Genius or madness? Or both?

[kellinator]

alison_says has introduced me to Dance Dance Revolution, and while I suck at it, I thought it was a lot of fun. Which for me is saying something, because I hate to exercise. Really. I get on the exercise bike and within five minutes I'm bored and tired. I know it's a lot to spend for a system and all (I'm thinking probably PS2, though I haven't ruled out XBox), but when you compare it to the cost of a gym membership or an elliptical trainer, it's not so bad. Of course, if you don't use your elliptical trainer then you'll probably just hang clothes on it, whereas with a game system you could play other games too. I'm not sure if this is a good or a bad thing.

[Poll #416188]

And by the way, if you're selling a system, email me.

EDIT: missakins pointed out that I could play it on the PS1 as well. Maybe I should go that route; it's cheaper. Any opinions?

Comments

Get the PS2.

[tall-man.livejournal.com]

There is a PS1 DDR game, but the PS2 games are much better, IMO. Time for a bulleted list!

• The PS1 DDR game that I'm familiar with (DDR Konamix) doesn't have a beginner mode, it just starts you on light -- which doesn't sound all that bad, until you keep failing. And failing. Beginner mode helps get you into the swing of things, while light is for when you kind of already know how to step.
• The sound quality is much better on the PS2 version, and that does help -- especially if you want to enjoy your exercising, listening to something that sounds like a monaural 12kbps .MP3 isn't good.
• The song selection in the other games is broader. Konamix is heavily tilted towards pure JPop and dance remixes, while MAX, MAX2, and Extreme have everything from remixes of Bach and Greig to electronica. Hell, Extreme even has Duran Duran (Reflex, if you're interested)!
• There will be more releases for the PS2, probably including more DDR. The PS1 is all but dead, from a developer's perspective. There are several DDR releases for the PS1, but the only one that you can find easily is Konamix. Also, if you have to have DDR: Disney Mix, for example, the PS2 is backward-compatible with the PS1 -- all you need is a PS1 memory card to store data on.
• The PS2 doubles as a DVD player. Not all that cool, in this age of sub-$50 DVD players, but still, a nice bonus. And it plays DVD's without needing an add-on, unlike the Xbox (although Xbox hacking allows for much cooler stuff to be done than PS2 hacking, since the Xbox is essentially a small PC with a big graphics card -- that's another discussion entirely)

Re: Get the PS2.

[tall-man.livejournal.com]

Oh. If you get the PS2, get a good pad. The flimsy soft pads suck.

I recommend KeepGaming (http://www.keepgaming.com/ddr.htm) for DDR pads. We got a game and 2 pads for it for work (heh, working in a preschool has interesting shopping potential sometimes...) for cheap. Right now, you can get one of the games and a heavy-duty metal pad (mmm... metal dance pad...) for under $200. With a PS2, that's just under $400, but considering that's about what people pay for a stationary bike...

If you want to go for a less expensive route, there are semi-rigid pad combos there for like $80. I'd avoid the really cheap soft pads -- they die easily, and slide around on carpet like mad. But, KeepGaming has a game and 2 pads for under $65.