I was in a position to create a new chassis for "Pop'n Music". That's why I made it. Des-ROW producer and WAC director ask the secret story of the birth of the new pop

 

In 1998, Konami (now Konami Amusement) was born from the music simulation game "Pop'n Music" (Pop'n Music. Commonly known as Pop'n) series. On June 30, 2025, it was suddenly announced that the location test for the latest work would be held.

According to the announcement at the time, a test run of the latest game will be held at Tokyo Leisure Land Akihabara store on July 5 ~ July 6, 2025 (later in Osaka). Although no details were announced, fans waited for the day of the location test, excited by the development after a long time.

Indeed, on the day of the location test, the details were revealed. The identity of the latest work was a new chassis for the first time in a long time. Related words are trending multiple times on X (Twitter). The response was so great that not only active players but also those who used to play it paid attention to it.

Some time after the location test in Tokyo and Osaka, Konami Amusement invited me to play the latest 'Pop'n' work, so I decided to go to the interview right away. I arrived at the office where the interview was conducted and thought it would be held in the conference room, but it seems to be a different place. Where on earth will it be held?

Was.

A space for coverage and a new enclosure sitting in the back. It is a very rare sight, which is a little different from playing at a game center.

If you want to try it out, I would like to ask the development staff. Appearing at the interview site was Des-ROW producer and wac director, who has been involved in the production of the "BEMANI" series, including the "Pop'n Music" series. We asked about the reaction to the location test and future developments while touching on the new chassis.

Producer Des-ROW (left) and WAC Director (right).

Tonio Kunisaki in charge of playing. I can't forget "Sing a Song Sign" I heard at the BEMANI event of "Mahjong Fight Girl", and I returned to Pop'n after about 13 years. It is a skill that can only be cleared up to normal difficulty, so please keep a warm eye on your playing.

The screen is a huge 43 inches and has a refresh rate of 120Hz. New "Pop-kun button"

This series is played by hitting 9 buttons to match the "Pop-kun" that falls from above to the music. Compared to the chassis that came out in 2010, it is quite large and powerful. The wide monitor will be changed from 32 inches to 43 inches, and the refresh rate will be 120Hz.

An earphone jack is added on the side. In this test case, it is near the front and may hit the stomach, so the location of the hole is planned to be a little closer to the edge.

Until now, you have been selecting a song to play by pressing a button, but now you can control it with the touch panel attached to the bottom of the main screen, where you can also change the option settings. Of course, you can also select songs by button operation as before. The display and arrangement of the touch panel screen are from the time of the interview, and will be corrected and adjusted in the future. Please consider the photos in this article as a reference only.

You can search for songs by various criteria, such as successive versions, level order, and other Konami music games.

Options screen. As a new feature, a judgment adjustment function has been added.

Change the type of play screen. There are two types available: normal (left) to match the screen size of the new chassis and slim (right) to match the old model.

One of the most prominent items in the new chassis is the new "Pop-kun button" placed at both ends. At this time, the red button supports switching between HIDDEN and the blue button switching between SUDDEN (*). It was the first time I touched it, but it felt a little hard when pressed.

*HIDDEN hides the bottom of the screen, and SUDDEN hides the top of the screen. The hiding range can be adjusted. Depending on the player, it is used to fix the line of sight and adjust the recognition range.

When I asked the staff during the test run, they said that the weight of the 9-button spring in the new chassis will be lighter than the previous one. The Pop-kun button, which I found a little stiff, was also adjusted to make it lighter.

In the middle, Pop's fall speed changes in "JOMANDA" to test the SUDDEN switch.

Pop-kun button being hit.

The design of the pop-kun button is a voice from the staff. Because it is a title that I have a deep affection for, I want to do some developments.

Once the trial game is over, it's time for the development interview. We sat down in each seat and first asked questions about how the new chassis was born.

Des-ROW

 Originally, I was a person who made music for "Pop'n', but there was a time when my job changed and I was away from 'Pop'n'. When I looked at it from the outside, I kept thinking, "I wonder if I won't change it yet, or if I won't make a new one...... I will do it soon." Months ...... passed, thinking, "It's time to do it." I definitely wanted to do it if I was in a position where I could make a new chassis. So, it began, "Let's do it."

――You suddenly went to Zuburn.

The wac

 space is skipped.

Des-ROW

 It's a title that I have a lot of feelings for for a long time.

Since the previous WAC

 chassis was 15 years ago, I think there was a lot of momentum to make a new "Pop'n" chassis.

――How did you come up with new elements such as the Pop-kun button?

Des-ROW

 First of all, what is the pop-kun button...... At first, I put it on "here".

Here.

――On the side?

WAC

 I see. That's right.

Des-ROW

 However, in this position, it hits the stomach, so I moved it to both ends.

The interview started in a calm state while sitting in a chair, but we immediately got up and moved around the new chassis. I like games too much.

Des-ROW

 I've 

already decided to use the usual 9 buttons, and if I'm going to make a new chassis, I think it's boring to do something new. At first, it was just a big button. The staff gathered together and said, "I'm missing something."

Pop-kun button that is loved like my own child.

――Well, I can understand that the design is not enough.

Des-ROW

 From there, the staff in the hardware section who likes "Pop'n" said, "Isn't this Pop's good!?" I said, "That's it!"

――It's very simple, but it's like a revolutionary moment. At first glance, the "pop'n" character is well expressed.

Des-ROW

 I was actually hooked. However, if you add more buttons, it will be difficult to adjust the position.

――Oh, I see. When you press the buttons at both ends, if the pop-kun button is too close, you may hit your hand.

WAC

 yes. At first, the distance was close, so I tried not to bump into any play style. There are various points to be careful not to get injured.

Originally, the Pop-kun button was already a few centimeters closer. This kind of industrial ingenuity is unique to arcade game enclosures.

Des-ROW

 By the 

way, the Pop-kun button is not painted, but made of resin of that color. Wouldn't it be bad if you hit it too much and the color would fade?

――If it's colored, it will gradually peel off as you hit it.

Des-ROW

 Like it's okay to be beaten a million times.

I want to use the beloved pop-kun button again. It's cute, isn't it?

――As for the other new elements, the size of the monitor has increased and the refresh rate has changed. After all, if you want to make a new one, you definitely want to put out 120Hz?

The Des-ROW

 120Hz is basic, and when I was looking for the monitor with the best performance, it ended up being 43 inches.

The wac

 120Hz 43-inch setting will remain unchanged and will continue in that direction. If the monitor is large, it is good to be able to put a lot of information on it. FAST/SLOW and other displays. The character can also be made bigger.

――I thought while playing with it, but isn't the image quality of the old illustrations improving?

Des-ROW

 I 

fixed everything to make it look big and beautiful.

WAC

 Furthermore, the dots on the early characters will stand out if they are enlarged as they are, so we have remade them to look pretty. Of course, it's still under development, so I think it will be better in the full version.

――As for the design of the new anime version, is this still under development? During the location test, some people responded, "Does it look like Live2D?"

It's not wac

 Live2D. It is expressed using the same anime technique as before.

――I'm looking forward to the completion.

While standing, the UI adjustment discussion was lively, but we decided to sit down.

Pop'n love can be seen from the response at the time of location. What are the "new songs" that you are interested in......

――After the location tests in Tokyo and Osaka, how did you feel about it?

WAC:

 Overall, it was good. I hadn't done [location testing] in years. The first announcement didn't say that a new cabinet would be released, and some people were happy to find out on the day.

Since we were only able to get one 

Des-ROW

 chassis, we decided to apply for a lottery.

WAC:

 Thankfully, we received a lot of applications, and it was quite a multiplier.

I feel really sorry for those who couldn't play 

Des-ROW

, but there were also people who said, "I can't play it, but I came to see it." I went to see it, and I was happy to see some people talking to me.

――What specific areas were well received?

WAC

 We 

received a lot of comments that the design of the chassis was like "Pop'n". The rest is the specifications of the monitor. There were many requests for the judgment adjustment function.

Des-ROW

 The 

"Pop'n" we know is new, the genre name of the song has been revived, and it comes back with an earphone jack.

WAC

 packs everything you want...... That's what I'm aiming for this time, so I want to make sure there is no excess or deficiency.

――There was also a web questionnaire, but are there any corrections at this time?

I want to make 

the wac

 button a little lighter, or have this kind of option or that mode! ……。 Also, the key beam was too conspicuous, so I wanted to make it a little shorter, and some people wanted to turn it off.

Des-ROW

 On the other hand, there were voices saying, "I want you to put it out as it is."

WAC

 We have received a lot of requests, so I hope to proceed carefully and reflect them as much as possible.

――The series has many characters and songs, but do you have any plans to prepare staff comments and introduction pages like in the past?

WAC

 Personally, I loved that kind of page, so I would like to introduce characters and new songs.

Des-ROW

 will do it!

WAC

 It's easy to say (laughs).

――What is the future development of Konaste's "pop'n music Lively"?

Des-ROW

 "Lively" will continue to be exciting even after the release of the new chassis. There are quite a few things that are not functionally arranged, so I want to do that properly.

WAC

 yes. I put the functions in "Lively" here. I think there are many things we can do, such as adding this function to "Lively", so I will continue.

――You previously announced on your official X (Twitter) that you are preparing a lot of new songs by artists related to pop-......'n'. I'm really curious about the part about "new hip-rock and Zutt".

WAC:

 You said you could say that.

Des-ROW

: No, I didn't expect to say it there.

WAC:

 That's a lie (laughs). I checked it. No no no.

Des-ROW

 I was surprised. I'm going to do my best to make it.

WAC

 At that time, the position of the sound manager changed in many ways, and there were many people, including myself, who were working outside of music. But just the feelings. It's fun to make songs once in a while.

Des-ROW

 Just lean forward.

――Maybe that...... ...... people who haven't made songs recently participated?

WAC

 There might be!

――It's insanely hot. Look forward.

――I'm sorry, but I ...... one last time.

Wow.

――Please let me measure only the dimensions of the chassis on a scale. As the monitor has become larger, some people may change the feeling when standing and looking at it, so ...... only the height.

So, I got permission and roughly measured the height of the enclosure on a scale (*).

*It seems that there are different ways to call it "It's not a scale, it's a major" or "No, it's a convex".

I suddenly start surveying.

In the announcement on the official X, it was said that "the height of the controller and the distance and angle to the monitor when playing will remain the same", so for the time being, check the height from the floor and the width of the button part. I will leave a note of the last measurement, so I hope it will be helpful. Please forgive me for forgetting to check the width of the pop-kun button.

[New enclosure (estimate)]

• Height to floor ~ button panel: approx. 90cm
• Floor ~ 43 inch monitor lower limit: approx. 110 cm
• Floor ~ 43 Monitor Limit: Approx. 160cm
• Overall width of the button panel: about 108cm
• Monitor width (including frame): Approx. 103.5cm
• Overall height of the enclosure: approx. 230~240cm

Comparison with the enclosure. Lighters with a height of 168 cm are lined up and are about this size.