A new DDR game has been announced for Japan in celebration of the franchise’s 20th anniversary. Appropriately titled DDR A20, the newly-announced arcade cabinets will be clad in golden color and packed with the latest in booty-shaking and groove-making technology.
While the Dance Dance Revolution craze may have somewhat died down in the West, it is still going strong in Japan. Part of this has to do with the nation’s stronger arcade culture. The new DDR game will be yet another step in a long line of high-end arcade machines that go just a little bit beyond a box with a joystick and some buttons. This includes a massive 55″ monitor and new pad lighting according to a summary on Reddit’s /r/Games subreddit. These 20th-anniversary machines join a long line of rhythm game systems with erratic naming conventions.
This wasn’t the only new DDR game announced, either. As reported on ResetEra, Konami is also coming out with a mobile DDR game. This will be supplemented with a new soft pad controller and a metallic arcade pad controller. These new Dance Dance Revolution products were announced alongside several other musically-themed games from the company.
The one burning question that remains is whether or not we’ll be seeing this new DDR game make its way West. There are some concerns for Konami and other involved companies to consider. The golden age of arcades is long past in the West, but there are still plenty of establishments around like the Dave & Buster’s franchise and Chuck E. Cheese. Dave & Buster’s, in particular, states on their website that they have Dance Dance Revolution A machines at a number of their locations in America. As that is the most recent release of the arcade cabinet prior to today’s announcement, we may very well be getting this in the West.
Aside from arcades, there is also the question of consoles. Konami had largely stepped away from console gaming with the exception of Pro Evolution Soccer, but these recent releases may show that they are poised to make a return. You can see the announcement (and subsequent excitement) for the new DDR game below. Let’s cross our fingers and hope we get a chance to play it in the West.
