beatmania (1998) - the arcade DJ booth came to the living-room TV, controller and all

October 1, 1998, on the PlayStation

Hello, this is Toki. Episode 70 of "Today Is Release Day." Today is about the day a music game born in the arcades arrived at the living-room TV.

beatmania was released by Konami for the PlayStation on October 1, 1998. Today it turns exactly 28.From the 1998 commercial. Source: KENT Game Channel / YouTube

Five keys and a disc you spin

The arcade beatmania began in December 1997. Its panel has five keys in a zigzag and a turntable on the right.

Marks fall from the top of the screen. When one meets the judgment line, you press a key or spin the disc. It was play that imitated a DJ's hands.

The home version is a port based on the arcade 2ndMIX. According to Game Drive, it also included "APPEND YebisuMIX," with songs made only for the home release.From PS version gameplay. Source: Noe Kuze / YouTube

It can be played with a normal controller, but the special panel is where it shines. ASCII signed a deal with Konami to make a peripheral (model ASC-0515BM), and a higher-end "DJ Station Pro" was also offered.

Reception at the time - Famitsu 35, about 1.09 million in Japan

A fan-run score list records a Famitsu cross-review score of 35. Out of 40, that is on the high side.

Sales grew large. According to English Wikipedia, the PlayStation version sold about 1.09 million copies in Japan by 2004.

The same Wikipedia says the series contributed greatly to the music-game boom of 1998. It was the year an arcade pastime took root as a home pastime.

Note that the score here rests on a single list. I could not check the original magazine page for this article.

The air of 1998, in a commercial

The video below is the commercial from the time. You can feel the pitch: the arcade machine, coming straight into your home.

Even 28 years later, play with keys and a turntable continues. The series became a pillar of Konami's music games.

Let me write it down: 1998

October 1, 1998. Only once the year is written does today's article feel finished.

The line of a game released on this day 28 years ago is still going. That coincidence makes me a little happy.

Do you remember the first time you spun the turntable at home? Where did you keep the special controller?