Beatmania - Releases

Releases

The Beatmania series has been released on multiple platforms in addition to its arcade releases. The majority of the games have been featured on the Sony PlayStation and have also been featured on the Nintendo Game Boy Color, and the WonderSwan. The North American Beatmania on the PlayStation 2 also features Beatmania play.

Several key mixes were never ported to home or portable consoles, including Beatmania 7thMix and Beatmania The Final. Also there are many console exclusive songs that were never introduced on the Arcade releases, in mixes such as Gottamix and The Sound Of Tokyo. Many songs were also released on one mix at the arcades but released on another style for the consumer versions. The best example of this was Gottamix 2, which contained consumer exclusive songs in addition to the "Complete Mix 2 Anothers" that were released months earlier as an arcade exclusive.

Arcade releases
The main platform for the series, most other releases were based on certain titles from the arcade series, or featured a selection of songs across several of them.
The following are arranged in the order of their release.
  • Beatmania (December 1997)
  • Beatmania 2ndMix (March 1998)
  • Beatmania 3rdMix (September 1998)
  • Beatmania CompleteMix (January 1999)
  • Beatmania 4thMix -the beat goes on- (April 26, 1999)
  • Beatmania 5thMix -Time to get down- (September 1999)
  • Beatmania complete Mix 2 (January 27, 2000)
  • Beatmania Club Mix (March 2000)
  • Beatmania featuring Dreams Come True (June 2000)
  • Beatmania Core Remix (November 2000)
  • Beatmania 6thMix - The UK Underground Musics- (July 2001)
  • Beatmania 7thMix - Keepin' Evolution- (January 2002)
  • Beatmania The Final (July 2002)
Korean arcade releases
Korean local releases(licensed by Unico Electronics Co. Ltd(former name of Uniana)) were removed Japanese vocal songs because of Korean law in that era.
  • Beatstage (1998): Logo is a variation of Beatmania, but is actually 2ndMix. tokai(Japanese HipHop) is not available in this version.
  • Beatstage 3rdMix (1999): Believe Again "Hyper Mega Mix"(J-Dance Pop) and Luv to me(Eurobeat) are the English versions from Complete Mix. Believe Again(80's J-Pop) and Find Out(Soul) are not available in this version.
  • Beatstage CompleteMix (1999): tokai/ Find Out/ Believe Again "Hyper Mega Mix"(Japanese Version)/ Luv to me(Japanese Version) are not available in this version.
  • Beatstage 4thMix -the beat goes on- (1999): No removed songs in this version.
  • Beatstage 5thMix -Time to get down- (1999? 2000?): Gauge method is different from Beatmania 5thMix. It is similar to the HARD gauge in the beatmania IIDX series. Added Hi-speed 2/3(from completeMix2), and TOTAL RECALL/KAKATTEKONKAI are not available in this version.
North American arcade releases
Konami released two Beatmania games in North America under the name HipHopMania.
  • HipHopMania complete Mix (1999): Includes all songs from the Japanese cabinet Beatmania complete Mix.
  • HipHopMania complete Mix 2 (2000): Includes almost all songs from the Japanese cabinet Beatmania complete Mix 2. (Removed 10 songs)

Console releases

PlayStation:
The PlayStation releases were only available for Japan apart from one which was created especially for the European market . The first game acted as a key disc, which is required to play the subsequent releases through disc changing, and were called append discs. Special hidden songs could be accessed for certain append discs if the discs were changed through a specific order.
  • Beatmania (October 1, 1998): The console release of the arcade 2ndMix. Acts as a key disc.
  • Beatmania Append Yebisu Mix: Append disc included with the release of beatmania containing all new songs. Features the debut of the popular Bemani artist Sanae Shintani.
  • Beatmania Append 3rdMix (December 23, 1998): The first stand alone append disc to be sold. Features various, but not all, new songs from the arcade 3rdMix in addition to console original tracks. The Expert Mode from the arcade version was notably excluded.
  • Beatmania Append 3rdMix Mini: Append disc included with the 3rdMix soundtrack. Features 5 new songs from the arcade 3rdMix.
  • Beatmania Append GottaMix (May 27, 1999): The second stand alone append disc release. Features 19 songs made by KCEJ unique to the PlayStation console and three songs from 4thMix that served as a preview.
  • Beatmania Append 4thMix (September 9, 1999): Append disc complete port of the arcade 4thMix. All new songs from the arcade 4thMix were included in addition to new console tracks. The Bonus Edit mode can be accessed if the discs are swapped in the order of 3rdMix, then GottaMix, then 4thMix. The Bonus Edit mode adds songs from 3rdMix that were excluded from the previous console port.
  • Beatmania Append 5thMIX (March 2, 2000): Append disc port of the arcade 5thMix. All new songs from the arcade were included with no new console tracks.
  • Beatmania Best Hits (July 27, 2000):First console release to drop the append disc format. It could act as a key disc and access the append releases. Includes songs from the first Beatmania up to 5thMix and GottaMix, chosen through fan votes on the internet.
  • Beatmania featuring Dreams Come True (July 27, 2000): Key disc release of the arcade version of the same name. Features music of the J-Pop duo Dreams Come True. The difficulty is notably lower than most other previous games.
  • Beatmania Append GOTTAMIX 2 - Going Global (September 7, 2000): The official follow up release to GottaMix, again, featuring all new songs exclusive to the console. The tracks were themed around music from around the world.
  • Beatmania Append ClubMix (December 21, 2000): Append disc complete port of the arcade ClubMIX. Only one new secret console exclusive track was added. The Bonus Edit mode included tracks from the arcade completeMIX2 with rearranged button sequences.
  • Beatmania The Sound of Tokyo (March 29, 2001): PlayStation exclusive key disc release. Produced by famous Japanese musician Konishi Yasuharu. The difficulty of songs were indicated with the number of passengers on a plane. The songs cover a wide spectrum of skill levels that suit from beginners to experts.
  • Beatmania 6thMix + Core Remix (January 26, 2002): Key disc release and the only coupled release. As the name implies, new songs from the arcade 6thMix and Core Remix are included. Both the Left Hand Strach Mode and the Original Expert Course Mode were carried over from the console beatmania IIDX series.
  • Beatmania (Europe) (June 2000): The European version of beatmania included licensed songs from Moloko, Skank, Les Rhythmes Digitales, and more. Also included are classic beatmania tracks from various mixes. The European licenses are also featured in GottaMix 2.
Game Boy Color
Three games were released for the Game Boy color exclusively in Japan. The first two were backwards compatible with the classic Game Boy.
  • Beatmania GB (March 11, 1999): Features 10 songs selected from 2ndMix, 3rdMix and Yebisu Mix. Another 10 original songs complete the music list. The game was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Kobe.
  • Beatmania GB 2 GatchaMix (November 25, 1999): Features 5 songs selected from GottaMix. Songs from famous artists such as the Yellow Magic Orchestra, Morning Musume, SMAP, Utada Hikaru in addition to animations songs like Mobile Suit Gundam Starship Girl Yamamoto Yohko make up 20 tracks. Hideo Kojima is listed as one of the producers and the title was developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan.
  • Beatmania GB GatchaMix2 (September 28, 2000): A Game Boy Color exclusive game, it follows the format of the previous GatchaMix with console tracks from the PlayStation and other popular licensed songs from real life artists. This release also had 25 tracks in total. GatchaMix2 was previously to be Beatmania GB Net Jam, with the tracks available for download through the Mobile System GB in Japan.
Wonderswan
  • Beatmania for Wonderswan (April 28, 1999): The only Beatmania title for the Wonderswan, and also the only title released on the system from Konami. It featured 11 songs from the arcade 3rdMix. Because of the better sound processing capabilities for the system, the tracks closely resembled their arcade counterparts. It made use of the vertical orientation on the system to better mimic the arcade screen format. A snap on mini turntable was bundled with the game. Also worth noting is that on some advertisement material, the game was referred to as vol.1 of a series, hinting that Konami had positive expectations in its sales and planned subsequent releases. It was sold around the same period as Beatmania GB.
Bemani Pocket
The Bemani Pocket line were portable gaming devices with a monochrome LCD screen, each featuring a :number of songs in a specific theme. As with most other Bemani releases, they were sold only in Japan.
  • Beatmania Pocket: The only version to feature a body that mimicked the arcade cabinet.
  • Beatmania Pocket2: The first release to feature a smoother design that was used with all subsequent releases.
  • Beatmania Pocket -SummerMix-
  • Beatmania Pocket -AnimeSong Mix1-: A selection of songs from titles by Go Nagai. The body had the color scheme of Mazinger Z.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Tokimeki Memorial Edition-: Songs from the dating sim Tokimeki Memorial.
  • Beatmania Pocket Skeleton: A special release of SummerMIX with a clear body given away as a prize. 5000 units were given away.
  • Beatmania Pocket -AnimeSong Mix2- Features songs from titles by Shotaro Ishinomori.
  • Beatmania Pocket 2000: The internal hardware was updated to improve sound quality, and was kept for all subsequent releases.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Enjoy Georgia Signature-: A special edition for the Georgia Signature novelty goods stores of Japan. It was included inside a gift package for their Millennium Campaign.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Hello Kitty Edition-: Hello Kitty's face is molded on the scratch disc part.
  • Beatmania Pocket -AnimeSong Mix3-: A selection of songs from titles by Leiji Matsumoto.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Tigers version: A special edition for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team of Japan featuring cheer songs for the team.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Kawaii! version-: A collaborated release with the teenage girls' magazine Kawaii!.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Tokimeki Memorial 2 edition: Songs from the dating sim Tokimeki Memorial 2.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Love Stories-: A selection of love songs from various artists.
  • Beatmania Pocket -KonaMix-: Various songs from classic Konami games.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Best Hits 2000-: Popular songs from various artists from the year 2000.
  • Beatmania Pocket -Tigers Version2: A special edition for the Hanshin Tigers baseball team of Japan featuring cheer songs for the team. New songs were not added, but a new play-mode was.

Read more about this topic:  Beatmania

Famous quotes containing the word releases:

    We need a type of theatre which not only releases the feelings, insights and impulses possible within the particular historical field of human relations in which the action takes place, but employs and encourages those thoughts and feelings which help transform the field itself.
    Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956)