Admittedly, I've been out of the loop on Bemani for a little while. Sacrilegious, perhaps considering the roots of the show. However also consider that our local IIDX machine came and went a couple months ago, and that without home versions being released anymore, I've been less and less the type to travel a great distance to arcades to check out the latest versions of these games.
This is why I totally loved that YYR did the segment for us by the way-- you can guarantee I'll be looking for more guest correspondent segments in the future! On a side note, something I think that separates us from a lot of "big budget" shows is that I, along with my co-hosts, can freely admit I don't have time to be an expert on every single game, every single news story and every single situation. This is why we need your voices and participation
Anyhow, this issue is so complex. I truly feel torn between the two sides.
* The Bemani enthusiasts just want to be able to play and support the game. Region locking should be left in the last decade. With the internet and the ability to instantly beam video from one end of the globe to the other, it's just not practical to think that we don't know darn well what we're missing out on in Japan. The players themselves would drop quarters in the machine whether that machine was 100% legit, pirated, legit but on a fake network, whatever! Gamers wanna game!!!
* On the other hand, everyone knew that the network that was made was shakey ground legally and could be shut down someday and here we are. Whereas maybe Konami never had an interest before in enforcing the rules, if you have this new partner, Round 1, coming into it saying they want to bring some of that arcade culture back, and they're gonna put the money into it, then well- money talks. Konami now has an interest between this company willing to pay them money, and these other people who are currently not paying them money.
* But back to the side of the enthusiasts, I think for many of them it's not that they don't WANT to pay them money, it's that they CAN'T because eAmuse isn't allowed outside Japan currently.
I think the best resolution, and from what I'm hearing one that even the enthusiasts can agree with is just get rid of the freakin region locking. Launch the eAmuse service globally, and that way any arcade owner over here, be it Round 1 or a mom and pop arcade in a smaller market, can get on board and do this legitimately. Realize that if Round 1 has some sort of agreement it might mean that arcades within 30-50 miles or so of a Round 1 can't do it but... at least players would have SOME place to play.
Anyhow, I know a lot of you out there are very passionate on this topic so please, express yourselves
