It’s your typical Friday night. Arcade goers are crammed inside the tiny red-painted L-shaped establishment known as Chinatown Fair. The walls are not visible. Every surface has a machine pressed against it and the machines take up half the space. The other half is filled with players of every kind, beginner, novice, expert, and even a couple tourists who occasionally wander down the busy end of Mott Street. In one spot on the floor there is a high pile of backpacks, asspacks, coats, and sweaters of every build and size. These are the personal belongings of arcade goers that hop in right after school and athletes that carry their gear with them everywhere they go around the city.

But they aren’t your regular kind of athlete. The backpacks are filled dance shoes, Windex, and paper towels. These are the DDR players or the Dance Dance Revolution players that gather around Chinatown Fair every Friday night to play a few games, hang out with friends, and show off their skills. Most of these players have been honing their skills for two years or more, but players at every stage are present. Durable dance shoes and glass cleaner and paper towels (used to maintain the sensitivity of the pads) help hardcore DDR players achieve higher scores.

In 1998 Dance Dance Revolution was released by Konami, a Japanese company that produces music games collectively known as Bemani games. Since then, many versions of the game have come out and according to ddrfreak.com, 1928 machines have been registered in the United States, with 72 of them in New York State alone. The game has been described as “a combination of high-impact aerobics class and a legs-only version of Twister” by Concord Monitor. In the game, one must listen to music, watch the arrows come up across the screen (in directions of north, south, east, west), and step on corresponding arrows, which race across the screen, with their feet. It is the game’s versatility that keeps players coming back for more. The infinite opportunity for improvement and the many different levels and songs to choose from, help make the game very successful. One can arrange options so that arrows appear only halfway across the screen, or not at all for those who have memorized a song. Players can arrange it so that both dance pads will be utilized for game play. This is known as “double” play. The object of the game is to synchronize dance moves with directions on the screen. Game play is not restricted, so the way players hit the arrows can become an art in itself.

Games can range from .50 to $2.50 a game for three or four songs. So for those without much money, it can be difficult to play in the arcades. But most players start at home before they go to the arcade. The home version can be purchased for $70 to $100, depending on the type of dance pad purchased and the number of songs available. The game can be played on any Playstation or Xbox and the pad or controller must be purchased separately. The dance pad can also be used with other games such as Street Fighter for extensive combos. Even computer simulators like Stepmania can be easily downloaded to be used for practice with the arrows on the keyboard.

With the many possibilities and choices in songs (DDR music includes such genres as techno, trance, rave, hip hop, R&B, and pop), difficulty levels, and options based on players’ personal styles, it is no wonder that the game attracts so many people. Sketch, also known as Anthony, one of New York State’s top players and captain of one of the best DDR teams nationwide, Dance Dance Police Department (DDPD), says:

"It’s hard to believe, I admit, that a “petty game” like DDR, or any Bemani for that matter can have such a strong impact on a large group of people on a scale such as DDR has on sections of the world. Initially it’s ‘just a game.’ Do you really think Konami intended to turn DDR into a massive experience that has probably millions of people worldwide going to arcades engaging in the stuff we do? I think not. But DDR has become what it has become, and it’s evolving into what it is evolving into."

The game attracts many different people, whites, Asians, Hispanics, and blacks, athletes, computer types, dancers, and just about anyone. The most typical DDR players are high school boys, but many girls play as well. The casual players are just as welcome as the hardcore players. Many people are brought together through their mutual love of the game. Frequent tournaments also help form bonds between players. There are even different styles of DDR players. Lone Wolf of Co-op city in the Bronx, is a member of DDPD who memorizes songs and then plays without the arrows launching across the screen. This is called stealthing. “I stealth for a number of reasons. Stealthing is one of the hardest aspects of the game. It forces you to learn a song in its entirety, But stealthing allows me to be an individual, by learning songs others don’t know, or being the first to ever stealth a song. Also, it’s a great way to show off.” Even in the large community of DDR players, it is possible to stand out as an individual.

The Internet plays an important role in strengthening and sustaining the community. “The online community powers the fame, it’s what actually gives people the urge to actually go on and continue playing the game.” Colin Barker, of the DDR Community, Myst, runs one of the biggest DDR community websites on the Internet. “The online community is very important. It’s what powers the game, it’s what actually gives people the urge to actually go on and continue playing the game. Even when they have played a song maybe 10, 15 times, they get bored of the game. So, the online community helps them out by saying ‘I’d like to challenge you, I’d like to meet up with you.’ and with that, you get people meeting up to have fun.”

DDR is a great weight loss tool as well. Some schools have the machines in their physical education classes to motivate students. This goes against the stereotypical image of the video game player as couch potato. In fact, in Norway, it has been officially registered as a sport. It has been featured in Fox’s King of the Hill, in a music video by the band Everything But the Girl, and most recently, in an episode of South Park. The popularity of DDR continues to grow.