The Rhythm Arcade Music Video Game for Your Fitness Routine
The Dance Dance Revolution rhythm arcade game is a fan favorite among Freestyle hobbyist gamers.
Dance Dance Revolution is an always popular arcade game that lets the players physically stomp on an electronic footpad in time with a beat sequence shown on a video panel. The arcade game is a music video game produced by Konami and released first in Japan in 1998 before spreading to the US and beyond in 1999.
Electronic Dance Music has become popular the world over to the point that it appeals to kids of all ages and Dance Dance Revolution offers plenty of EDM styled songs for kids to explore and play the game in addictive fashion. The craze with this arcade game has reached a level where national competitons are held in some states like Norway and Japan.
This is just one video arcade game that has made dancing as a fitness and exercise regimen, a popular and even addictive sport.
This is the metal reinforced foot pad stage where dancers of the game try to sync their steps with beats corresponding to arrow locations on the footpad stage.
Really Effective Dance Workout for Fitness
You can get into shape in just one month playing Dance Dance Revolution. As the songs play faster, the pace of the footwork turns
the routine into one serious exercise workout. The arcade game even
includes a support bar so that the dancer doesn't stomp himself out of
place by the frenzied footwork needed to complete the more difficult
songs. The more advanced versions of Dance Dance Revolution
feature a way to compute for your caloric burn and other workout
features to help you check your progress.
If you or your kids are playing the game for fun or for
getting into shape, remember to keep a water bottle with your choice of
power drink or juice to avoid getting worn out and dehydrated.
The DDR Arcade Machine
Want your own machine, the way retro-gamers buy their own Pac-man or Techromancer?
You get a nice cabinet along with a metal-reinforced dance 'stage' or metal reinforced platform. The cabinet houses large floor speakers and glowing neon lamps and has a video monitor where you time your moves to the footpad. There is a lighted signage on top of the video panel and two small speakers and flashing lights on either side.
The dance stage is a raised metal platform divided into two sides. Each side houses a set of four acrylic glass pads arranged and pointing in the orthogonal directions (left, up, down and right), separated by metal squares.
Each pad sits atop four pressure activated switches, one at each edge of each pad, and a software-controlled cold cathode lamp illuminating the translucent pad.
A metal safety bar in the shape of an upside-down "U" is mounted to the dance stage behind each player. Some players make use of this safety bar to help maintain proper balance, and to relieve weight from the legs so that arrows can be pressed with greater speed and accuracy.
Most
modern home gaming systems that run the game include the Xbox, the Sony
Playstation, the Dreamcast, and even the PC. Home versions come with soft plastic dance pads that are similar in appearance and function to the Nintendo Power Pad.
Custom-made hard metal pads at a premium price from some vendors.
Dance Tournaments Worldwide
Tournaments are held worldwide, with participants usually competing for higher scores or number of Perfects (referred to as "Perfect Attack" tournaments). Less common are "freestyle" tournaments, where players develop actual dance routines to perform while following the steps in the game.
A freestyling act can also involve performing other stunts while playing.
Fan uploaded vid on You Tube showing the best Freestyle performances on Dance Dance Revo. What a way to get into shape too! This video is All Rights Reserved to N64Moments and You Tube
DDR as a Fitness Program for All Ages
Playing DDR can be good aerobic exercise resulting in weight loss that is even better than most structured weight loss programs. Imagine that with just dancing to a video game. The active movement required to play DDR does provide plenty of healthy exercise that many schools have already bought the machines as a physical education activity in gym. Norway has even decreed the video game hobby as an official sport.
Dance Dance Revolution Classroom Edition in sleek new wireless multi footpad stages
In 2006, Konami announced that the DDR games would be used as part of a fitness program of West Virginia's 765 state schools, starting with its 103 middle schools.
A video featuring DDR Classroom as a gym and fitness product for learning institutions. Video is All Rights Reserved to CointOp TV and You Tube
By 2011, Dance Dance Revolution Classroom Edition was released as a Konami product for schools' fitness and gym programs. Big schools like Caltech even permits its students to use DDR to complete their physical education requirements because in that school, students can design their own fitness program.
One school adopting the new wireless Classroom Edition of Dance Dance Revolution equipped with multiple metal reinforced stages for heavy duty Gym and Fitness class.
