DancePad
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Wii Warm Up: Warming up to Wii Fit
Wii Fit may seem shiny and new, but not only is it a concept that console-makers and game developers have tried before, but it's part of a philosophy Nintendo has long tried to pursue. Over at Water Cooler Games, Ian Bogost recently spent some time remembering the Joyboard, a peripheral for the Amiga -- which boasted a single retail game -- that is similar to the balance board that is set to release with Wii Fit. Of course, it's not the only example; many of us still have dance pads for Dance Dance Revolution lying around, and some of the old-schoolers may even have old NES Power Pads tucked away in a closet, collecting dust, while gamers fondly recall Dance Aerobics and Track & Field. What Bogost doesn't address -- which we think is a fascinating issue -- is Wii Fit's potential to succeed in the current market environment. Quite rightly, he calls upon gamers and critics to look back over the history of the industry in order to gain a better understanding of how we reached this point, and we agree with him that people should be less shocked by Wii Fit than they have seemed to be. Nintendo is no stranger to "non-games" and unusual peripherals. Particularly now, when the Wii has the potential to move even beyond the ubiquitous past presence of the NES and get into every home in America (and perhaps the world, huzzah!), it's no surprise that Nintendo is again angling to break the market wide open and offer something for everyone. Does Wii Fit surprise you? Obviously, we knew a health pack of some sort was coming, but this is rather expanded upon what we expected. We know some of you don't like the concept -- while others, like this blogger, think it's the bee's knees -- but does it surprise you? What other market-expanding ideas do you think we'll see from Nintendo?
Laser dance matrix lets you rock out right on the floor
Dragging dance pad tech out of the PowerPad age, Applied Sciences' Laser Dance Matrix eliminates all the moving parts (except yours). The "pad" features four laser diodes interfaced with the guts of a Logitech Gamepad, triggering a buttonpress when your foot breaks a beam. The designers say that gameplay is similar to any other dancepad, with the notable difference of dancing on directly on the floor, which seems like a huge improvement to us. We just hope they take the next logical step and combine this with one of those LED dance floors that keep popping up -- talk about an instant party. The unit is just a prototype for now, but Applied Sciences is gauging interest to see if they should build them -- hit the read link to demand your laser dance upgrade.[Via Hack A Day]
The ultimate dance pad gets an upgrade
Want the arcade DDR experience at home. You can go the wimpy route and buy a decent metal pad for a couple of hundred dollars. Or you can geek it up and build your own custom DDR pad for a little over 400 smackers and over 16 hours of heavy duty construction time.We covered the original version of this pad back in June, but the updated version 2.0 comes complete with a sturdier frame of one inch thick steel beams, adjustable spring-loaded sensitivity and an even cooler LED lighting system than before. Hey Jared, how much to get a version for casa de Joystiq?[Thanks Jason]
DDR dance pad has no mic jack? [update 2]
Update 2: After numerous reports from readers, there appears to be no extension cable in the box, and the initial story still stands as more or less correct. So, is Konami pulling a fast one, or was there an error in the packaging?Update: X3F commenter DigitalMatrixIO kindly informs us there is a headset extension cable in the box. This just goes to show you to always go check everything included in the packaging before making any misguided assumptions.Scott "Bamelin" Strickland of 360 Arcadians was eager to play some Dance Dance Revolution Universe after picking it up today. We started to talk with him about his initial impressions of the game, and he made a startling observation: he couldn't find a slot for his standard Xbox 360 headset. There was a mysterious jack on the side panel near the pad's guide button, but the headset wouldn't fit. We took some pictures over Video Chat of the peripheral to show the predicament. Could the only way to use the "Voice" over Xbox Live multiplayer advertised on the back of the box be with the Wireless Headset? More photos and analysis after the break.
Dance pad for DDR DIYers
Is your plastic, roll-up DDR pad seriously crimping your krumping? Do you need the solid feel of an arcade pad to grant you the superhuman celerity that marks the series? Yeah, that's what I keep telling myself also. If you know your way around some tools, have some basic welding experience (what, you don't?), and have the requisite dedication to house a rather unwieldy dance pad, this'll make for a fun weekend project.[Via hack a day]
