Things that make you go 🤌. Weird computer stuff. Artist and general creative type. Occasionally funny. Gentoo on main. I play rhythm games!
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Dance Dance Revolution, or DDR, was one of the worst-earning games we had in our arcade for two main reasons: Earnings and Repairs. Even then, it did one important thing we reap the rewards of today.
During the age of webcomics, I feel that one stuck in my memory the most.
brrrroooooooooooooooooooooo, Derby Owner's Club... there's a game that I have to imagine made money hand over fist. I had so many of those damn cards. I've kinda been conservative in playing most things besides rhythm games at R1 because of the exact time-cost reason you describe, but now I'm thinking I might have to just fuck around with some of these other games the next time I go, good post 🙏
DOC was such an interesting and unique game. I was shocked to trip across one in Japan in 2020 and that thing was popping on a midday!
From the Round 1's I've visited, there's a lot less there for "random" gaming. If you don't enjoy fighters or rhythm games, you may have a shmup or Tetris at best. I don't blame you for staying in your circle, but definitely fuck around and find out (positive) next time!
Thank you as well ☺️
DDR is genuinely the only way I can justify crossing the dang state to get to a Round1 lol. There's several other arcades closer by, but I don't have friends that'll go with me, so it's a tougher sell. I do if there's DDR involved though.
Round 1s have the special ability of being placed in locations that require the highest effort from its biggest fans lmao. Glad you get to go occasionally though, it's still a well worth trip! And quality DDR is rarer.
Well said.
DDR traffic is essentially the only reason we had a fighting game scene in our arcades through the aughts. It was a weird trickle-down effect, but it created a really great environment for our mall arcade for the playerbase even though it couldn't sustain making money for the arcade over time.
Similar to the barcade concept, having very active arcade players on dance machines realistically drove way more profit in selling snacks/drinks. There was an absolute "give and take" involved in having those games.
DDR friends are the reason I got so into fighting games, so that's seemingly more universal! 😂
I didn't even think about the snacks/drinks knock-on effect! There was a restaurant within the venue that we'd occasionally eat at, which in retrospect it was better than it had any right to be for a gambling venue. So that likely kept some butts in seats despite the lack of snack (though those earnings wouldn't be ours to see).
Also, thank you so much for the kind words and support. Here and the prior post as well!
I love arcades, so it's always good to see more people posting about them!
I love (love, love, love) DDR! I played a lot in the mall arcade when I was a teenager, and it was the only game in there that anyone played. Sad to hear that it wasn't a big earner. No wonder that arcade closed.
The old people that walked around the mall and never bought anything would always complain about the loud sound. I hope they all went to hell.
At the very minimum, it likely earned some money over a long time. There was some care put into it by the community as well, depending on the arcade, so that might have lessened some repairs (or had cheaper repairs). The love of the game was real, but the love of the whole arcade was less so.
While I'd say that's a harsh sentence for those folks, I definitely understand that frustration as well 😅. Generational differences and such.
So hey, if you're with the Frosty Faustings crew, perhaps you know Badoor SNK? Any chance you can convince him to start posting here? You know, instead of Musk's social network.
I know of BadoorSNK but I'm not acquainted with him, so I don't think I can exactly sway his opinion or access to social media. 😂 But I'd like to see more cool FGC folks over here.
I learned about DDR back-asswards from most everybody else, learning how to play on Cobalt Flux and later refurbishing the pads from an ITG2 dedicab (you would not believe how much baby powder was in there). This was a good read! I didn't know what the arcade traffic dynamic was like at a real arcade, I've been to one maybe two or three times in my life.
Oh wow, you're extremely lucky to have gotten an ITG2 pad for refurbishing! I can absolutely believe how much baby powder was in there though, as a baby powder user LOL. I'm surprised they didn't ban us sooner from using it haha.
It's a neat to get that bit of perspective, right? I love hearing stories from when fighting games were all the rage; I started with home consoles in 2010 and never really experienced the arcade in that way. A bit backwards as well 😆
A shot in the dark, but does anywhere still sell decent metal/hard pads for a home setup? I looked all over the place a few years ago and could only find foam.
Not that bad of a shot, honestly!
Assuming you want a DDR pad, you have a few real good options nowadays!
StepmaniaX pads. They're normally for a new game by Kyle Ward (of In The Groove fame) called StepmaniaX, and they're amazingly quality. They're hard to get though, you have to be hunting for releases when they're available. The new game is really fun as well and gets consistent updates if you get the machine.
DDR Refurbished Arcade Pads are more common as well. You'll have to do some searching, and likely will have to pay a lot for shipping, but some small businesses are specializing in making them home-ready (USB connected).
L-Tek pads. I've heard with some modifications and work, it's the most cost effective and accessible way into a metal pad. I have a friend who occasionally streamed with it and seemed to be mostly happy with it (he's never truly happy lmao).
Oh wow thanks! The L-Tek one looks really good.
Now I just need to figure out where I can put one that won't piss off the downstairs neighbors....
I was thinking about this again today and remembered that Modern DDR (along with most if not all modern rhythm games) require the publisher to get a cut of each credit used as part of the online service that the machines use.
How the hell does ANYONE put a DDR cab in their arcade nowadays with that? There's no way they justify the amount of space they bring in or foot (pun) traffic they bring either.
Assuming one is doing everything above board of course.
I didn't know that's what modern rhythm games are doing! Huge TIL!
Ironically, even knowing that, I'd still say the reasons generally remain the same: Foot traffic and consistency, along with some word of mouth since arcades are few. Especially if it's truly a cut of each credit, rather than a monthly subscription (aka money won't be lost if folks don't play). Since rarely anything is just an arcade but more of a fun center, that's still folks to participate in other activities with a consistent goal to step on some money's worth of arrows, maybe even in the off hours.
Additionally, word of mouth for the arcade enthusiast community is strong for cool and cared-for arcades. These boosts are huge for marketing when local, arcade-focused businesses mostly don't have marketing money.
