TROUT?! IN MY DDR?!
an unofficial UK DDR (+ other arcade rhythm games) guide!

if you've been around playing some bemani games lately, you may have noticed a reader that looks like this on the machine.
this is an e-amusement card reader, and how you can save your progress on any given game that supports it and is connected to a network.

cool, right? taking advantage of this service is a great idea.

however: there are a few barriers to entry:
1. is the cabinet connected to a network?

one network to find in the UK and elsewhere in europe is the projectflower.eu network, which is fan-created and maintained.
they lend their services to arcades with e-amuse capable machines, to get people all over europe online and playing together, as there is no network support for our region.

2. do you have an e-amusement card?

the simplest way to access the e-amuse service is with an e-amuse card. you can get these online (through ebay, a shopping service, or an indie seller), or, if you're lucky, ask your home arcade if they carry them.
me and my DDR rival got our cards from buyee.jp, a japanese proxy service that allows overseas users easy access to ebay japan, etc.

e-amuse cards have a basic design, but are also sometimes released with exclusive designs on them, to promote a game or commemorate a date. you're most likely to find these on second-hand sites (like the proxy i mentioned, or ebay)!

this is my e-amusement card!
i'm not very good at pop'n sadly, but i love this card's design!!

this is my rival's e-amusement card!
to my knowledge, neither of us has ever played sound voltex... but the character was too cool to pass up!

once you have e-amuse, you only have to use it on a machine once to input your username and region and set a pin, until you can use your card number to register on projectflower!

note! all new chipped (that is, non-magnetic strip) cards should work, but the newest cards have a default number that is incompatible with registering with projectflower (to my knowledge).
however, you can find your alternate ID number by scanning your card on a machine, and the alternate ID will show up on the screen.

we got this to work with DDR - i will update this page later to let you know which other games also show the alternate ID.

but yeah, now you're all set to have your high scores and settings saved to your card whenever you play!
if you don't care about seeing your scores on a web browser, you don't need to register your card online - it'll work either way ;)