E3: Dance Dance Revolution pads U.S. bound

[05.16.00] » Konami: Please provide us with a game.

   The GIA learned at E3 that Dance Dance Revolution pads would be hitting the U.S. this summer from two separate hardware sources. First is peripheral maker Naki. Naki will be releasing a PlayStation compatible dance pad this July for an MSRP of $39.99. Representatives said that the pad will be useable with music titles such as Bust-a-Groove and declined to comment further. Naki will also be selling a stand-alone pad (price unknown) that plugs directly into the television and includes the music in the pad.

   Ubi Soft was also showing a surprise title: Walt Disney's The Jungle Book Rhythm N' Groove. This title played exactly like Dance Dance Revolution, but instead of techno beats and flashing lights, dancers jam to tunes from the Jungle Book in environments straight from the movie. Ubi Soft was unsure who would be producing the dancing pads, but seemed to think it might be their hardware arm, Guillemot.

   Notably missing from this body-moving menagerie is the granddaddy of them all: Konami's Dance Dance Revolution. Beatmania and Guitar Freaks were both on display at Konami's booth, and Samba was the highlight of Sega's show, but DDR was nowhere to be seen. Now that other companies have taken the hardware initiative for the U.S., hopefully Konami will follow suit with software announcements. 'Cause if you can't dance to Dance Dance Revolution, you might as well not be dancing at all.