven 2008 Arcade

The use of e-AMUSEMENT is much similar to the usage of the magnetic cards in Virtua Striker

Virtua Striker

The Virtua Striker video games are arcade-style soccer games by Sega. Originally developed by Sega AM2, the series moved to Amusement Vision with Virtua Striker 3...

series, allowing players to configure strategies and formations on the move.

External links

• Official e-AMUSEMENT site (In Japanese)
• Full information on registering an e-AMUSEMENT card on Beatmania IIDX can be found.
• http://www.bemanistyle.com/shop/ Scans of e-AMUSEMENT Passes for different machines.