Poor old DDR pad

[Dahne]

I've had one of those cheap soft dancing mats ever since I got the first DDR for the PS1 (nailed, along with some carpet padding, to a chunk of plywood. L33t). It's worked admirably throughout the years, but now seems to have gone kaplooie all at once. One session it works, next session it doesn't. Now the screen doesn't respond at all when I step on it. Not just a few of the buttons, but the whole thing. This leads me to believe that the problem is in the connecting cable, as opposed to the pad itself. Is there any chance this is a common, easily-fixed problem, or must I retire Ol' Faithful for good?

[RetroYoungen]

I'd say to double-check it's connection to the console first, and if nothing is happening still, simply retire it. The pads aren't really that expensive, so it's not that much out-of-pocket to replace.

[davidbrit2]

Those $20 3rd party mats tend to die fairly quickly. If yours has held up since US 1st Mix, that's pretty damned good. If you can find the new Konami mats, get some. They're $30 each. I can AA/AAA Heavy stuff and clear some Onis on those completely unmodified. These pads are also the ones bundled with Max 2 for PS2, so if you need that game, there's your chance.

[digitalpress]

I find that these mats generally break as soon as I step on one. At first I thought it was my crushing foot blows but then came to the realization that these mats would rather be dead than see me attempt to dance. So don't feel too bad, at least yours lasted for awhile! You must be a GOOD dancer!

[BoOchan]

I Personally would probably only trust a DDR Machine, not a plastic Mat. I'm 212lb, I would trust it as much as one of those pads where your the Joystick/D-Pad, like the ones for the 2600 and NES. They hold 100lb Max normally. They need to make an Arcade DDR Pad, or someone hack a DDR pad off a machine to work on a PSX/PS2

[davidbrit2]

Check out the Cobalt Flux pads. They're about $300, but almost arcade perfect so I hear.

[Videogamerdaryll]

I find that these mats generally break as soon as I step on one. At first I thought it was my crushing foot blows but then came to the realization that these mats would rather be dead than see me attempt to dance. So don't feel too bad, at least yours lasted for awhile! You must be a GOOD dancer!

LOL That's funny Joe..

[lostsage]

wow, that's been awhile for your pad to last long. had a couple that were bought off ebay, and they lasted me a good year. (soft pads like that generally last only 8-12 months with regular use).

ya'll don't kill me for pluging this...

www.ddrfreak.com

it's a site dedicated to DDR and all it's versions. go to the forums, and look under DDR Console Games. there are people there who will know the answers that you are looking for.

(from what they tell me, it's possible, but i haven't been able to fully repairs my pads. instead, going to reincarnate them into home built metal pads)

[Dahne]

I went and bought one of the new ones. It's nice. Doesn't even skid much, so I haven't nailed it to my dealy yet.

Anybody want a broken DDR pad? :)

[MarioAllStar2600]

I am lookign fro a good deal on one of teh medal ones for my mom. Im going to get it as soon as possible. Does anyone have any experience on these? How do they work?

[Sotenga]

I was just wondering if anyone has an authentic arcade DDR machine. Now THOSE mats... well, not sure if you'd call them mats, or part of the machine... either way, those won't ever break!

Maybe unless Joe attempted to play it... even if he can't crush them, a power failure would just happen to occur as he was stepping up... LOL

Just giving you a hard time. :P

Anyway, is there a better, arcade-perfect mat than the Cobalt Flux pads?

[kingpong]

ChannelBeat has a used DDR Solo (6 button) platform for $380 that could be turned into a home controller. The arcade platforms can still be broken, but typically just a cracked plastic panel.