Bemani History
In 2004 or so my sister picked up DDRMax for PS2. I thought the game was stupid then, but less than a year later I started playing religiously senior year in high school.
Similarly, I saw someone playing IIDX at a local arcade and I thought the game was silly and insanely difficult. (I had assumed you were supposed to play one-handed like LISU otherwise you were a cheater.) I dismissed the game and stuck with Stepmania.
I picked up IIDX in the summer of 2009 after giving it a second try and learning that there was a (mediocre) US release. I stuck with it after realizing how many songs I had already known from my time with Stepmania and how much more involved and challenging the game was, compared to Stepmania.
My Contributions
This wiki has helped me out quite a bit as I am discovering the underground side of bemani and it is really a vault of information. I'm here to return the favor when possible.