beatmania IIDX GOLD has successfully been considered as a worthwhile endeavor for Konami to produce in the U.S.

The game was cautiously introduced as a location test and was on the brink of never making it but a bunch of fans and maybe a few Neoseekers have hauled ass and did their best in their campaign to keep the game alive.

And it worked.

According to the same arcade representative from the Brunswick Zone in Naperville, Illinois, beatmania IIDX GOLD is scheduled for an end-of-the-year release this year, either in November or December.

I also say "regained" because we had last year's release of beatmania on the PS2 but it might have been just a one-off release. But we can now rest assured we can get a home version game that ramps up the difficulty much more smoothly so that we can increase our skills better, easier (and at the same time, challenging too).

As one of the people who like this game, and on the behalf of the U.S. fans, we are very, very thankful for Konami and all those who put in the effort.

The work is never done, however. Keep the flame alive by contacting your local arcade and ask them (politely!) to get the game. It can be as or even more popular than DDR! Here's a good example of what to say (substitute Dave and Buster's for your arcade): http://www.bemanistyle.com/forum/221216-post1.html

Betson's website: http://www.betson.com