e-Amusement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
e-AMUSEMENT is an online service offered worldwide by Konami 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 platforms.
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[edit] 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.
[edit] 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, 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.
[edit] e-AMUSEMENT in Beatmania IIDX
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.
[edit] e-AMUSEMENT in Dance Dance Revolution
DDR SuperNOVA is 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. This means these songs are unavailable to American and European machines other than the Extra/One More Extra Stages. 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 will be retained for SuperNOVA 2. SuperNOVA 2 is also the first game to support e-AMUSEMENT outside of Asia, with the first connected unit located at the "Brunswick Bowling and Billiards" location in Naperville, Illinois.
[edit] e-AMUSEMENT in GuitarFreaks/DrumMania
GuitarFreaks and DrumMania V3 was the first version to use the new "e-AMUSEMENT Pass" Previous GuitarFreaks and DrumMania series used the magnetic card system.
[edit] e-AMUSEMENT in Otomedius
The use of e-AMUSEMENT will allow Internet Ranking and players will be accumulate special and powerful items as the player increases experience.
[edit] e-AMUSEMENT in Pop'n Music
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.
[edit] e-AMUSEMENT in Silent Hill: The Arcade
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.
[edit] 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 Soccer series, allowing players to configure strategies and formations on the move.
[edit] External links
- Official e-AMUSEMENT site (In Japanese)
- Full information on registering an e-AMUSEMENT card on Beatmania IIDX can be found.
- [1] Scans of e-AMUSEMENT Passes for different machines.
