Comparison of dance pad video games

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Comparison of dance pad video games (short, easy version)

What are dance pad games?
Dance pad games are rhythm games where you step on arrow panels on a dance pad to match the music. Arrows rise on screen and must be pressed as they line up with targets. The games vary a lot in who makes them, when they were released, how many panels the pad has, and other features.

Notable games and how they differ (quick overview)
- Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) — Konami. First released in 1998; latest major versions go up to around 2024. Uses a 4-panel pad per player (one per direction) and supports two players. Offers many modifiers, courses (back-to-back songs), bombs in some versions, and USB data options on certain releases.
- Pump It Up — Andamiro. Began in 1999; still active with newer titles like Pump It Up 2023. Uses 5 panels per player for singles and 10 for doubles. Includes modifiers, long courses, bombs, and USB data in recent versions.
- In The Groove (ITG) — Roxor Games. Started in 2004; last major release around 2006. Uses 4 panels and supports multiple arrows at once. Has modifiers, courses, bombs, and USB card support.
- StepMania / StepManiaX — StepMania (MIT License) started in 1998; StepManiaX is a later, ongoing project (from 2017 onward). PC-based and highly customizable with 3–10 panels. Features modifiers, courses, bombs, and USB data in many builds.
- EyeToy: Groove — London Studio. Came out in 2003 and uses a camera for input rather than a traditional pad; still counts as a rhythm-dance game.
- ParaParaParadise — Konami. Appeared around 2000; uses non-traditional inputs (more hand input than a standard four-panel pad in some setups).
- Dance Praise — Digital Praise. Emerged mid-2000s; uses a standard pad with courses and rhythm gameplay, but feature sets can vary by version.
- Dance UK — Broadsword Interactive. Released in the early 2000s; uses a multi-panel setup (more than the basic four panels in some versions).
- Mungyodance, 3DDX, Dance 86.4 Funky Radio Station, Cyber Coach, MC Groovz Dance Craze, and others — various small developers with different panel counts and features; some use additional sensors or unique control schemes.

3 or more simultaneous presses (hands and extra panels)
Some games support pressing three or more arrows at once. This can be done by using hands or by “bracketing” arrows with the feet. In practice:
- DDR usually sticks to four panels, with very few exceptions.
- Other games (In The Groove, Pump It Up, ITG-family titles) sometimes allow hands or multiple arrows at once on harder songs.
- Pump It Up’s higher-level songs often involve triples (three arrows at once) or quads (four arrows at once), and some boss charts can require even more arrows at once.

Notes (glossary of terms)
- Panels/pad: the number of arrow inputs on the dance pad used in gameplay.
- Modifiers: changes that adjust difficulty, like how fast notes scroll or how notes are laid out.
- Courses: a set of multiple songs played one after another without stopping.
- Bombs: extra notes that can penalize your score or gauge when stepped on.
- USB card: ability to read or store data from USB drives in certain arcade or console versions.

Bottom line
Dance pad games range from the famous DDR series to many other titles with different pad sizes and control schemes. DDR remains the best-known, but there are PC- and arcade-based options with a variety of panel counts, course modes, and special features. The genre offers accessible rhythm gameplay for beginners and increasingly challenging charts for experienced players.