DJ MAX FEVER (DJ MAX Portable US): out now! Get it while Konami lets you.

cj iwakura

For the unfamiliar, DJ MAX is a two-game portable rhythm game that plays with the directional and face buttons. Similar to Beatmania, but not nearly as stupidly difficult.



The music was mostly done in Korea, but it's almost all in English(and so were the import games).

The second game also had a ton of bonus content, with experience gained from passing songs, unlockable avatars and note skins, hidden tracks, all kinds of stuff.

The recently unveiled songlist seems to be a mix from the first two DJ MAX Portable games

1. A.I
2. Whisper to the wind
3. Luv Flow
4. Blythe
5. On
6. Brand New days
7. Bye Bye Love
8. Cherokee
9. Chain of Gravity
10. Divine Service
11. End of the Moonlight
12. Fallen Angel
13. For Seasons
14. Get on Top
15. Goodbye
16. Higher
17. Extreme Z4
18. Lady made Star
19. NB POWER
20. FTR
21. Mess it Up
22. Miles
23. Your Own miracle
24. Jupiter Driving
25. Rock or Die
26. piano concerto 1
27. NB RANGER
28. NB RANGER : Returns
29. Fear
30. OBLIVION
31. Out Law
32. Catch me
33. KUDA
34. Plastic method
35. Sunny Side
36. Brain Storm
37. Wonder Love
38. Seeker
39. Syriana
40. So Much in Luv
41. SQUEEZE
42. Sunset Rider
43. Long Vacation
44. Starfish
45. Stay with me
46. taekownburi
47. Whiteblue
48. Save my Dream
49. Yo Creo Que Si
50. Ray of Illuminati
51. Enemy Storm
52. Never Say
53. morning person
54. Let¡¯s Go baby
55. Elastic Star
56. Memory of beach
57. Hamsin
58. Sin
59. JBG
60. hip hop rescue

In the meantime, there was another import release recently; the Clazziquai edition.



This was the result of a collaboration with a Korean techno group, and caters more towards DJ MAX 'casual' players. There's also another version called Black Square which is designed to be far more difficult.

http://www.djmax.co.kr/blacksquare/

The official website has a good amount of music previews, a lot of which sound awesome.




Trailer

I figure it's best to wait and see what Fever offers before pursuing either, but hey, they're there.

Clazziquai Trailer

DusT_HounD

I hear you- for example, even though the songs in Elite Beat Agents weren't that bad, i always wish they'd just given us straight-up Ouendan. Hope that the same doesn't happen here...

Silas Brown

I've never heard of this, but it sounds sweet. As long as they keep to good music, it'll be a sure thing for me. I love good asian rhythm games with techno themes.

Inzigna

The differences between the 'beta' cover and the 'real' cover is shocking.

Really shocking.

maximumzero

I remember downloading the demo a year or two ago and it being impossible.

And impossible games aren't really fun.

Lunker

maximumzero wrote: »

I remember downloading the demo a year or two ago and it being impossible.

And impossible games aren't really fun.

If you thought Sunset Rider on 5-buttons was impossible, then yeah, this isn't the game for you. On a scale of 1-10 in terms of difficulty, that was about a 2. You can choose between 4, 5, 6 and (eventually) 8 buttons, and each song is rated for difficulty, but it's still a pretty merciless game.

The report says the songs are a blend of DJMP 1 and 2, so at least the setlist should be golden. I'm a little torn, since I own 2 but never bought 1. If there's not enough unique content outside of those two games, I might just import the first one—especially since you can use the Link Disc feature to actually play all the DJMP1 songs in the DJMP2 engine.

But this is a great way for import-shy PSP owners to grab the game. It's arguably the best portable rhythm game ever (not better or worse, just different than Ouendan/EBA). The hook is that it's a traditional Beatmania/DDR/PIU style rhythm game, but on top there's a Korean MMO–style experience system, so as you play, you earn Experience and Gold, both of which can unlock additional songs, OSTs (for listening outside of playing), characters with different stats, notes and gears (the game background), etc. It's terribly addicting.

EDIT: I can't find very good gameplay vids of my favorite songs, but the soundtrack is pretty eclectic; mostly electronica/trance-y, but there are some straight rock tunes, some hip-hop, some terrible anime K-pop, jazz, d 'n b—it's all over the map. Here's a vid with two of my favorite songs, AI and Blythe (the third is Oblivion, but I'm not a big fan of it):

AI + Blythe + Oblivion

Asamof the Horrible

I wonder if they'll have the fever button, or an option to turn it off. The fever button is dumb.

But yeah, this is one of my favorite rhythm games (next to the ouendan series). The only thing that was kind of meh with me was not being able to play the high difficulty levels and not looking like a crazy retard in public! Really intense shit right there

XiaNaphryz

Dunno if this is gonna be worth picking up if you already own the first two. I suspect they'll probably be reusing a lot of the original games tracks, the question will be what they do with all the Korean ones - english dubs, or new english tracks to replace them? That decision will likely determine a lot of people's purchase decisions.

But the bigger news IMO is the newly announced DJ Max Metro:

http://ruliweb.empas.com/data/rulinews/read.htm?num=16311
http://ruliweb.empas.com/data/rulinews/read.htm?num=16312

Really hope this gets a PSP port!

Anyhoo, some of my own favorite tracks:

Oblivion, 6B mode
Brand New Days, 6B mode
Sunny Side, Hard Mode, 7 key mode (PC version)
Blythe, 6B mode, invisible gear

Asamof the Horrible wrote: »

I wonder if they'll have the fever button, or an option to turn it off. The fever button is dumb.

I don't mind the Fever button at all. Of course, I typically play at least at a 2x speed multiplier, so the Fever mode doesn't really speed anything up until I hit a triple Fever multi at least.

cj iwakura

Lunker wrote: »

The report says the songs are a blend of DJMP 1 and 2, so at least the setlist should be golden. I'm a little torn, since I own 2 but never bought 1. If there's not enough unique content outside of those two games, I might just import the first one—especially since you can use the Link Disc feature to actually play all the DJMP1 songs in the DJMP2 engine.

Same here, but I really want 1, because it has some incredible songs that aren't in 2, namely Oblivion -Rockin' Night Style-, which is awesome.

Oblivion: Rockin' Night Style 6B

Of course, the original Oblivion's the reason I bought 2, so that's a system seller for me right there.

And they'll probably leave the Korean songs untouched. Mastiff did that with Pump It Up: Exceed, and added some awesome songs to it, but it also crashed and burned in terms of sales, so...
(It also had awful marketing)

XiaNaphryz

cj iwakura wrote: »

Lunker wrote: »

The report says the songs are a blend of DJMP 1 and 2, so at least the setlist should be golden. I'm a little torn, since I own 2 but never bought 1. If there's not enough unique content outside of those two games, I might just import the first one—especially since you can use the Link Disc feature to actually play all the DJMP1 songs in the DJMP2 engine.

Same here, but I really want 1, because it has some incredible songs that aren't in 2, namely Oblivion -Rockin' Night Style-, which is awesome.

Oblivion: Rockin' Night Style 6B

Of course, the original Oblivion's the reason I bought 2, so that's a system seller for me right there.

And they'll probably leave the Korean songs untouched. Mastiff did that with Pump It Up: Exceed, and added some awesome songs to it, but it also crashed and burned in terms of sales, so...
(It also had awful marketing)

Why not just pick up the 1st game then? That way, you can also play the 1st game's songs in the 2nd game to unlock more stuff. I've seen it on Play-Asia recently, though it seems to be sold out at the moment.

cj iwakura

I was able to get the second for $19.99 from a seller, and I'm reluctant to pay twice that for the first game in the series.

XiaNaphryz

cj iwakura wrote: »

I was able to get the second for $19.99 from a seller, and I'm reluctant to pay twice that for the first game in the series.

I suppose you have your reasons. Myself, I picked up the LEs for both games when they came out.

Lunker

cj iwakura wrote: »

I was able to get the second for $19.99 from a seller, and I'm reluctant to pay twice that for the first game in the series.

That was a stellar deal; I've never seen either DJMP for anything below $40. But I wouldn't bet on this domestic release being anything less than $40 either, so it's going to be pricey regardless.

Airan

That cover is terribad.

I hope they remove that save file lock function from DMP2. That was bullshit.

Lunker

Airan wrote: »

That cover is terribad.

I hope they remove that save file lock function from DMP2. That was bullshit.

A part of me died inside when I realized I couldn't bring my save over to my Slim. I still haven't worked my way back to up how high I was before (I think mid-50s).

Asamof the Horrible wrote:

I wonder if they'll have the fever button, or an option to turn it off. The fever button is dumb.

But yeah, this is one of my favorite rhythm games (next to the ouendan series). The only thing that was kind of meh with me was not being able to play the high difficulty levels and not looking like a crazy retard in public! Really intense shit right there

I love Fever, though I've never played the first one so I don't know anything without Fever. Once you get the Ruby gear that gives you crazy Fever bonuses, for most songs I was screaming along at 4x or 5x Fever all the time.

And I wasn't really worried about looking like a crazy retard in public; I was more worried about looking like a pedophile in public. Goddamn, some of the background videos are terrifying. I would throw myself into 5x Fever just to get rid of the videos while I was playing on the bus, for fear of the guy sitting next to me calling up Chris Hansen.

projectmayhem

Ok wait a second. Is this game out in any form in america? If so I am buying it.

sethsez

Nope, but remember the PSP is region free, and 2 is completely in english.

maximumzero wrote: »

I remember downloading the demo a year or two ago and it being impossible.

And impossible games aren't really fun.

I thought that too. Then I practiced.

I can do Sunset Rider in my sleep these days.

Nalouto

yeah, 2 in Japan has the select language option as soon as you turn it on. (JP/ ENGLISH / KOREAN)

great game, very happy that the NA region gets a shot at it.

and wait, you can level up in DJMax 2? explain this to me.. I swear I played it a bunch and never noticed any modes with avatars and the like...

sethsez

Nalouto wrote: »

yeah, 2 in Japan has the select language option as soon as you turn it on. (JP/ ENGLISH / KOREAN)

great game, very happy that the NA region gets a shot at it.

and wait, you can level up in DJMax 2? explain this to me.. I swear I played it a bunch and never noticed any modes with avatars and the like...

Press a shoulder button (can't remember which, maybe either works) on the music select screen.

Also I forgot to say that I audibly yelped when I saw this news. This is probably my most played series of the past three years or so, I've put an obscene amount of time into it, and for a while it looked like it was dead. It's nice to see that it's not only continuing, but actually moving up in the world and going arcade/international (yes, I know there was an international version of DMP1 but it doesn't really count).

projectmayhem

Where can I order it at? I've never imported before or anything of the like.

Lunker

Nalouto wrote: »

yeah, 2 in Japan has the select language option as soon as you turn it on. (JP/ ENGLISH / KOREAN)

great game, very happy that the NA region gets a shot at it.

and wait, you can level up in DJMax 2? explain this to me.. I swear I played it a bunch and never noticed any modes with avatars and the like...

Oh yeah, it's all there. You never wondered about the experience and gold bonuses at the end of each song? Click R and you'll be able to scroll through characters, notes and gear (the machine you actually play on). It's like equipment in an RPG; each item has different characteritics and changes the way you play. So characters with "AUTO +1" or "AUTO +2" mean that you can miss the defined number of notes and the game will automatically hit it for you (with a 1% hit), so you won't break your streak. Things like "Fever+" boost the amount your Fever meter goes up with each successful hit, and "Life+" (I forget exactly what it's called) extends or decreases your life meter. You can also get different shaped notes that affect the amount of Experience and Gold you can pick up per song.

projectmayhem wrote:

Where can I order it at? I've never imported before or anything of the like.

Import sites like Play-Asia or Yesasia usually have either game for $40 to $50. I've ordered from both and haven't had any problems; PA even takes Paypal if you have it, and $5 off $50 coupons are fairly plentiful.

XiaNaphryz

Lunker wrote: »

Nalouto wrote: »

yeah, 2 in Japan has the select language option as soon as you turn it on. (JP/ ENGLISH / KOREAN)

great game, very happy that the NA region gets a shot at it.

and wait, you can level up in DJMax 2? explain this to me.. I swear I played it a bunch and never noticed any modes with avatars and the like...

Oh yeah, it's all there. You never wondered about the experience and gold bonuses at the end of each song? Click R and you'll be able to scroll through characters, notes and gear (the machine you actually play on). It's like equipment in an RPG; each item has different characteritics and changes the way you play. So characters with "AUTO +1" or "AUTO +2" mean that you can miss the defined number of notes and the game will automatically hit it for you (with a 1% hit), so you won't break your streak. Things like "Fever+" boost the amount your Fever meter goes up with each successful hit, and "Life+" (I forget exactly what it's called) extends or decreases your life meter. You can also get different shaped notes that affect the amount of Experience and Gold you can pick up per song.

Also note that some unlockable depend on the first game's songs - there's a mode in the second game where you can swap the UMD out with the original game and play those older tracks with the second game.

cj iwakura

I think this effort is awesome enough to deserve some attention.

Remember the awful beta cover shown above?

A graphic designer is going out of his way to make it not suck.



Talk about going above and beyond. He says he plans on contacting PM Studios to reconsider the design, and maybe even work together with them on making it look decent.

I think the beta image needs work, but it's miles above the hack effort the publishers came up with.

He's asking for input, so if you want DJ MAX US to not get doomed to obscurity(which is probably a given, regardless), this might be a good start.

cj iwakura

Because there's not nearly enough hype for this, here's some new info.

Bemanistyle exclusive interview with the Fever devs.


Or if you want the tl;dr version:

Bemanistyle: First off, thanks for taking the time to answer a portion of the entire site's endless list of questions. Can you introduce yourself and how you are involved with DJ Max Fever?

Group: Hello Bemanistyle! Thank you very much for your support and contributions to the release of DJ Max Fever. Michael Yum is the Executive Producer for PM Studios; Ki In Kim is the Game Director for DJ Max Fever; Kalos Kim is the Project Manager.

BMS: Of course the number one request for the interview was examples of content exclusive to Fever. Understandably, the majority of the people on Bemanistyle interested in Fever already own an imported DJ Max Portable title. What kinds of exclusive content are being added to please those who already own DJ Max Portable 1 and 2?

Mike: This is a great question. One of our biggest concerns for Fever was the importing factor. To really make Fever stand out, I told Pentavision that we would need to put in exclusive songs not featured in Portable 2. So we decided to add a lot of the songs that were removed from Portable (1) and add new songs that weren’t in either version. At this point, I can tell you that we did create brand new songs but I cannot disclose how many. We are also going to do different things with our ranking system. We will be giving out prizes to the top players. We will also throw tournaments where players can win very exclusive prizes such as the limited edition [version of the game] signed. Perhaps Bemanistyle can host such a tournament for us in the near future.

BMS: You've already stated that Fever is being made with fans of the series in mind. Will you also be trying to reach out to new players and how do you plan on catering to them? The game is admittedly a tad difficult for beginner players so how is this being remedied for the "less seasoned" U.S. audience?

Kalos: We really wanted to keep the difficulty level the same for the fans. But to make the game easier for the new players, what we did was make the game's difficulty start on Easy [by default]. The players can change this anytime they want.

Ki In: The new songs also helped us balance the game out so there are easier and harder songs. We also lowered the price on some [in-game] items so you can use different gears for better upgrades.

BMS: The videos and artwork featured in the game are marvelous. What is the process involved to get the game's videos and artwork to match along with the theme of a song?

Ki In: Thank you so much. We design each artwork first and then create a soundtrack so it enhances and compliments the artwork. If we design the soundtrack first, then we do it vice versa.

BMS: While we're breathing a heavy sigh of relief the initial box art provided won't be seen at retail, a lot of our users are still a tad worried (one of our users even went as far as to create a mock-up of their own to potentially submit to the company). Are there any updates on the art? Along with packaging, has there been any sort of market research or surveys of players to determine what the most appropriate packaging, song genres, etc., would be for Fever?

Mike: Yeah we did get a lot of slack on that box art for Fever. Just to let you know, we are not using that art at all and the final package will not look anything like that. PM Studios and Pentavision is hard at work trying to collaborate on an East meets West style packaging. From what we have heard, the fans really want us to keep the Korean style of art, while the retailers are asking us to make it like Guitar Hero. Something that displays the game play and concept, but minus the characters. To please everyone, we do have a couple surprises for the packaging. We are currently looking into a double-sided coversheet. The only thing we have heard about the music [with feedback], is that everyone wants us to keep the original soundtrack.

BMS: Is there going to be a limited edition package made available similar to the Prestige/Orpheus editions released overseas? If not, where can avid DJ Max players go to demand one? Are there any current estimates as to a suggested retail price for the title? We've also got fans from Europe wondering if they might see a release of the title as well ...

Mike: We are currently working on the limited edition package. Being a new publisher, it is very hard for us to get commitments from retailers on the limited edition. By the end of the day, if we cannot get any commitments, we plan on selling the package through our website - www.pm-games.com. We cannot disclose the retail price at the moment because we are still trying to deal with the retailers. As for the Europe version, yes, we are working on it vigorously to make it happen very soon.

BMS: Are the save files still going to be locked to one indivdual PSP system? A lot of our users would like to know the reasoning behind this feature in the Korean version. Also, while the extent of time and skill required to unlock all of the game's material gives it a lot of replayability, not everyone is able to unlock everything in the game. Are there plans to ease up on the unlocks or have an alternate unlock system for Fever?

Kalos: We did mention earlier that the unlockables will be much easier this time. We balanced the game out so players can unlock them at a much faster pace. We are also adding new things like Level 99 for Easy Mode. As for the save file, we decided to make it locked to a system because we wanted players to gain skills by playing the game. Plus the profile is something we wanted to make exquisite. If we had a memory sharing function, then players can post up other player’s scores in the rankings.

BMS: Will the title feature any wireless modes such as ad hoc multiplayer, multiplayer over a network, game sharing, downloadable content, etc.?

Ki In: The game will have an ad-hoc multiplayer mode, and downloadable content is something we are planning right now.

BMS: Obviously, with the game's fanbase, the DJ Max games have a number of songs enjoyed by a myriad of U.S. players. What has been the artists' response to the fact their music will now have U.S. exposure?

Mike: They are very excited. Not just the musicians, but the artists, designers, programmers, etc., are all excited to see this game come to the U.S. The success of Fever in the U.S. market can determine what will happen to the series in the coming years.

BMS: Is the game being published in the U.S. with a future in mind? A lot of our members want to know the possibilities are of seeing sequels and conversions of entries to the Metro series. Also, what are Pentavision's thoughts on possibly working on systems such as the Nintendo DS, Xbox 360 or Playstation 3?

Mike: PM Studios has developed an excellent relationship with Pentavision right now. Both of us are looking at what the future holds for us. I really wish we could tell you everything but we have to make sure the timing is correct to release this information. We should be making a new announcement very soon though.

BMS: You mentioned in the interview with Siliconera that PM Studios started with the intention of doing iPhone development. Recently Pentavision has started testing the arcade version of DJ MAX Technika, which would lend itself to an iPhone or Nintendo DS version very well based on early videos. Is this something that PM Studios or Pentavision may consider for the future?

Mike: We are currently looking into all of the consoles and seeing what works best for each title.

BMS: Thanks again for taking the time out of your schedule to answer all of our questions. We wish you luck on the release of DJ Max Fever and future releases.

Everyone: Thank you Bemanistyle, the readers, and fans! We really hope you enjoy the game and we look forward to seeing your scores in the rankings! Thank you all again for your continued support!

While the video has already been posted on the site with the game's announcement, PM Studios and Pentavision has provided us with our own file for the DJ Max Technika arcade release, which can be viewed any time you please on the Bemanistyledotcom YouTube channel. Those involved with DJ Max will be updating us on Fever as well as other releases for the series, so we'll keep you informed about Black Square, Clazziquai Edition, Technika and more as the info is made available.

And in more recent news, the devs have confirmed that Fever will have exclusive Kpop tracks.
(This is a good thing for DJ MAX vets, as Kpop can be pretty awesome.)

The first officially-announced DJ Max Fever secret song is revealed to be "Hip Hop Rescue" by Korean hip hop pioneer Hyun Do Lee. Yum indicated this song is currently exclusive to Fever and has not and will not be featured in any other installments of the series. Hyun Do Lee is one of the founding members of the group Deux, which introduced the hip hop style of music and dance to the Korean culture. Even up to today, he has produced some of Korea's top songs and talents including Mighty Mouth, Rain, Baby Vox and Hyori Lee.

"Mr. Hyun Do Lee is a very close friend of mine," said Michael Yum. "When DJ Max players mentioned that they were interested in trying licensed music, I approached Hyun Do about a collaboration and he immediately gave interest into the project. His sound team worked closely with Pentavision's sound engineers and we chose the perfect song that would work with the DJ Max engine."

"I am personally very excited and honored about Hip Hop Rescue," Yum continued. "We worked on this project for months now and the song is very fun to play. We are very excited to finally make this secret announcement and hope everyone enjoys it."

Yum was kind enough to also include three variations of the promotional posters being used to recognize Hyun Do Lee's inclusion in DJ Max Fever. You can view them in the attached photos.

Lee Hyun Do and Baby VOX? Sold.

Not even the original DJ MAXs had licensed Kpop, just original compositions.

cj iwakura

We have new cover art, and it does not suck.


I approve.

cheez

Very nice cover.

Haven't cared much for the hip-hop offerings in Max 1 and 2, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what other new tracks we get.

Airan

Sexy.

That works both on art quality and being able to tell the potential buyer what kind of game it is (which is where the 2nd mockup failed imo). Though why in god's name do they feel the need to shove as many words into a title as possible? DJ MAX FEVER would've sufficed

scootch

ooh, sexy cover.

geestack

I'm buying this game so hard when it hits

maximumzero

Wait, what did the old cover look like?

cj iwakura

It's in the OP.

It's the stuff of nightmares.

maximumzero

That's not so bad. I don't like the color scheme but otherwise it's not horrible.

cj iwakura

In case it wasn't known yet, PM Studios said a few weeks back that they're delaying DJ MAX Fever until early '09 to give it some extra polish so it has more improvements over DJ MAX Portable/2.


On the bright side, since there's no sense making another thread, may as well mention that there was another import release recently; the Clazziquai edition.



As I understand it, this was a collaboration with a Korean techno group, and caters more towards DJ MAX 'casual' players.

Also, they went to lengths to make the new videos more 'full motion', so they seem to have higher production values now.

Hopefully the improvements make it to Fever.

Clazziquai Trailer

First Kiss - 4b Gameplay

Supersonic - 4b

Maybe the songs will too, since they look fun.

They're also working on a Black Square import for the expert players, but it's probably best to wait for Fever's release to see what that offers first.

cj iwakura

Rise, grave, etc.

New Interview with Michael Yum of PM Studios, c/o The Escapist

Michael Yum of PM Studios knows that he and his Korean colleagues at Pentavision are facing an uphill battle in the west, but they've also got every reason to remain optimistic. The rhythm genre, while finally hitting its retail ceiling, is still red-hot and its anyone's guess as to what the next, big hit will be. In Korea, it's already occurred as the humble DJ Max Portable series of PSP rhythm titles have garnered a huge following in a short space of time. Armed with both an arcade release in DJ Max Technika and the highly anticipated US arrival of DJ Max Fever, Yum hopes that the word-of-mouth campaign that made DJ Max an import success will continue to fuel their advances in the western world. We caught up with Mr. Yum on the campus of UCLA, where DJ Max Technika's was facing a public test.

***

The Escapist: Unless you're living in California or Texas, the arcade scene tends to be non-existent here in the United States, so the question on the mind of your average gamer is, "Why put so much effort into a US release of an arcade game?"

Michael Yum: Well, I suppose it's pretty much for the fans. We also want to help in the revitalization of arcades. Companies like Capcom, Konami and Activision, they're all trying really hard at the moment and so we don't see each other as competition in this market. Obviously, it's a different story when it comes to consoles. In the arcades though, we all want to help each other make the games successful here, so we hope to help revitalize arcades and bring a lot of new console games over here in the process. That's why we decided to go all out and include the network leader boards, a new interface like the Nintendo DS that's all touch-screen and for a game that looks very appealing to casual players, but it has all the elements hardcore gamers are looking for.

I know it's pretty much a dying market, but when Designer Park came up with the idea for Technika, we couldn't bring it out for any other system. With the Nintendo DS, the screen is very small and it doesn't have multi-touch capabilities, so this is pretty much it.

TE: Has that become a problem? Or was Technika developed with the thought of, "Well, this is just going to remain in the arcades."

MY: Yes, exactly, we started developing DJ Max Technika even before the iPhone really took off. We didn't even think about Nintendo DS. There's a lot of piracy in Korea, especially for the Nintendo DS. Sure, it's bad with the PlayStation Portable as well, but not nearly as so on the DS. In Korea, a lot of the hardcore gamers have the PSP, but there are also lots of people buying them to watch movies on the subway, or television using the TV tuner, stuff like that. But with the DS, even the most casual users are buying these R4 chips and bootleg games.

There is a possible port of DJ Max Technika coming in the future though. We're currently developing a title for the Nintendo DS and experimenting with the iPhone as a possible device. Should everything work out then we could have a universal ranking system for Technika. Maybe some players will want to play it in the arcades because they can pull off the chains better than on their DS, stuff like that. We still have a lot of work to do on figuring it all out as with the Nintendo DS, it only allows for one touch at a time. The screen is also very small and everyone is worried about how the graphics will turn out. We don't want to dumb down the game or anything like that, so we've got some work ahead of us.

TE: Where did the original idea for a touch-screen DJ Max begin?

MY: We began working on a DJ Max arcade game and we experimented with a few different ideas. We had the classic DJ Max Portable style game with the buttons and everything. We had another game called Project AM that was less interactive than Technika, but it was geared towards a more casual audience. Director Park at Pentavision had an idea for a touch-screen game and the producer, ponGlow, wanted to see what he was thinking and so it allowed him to create a prototype of what would become DJ Max Technika.

Everybody at Pentavision fell in love with it, so they invited us at PM Studios to come see and we were floored. We thought, "Oh wow, this is amazing. Let's hurry up and do this." Everything happened very fast after that. All it took was one idea and the game was green-lit right there.

TE: What is that relationship like between Pentavision and PM Studios?

MY: We were interested in bringing DJ Max Portable and DJ Max Portable 2 and all their other games over to the US, and when we talked to them we said that we'd like to introduce the game to the States and give it to them from the beginning, but we don't want to charge them the full price. So what we decided upon was to make it a hybrid, best-of version called DJ Max Fever, but we also recognized that people wanted extra features. Since the game was so heavily imported to the United States, we wanted to add new content as well, so right before we were about to release DJ Max Fever we found ourselves with new songs.

In Korea, Pentavision has been working on the sequel to Portable 2 called DJ Max Black Square. So we said, let's just give them something new by adding the Black Square engine to Fever. No one really knows what that is [laughs], so I'll just tell you a little bit about Black Square. It features a new, green note that allows players to control the background music. So not only can you play the beats, but you can change the background music as well. It also features a new freestyle mode where you can push any button to match the beat, but it gets harder as you go along because you have to play with a lot of different combinations or your points will go down. We decided it was best to delay the release of DJ Max Fever until January to add all of this.

We've really enjoyed working together on everything we've done so far, so we've decided to collaborate on everything we do. We want to bring everything that Pentavision makes in Korea to everywhere around the globe, including the United States and Europe ... so expect to see a lot of European announcements coming very soon from us and a lot more games that we haven't even talked about yet. We're holding on to our secrets until the new year, though. We've been very happy to work together and from the looks of it, we may become one company.

TE: How has it been trying to sell US retailers on DJ Max Fever?

MY: Really, really hard [laughs].

TE: Is that right? I would have thought it might have been easier now than say, back when the original DJ Max Portable came out in 2006, now that Guitar Hero and Rock Band have paved the way for a broad acceptance of rhythm games.

MY: Oh, they have, but the retailers are just wary of PlayStation Portable software. It's not that Sony is not promoting the PSP enough, it's actually the retailers. The Nintendo DS has had a huge boom and they're still riding it, so retailers aren't giving anybody else a chance and are cutting down on PSP. We're a new publisher as well, so it's been really hard. But we've gotten all the major retailers to commit to DJ Max Fever, thanks to everybody, the fans, the good press ... it all really helped and so the demand for the game is clearly there.

TE: Has Sony offered any kind of support for the release of DJ Max Fever?

MY: It's funny that you mention it because just earlier this week, Sony offered us full support for the title. They want to push specific games that they see as key titles and so you know how they have that giant PSP in New York City? They say they're going to help us get our trailer over on that huge screen. They also want to put our game on the billboards and in the commercials, so yeah, hopefully you'll be seeing a lot more of DJ Max Fever with Sony backing it up. I don't really know much else at the moment, but they're giving us a lot of great support.

TE: The production values on all the DJ Max titles is extremely impressive, especially considering that it's a relatively small game. How does Pentavision pull together all the visuals and music into the final product?

MY: These guys really take so much pride in everything they do. The artists come up with lots of storyboards and art for years, even outside of work. Then they take all of that and give it to the company because they really want to see their art featured in the games. The musicians want to honor their art as well, so they spend a lot of time working with the artists to make sure that the music matches the background visuals really well. In the newer versions of the game, you'll notice that when you hit specific notes, it'll trigger a new graphic overlay to bring the experience much closer than before.

We just have a ton of artists. The company grew from 5 to 130 as DJ Max became this huge success. We here at PM Studios are offering them our full support as well, budget-wise, artists, music, we provide them with whatever they need.

TE: What has the discussion been like as to making this series more appealing to a Western audience?

MY: When we initially decided to bring DJ Max Fever to the US, we were going to completely change the entire soundtrack and work with American artists and labels. But then I read all the forums and blogs where people were saying, "If you change the music then its not the same game," and everyone seemed very against the idea.

So we decided not to change a thing. That pretty much killed the idea of DJ Max Fever reaching Rock Band and Guitar Hero status. It hurt us a lot [laughs].

At that point, we pretty much knew we were going exclusively for the hardcore gamers. We're still want to try and go for that more mainstream audience with future versions of the game, but it looks as though downloadable content may be the way to go, so we're going to put out DJ Max Fever, then try out expansion packs with different labels.

I'm not sure what's going to happen with the next version of DJ Max, but we want it to work for American, Korean and Japanese audiences. China, for example, is asking us to put all Chinese music in there and we're like, "Oh no, that's going to way too hard [laughs]," because no one on the team speaks Chinese.

TE: Do you feel as though there are any regrets with this strategy? Or do you think it's still very much possible to create a successful title exclusively for hardcore audiences?

MY: Well, I don't think Guitar Hero was a success with everyone in the beginning. It was a hit with the hardcore rhythm gamers and then it spread by word of mouth. I'm think that here, in the US, active PSP owners are the hardcore gamers. There aren't many casual-oriented PSP titles, you know? We didn't think we were going to attract the casual audiences the first time anyway. Hopefully, the people who enjoy the game will continue to spread the word with the release of DJ Max Fever as that's how we've gained out success in the first place. We want to make it big, but we know the first step is going to be difficult.

Since Fever's going to be using Black Square's engine, the official trailer should offer a good idea of how it'll look in action:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ob_efdLzQF0

Zealous One

I've actually been at the UCLA location test for the past week or so, and Technika is a blast to play. For a series I really hadn't heard of before, DJ Max is quickly jumping to the top of my radar. I'm looking forward to their next offerings!

Thanks for the info, cj iwakura! I've been wondering how they'd make a DS version work, since I didn't think about the lack of multi-touch. Still, it sounds like Technika is quite a change up from the norm anyway, so they might experiment with a different set of controls.

maximumzero

Wait a minute wait a minute.

They still release PSP games?

Holy shit.

cj iwakura

Have you been living in a cave?

To name a few from the past few months, there's been Silent Hill Origins, R-Type Command, Yggdra Union, Crisis Core, etc.

Along with this, there's Final Fantasy Dissidia, Prinny, and a few others down the line.

The PSP's lineup pales in comparison to the DS, but it has no shortage of gems.

maximumzero

cj iwakura wrote: »

Have you been living in a cave?

To name a few from the past few months, there's been Silent Hill Origins, R-Type Command, Yggdra Union, Crisis Core, etc.

Along with this, there's Final Fantasy Dissidia, Prinny, and a few others down the line.

The PSP's lineup pales in comparison to the DS, but it has no shortage of gems.

Yeah, I guess it's just too many consoles to play and no enough free time to do so. I barely have time to play the Wii games I have, and thus I haven't picked up much else for the rest of the consoles I own.

DeathPrawn

Yeah, the PSP has been nothing short of great the past few months. It's no DS, sure, but then again nothing can really compare to the DS juggernaut.

cj iwakura

New preview of a chart/BG from Black Square, Heart of Witch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKhckjEGh6k

Yikes.


Also, in case this wasn't posted before, you can download a demo of Portable 2 here. Definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.

Airan

Goddamn. How do they go about designing such ridiculous note charts? "Hey let's just dump some notes everywhere and let the player handle it, job done". :x