Bemani or DDR arcade

'Bemani and DDR are gaining popularity in the arcades. While not considered retro or valued out of nostalgia (even though the first games appeared in 1997), the addictive gameplay made the games popular to play at home. Bemani has become synonymous with music and rythm games, there are few categories:

• Dance games, such as Dance Dance Revolution or Dancing Stage.
• Instrument mimic games, Beatmania, Guitar Freaks or Pop'n Music.
• Karaoke games, for example Karaoke Revolution

Some games are emulated in MAME. Some have game simulations available for the PC like Stepmania. There are many console versions of Dance Dance Revolution exist and many dance controllers are sold. The controllers usually come as foam mats with contact sensitive material inside to register the dance movements of the player.

The arcade feel is better experienced on a metal dance platform (completist might include a so called "hug bar") for dance games or game specific arcade controllers. While ready manufactured metal dance platforms and music controllers are available, some choose to make their own.

Online tutorials

Building instructions for dance pads:

• DDR home pad instructions (printable PDF version)
• A dancepad build FAQ hosted in the forums of ddrfreak.com

External links

• Bemani in Wikipedia
• Stepmania, a DDR simulator for the PC

See Also

• Basics