Introduction

On the 27th and the 28th of January 2009, DDRUK had the chance to look around ATEI, a coin-op and amusement trade exhibition, in Earls Court, London. We were lucky to see many new rhythm action games due for release this year, if not already released, all of which turned heads whenever someone had a play. A lot of time and effort had been put in by the companies, to show off their new products, but how did each one fair off.

Konami – Dance Dance Revolution X

Dance Dance Revolution X at the Konami Stand The star attraction at the Konami stand was its brand new Dance Dance Revolution X machine (DDRX for short). Bought straight up from the Bognor Regis test location, which DDRUK were able to review previously, the machine was mostly as expected. Konami have recently changed their distributers to Eurocoin, hopefully in an attempt to reduce the cost of the new DDRX machines, to hopefully bring this to many arcades around the United Kingdom. Rumour has it, through this cost saving exercise, the machine that we saw, based on hardware, will look very similar during its release. The missing “combo counter” light towers are probably a good way to save money to the arcade owner, and the twisting dial removed from the machine. There is a chance, again from rumour, that the light towers may be available as a separate item to arcades, however I wouldn’t hold out hope. Player testing will begin soon, with rumours pointing to the Trocadero as the DDRX’s new home.

Konami – uBeat (Working Title)
uBeat at the Konami Stand Back from its test location within the Trocadero, uBeat has been a hit with the public at the arcades. uBeat as a working title, may still change. There was talk amongst ATEI that there is another game called uBeat out there, which could mean a rename for the button rhythm action game, however time will tell.

Konami – Activision – Guitar Hero Arcade

Guitar Hero Arcade at the Konami Stand New to the UK scene, is Guitar Hero Arcade! Built with Raw Thrills, Activision and Konami join forces in a hope to release the guitar game to the UK general public. The machines on show had specific ATEI software installed on to them, so there could be changes from the US version, however they were not obvious at the time. A quick play of the machine, like many arcades, the volume was rather low, so it was hard to tell if the machine was in sync or not. The new weighted guitars feel more like that of a GuitarFreaks guitar, and they were missing the ever famous wammy bars. Longer songs were listed as “premium” songs, and some of the Guitar Hero fans’ favourite songs were missing.

Andamero – Pump It Up – NX Absolute

Pump It Up NX Absolute complete with Freestyler Almost as you came in the front entrance, to the right, Pump It Up NX Absolute (NXA) stood between Andamero’s King of the Hammer and another Coin pusher. This machine already had been decorated with a sign which shows this machine had already been bought, and will be at the Trocadero, installed this Friday (30th January)! The dedicated cabinet had the usual USB slots working as expected, with a great selection of songs. A worthy competitor for the DDRX machine when it is released.

Andamero – Namco – Pump Jump
Pump Jump! Screen Hidden away on the Namco stand, the kids iteration of Pump It Up was on show. Each of the arrow buttons had been replaced with buttons with symbols on, and on screen too. Noticeably, the bar only came up to our knees, while the machine itself was very small, and the bright bold colours to attract kids to the machine.

Pentavision – DJ MAX Technika

DJ MAX Technika On the far side of ATEI, DJ Max Technika happily sat, music blaring! Pentavision trying to enter into the arcade market, are to introduce a touch screen rhythm action game. This game has recently been bought up in a lawsuit from Konami Korea claiming patent infringement from Konami’s own Beatmania IIDX machine. In all forms, it does feel like a Nintendo DS, except with high grade graphics, an awesome sound system, with vibrating base to stand on, and a durable screen. A quick chat with members of staff available on the stand, we were told that Namco in Korea had taken up a hold on the machine, to try and distribute it. He said that Namco had bought the rights for the machine, but we couldn’t get much more out of him at this point. In the long run, it will be interesting to see how this fends up to uBeat in the future.

Conclusion

All in all this looks like a very promising year for rhythm action games in the UK. A whole handful of releases due, many variations on types and styles, and with a lot of competing products due out in a short space of time, it will be interesting. It was a shame that products were missing from the show, understandably games such as Guitar Freaks and Drum Mania from Konami, down to Pump It Up Pro (although an old release now). Bring on 2009!