Dance Mats - Information on Dance Mats and Dance Mats Games for PC, Xbox and Playstation

Hannah Montana Dance Mat

2007-12-09T12:14:00.000Z

Hannah Montana is more popular than ever and it's said that her Dance Mats are outselling the High School Musical Dance Mats. Pop princess Hannah Montana has made her way to the top of music charts and Christmas gift lists.

The Hannah Montana mania has a big target audience, starting at 5-year-olds till about the tween area, he added. Hannah merchandise ranks No. 6 on the National Retail Federation's top toys for girls list.

The set comes with a Dance Mat, a pretend wireless microphone head set, and even a wig to look like Hannah Montana. The Secret Celebrity instructional DVD has 35 mins of songs on it and includes dance routines and Hannah Montana music videos. The kids start learning some basic dance moves, then put them all together so they will have a proper dance and they will also be able to sing along with the songs. This is not just fun but also a way to exercise a little bit!
Recommended age for this product is 3-7 years. The Hannah Montana Dance Mat can be bought from Amazon.

High School Musical Dance Mat is bestseller

2007-11-29T15:01:00.000Z

Marc Rosenberg, chief marketing officer of Zizzle LLC., which licenses many High School Musical toys, said a bestseller is the High School Musical Dance Mat, which challenges users to dance along to its songs. It seems Zizzle has lifted along the succes of the Dance Mats and is set to sell a lot of the High School Musical merchandised ones for Christmas.

For the few of you not knowing High School Musical, here's a short explanation: High School Musical is a very succesful American telefilm, especially popular with kids between 6 and 12 years old. The story is about two high school juniors from rival cliques, a boy and a girl. Together, they try out for the lead parts in their high school musical, and as a result, divide the school. The other students try to demolish their dreams but Troy and Gabriella go on and inspire others along the way not to "stick with the status quo." It's kind of a new version of the well-known Romeo and Juliet.

Walmart sells the High School Musican Dance Mat for $24.92 here.
Amazon sells it from $27, but have better availability

Playing the Dance Mat good for losing weight!

2007-11-27T19:08:00.000Z

According to USA Today, Dance Mats have helped many people losing weight, simply by being entertaining and addicting in a positive way. See below for the full article.

Video game fans dance off extra pounds

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Forget the image of paunchy video gamers holed up in a dark room, surrounded by sticky Twinkie wrappers and empty soda cans. Dance Dance Revolution players burn extra pounds along with their quarters. Weight loss is an unexpected benefit of a game designed for dance music.

Natalie Henry, 14, was drawn to the pulsing techno songs, and didn't realize she had slimmed down until she went clothes shopping.

"I went to go buy pants and the 14s were too big. The more I played, I gradually had to get smaller size pants," said Natalie, who now buys size 8 baggy cargoes.

The premise of DDR is simple: Players stand on a 3-foot square platform with an arrow on each side of the square_ pointing up, down, left and right. The player faces a video screen that has arrows scrolling upward to the beat of a song chosen by the player. As an arrow reaches the top of the screen, the player steps on the corresponding arrow on the platform.

Sound easy? Throw in combinations of multiple arrows and speed up the pace, and the game is as challenging and vigorous as a high impact aerobics class.

Most beginners look like they're stomping on ants and are flushed in the face after one or two songs.

"At first I was playing it for fun, but when you see results you're like, 'Yeah!'" said Matt Keene, a 19-year-old from Charleston, S.C., who used to weigh more than 350 pounds and wear pants with a 48-inch waist.

Also aided by better eating habits, the 6-foot-5 Keene explained in a phone interview he had dropped to about 200 pounds. Now he works out on a weight bench to bulk up because he thinks he's too skinny.

More than 1 million copies of DDR's home version have been sold in the United States, said Jason Enos, product manager at Konami Digital Entertainment-America, which distributes the Japanese game in the United States. About 6.5 million copies have been sold worldwide.

The home version, which costs about $40 for a game and $40 for a flat plastic dance pad, includes a "workout mode" that can track how many calories the user burns while playing.

The game was designed to be fun. But "what the creators knew is that this is a physical game no matter how you dice it," said Enos, who says he has lost 30 pounds playing DDR. "At some level there's going to be people who want to focus on that element of the game for their own physical health or for exercise."

One pediatrician is so convinced of the health benefits that he's planning a six-month study of DDR and weight loss among 12- to 14-year-olds, in an effort to give the game credibility among physicians.

Dr. Richard Adler, of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis, said he likes the game because it "gets the kids off their butts and they lose weight."

"Just like the kids are addicted to regular video games where they use their hands and thumbs, they just don't want to stop," said Adler, who drives a sport utility vehicle with a license plate urging people to "xrsighz."

One possible down side, Adler said, is that DDR might cause discomfort in the joints of players who are heavy and have arthritis.

DDR has been so effective in getting teens off the couch that some schools have incorporated it into their physical education programs.

The chief drawback fans cite is that DDR can be addictive, and therefore expensive. In the arcade, it costs from $1 to $1.50 to dance for about six minutes.

Natalie spent $150 the first four months she played.

"Unless you have the money to do it, you shouldn't do it. I came here with $3," she said.

As she cooled herself in front of a fan at a video arcade, two teenage boys danced on a machine nearby. Their sneakers pounded out a staccato rhythm at a pace so fast that "Lord of the Dance" Michael Flatley would be envious.

Not everyone sees dramatic results. Seventeen-year-old Justin Meeks says his body is more toned, but his weight hasn't changed. He's pleased to point out, though, that his dancing skills have helped him get girls.

"Two. I'm guilty of that," Justin said with a grin as he watched friends play DDR.

Others say the game has changed their lives dramatically.

Four years ago, Tanya Jessen was an unhappy college freshman in Seattle, eating fast food and spending most of her time on the computer.

Her weight hovered around 235, despite weight-loss efforts.

"I thought I was fine until I hit about 220, and I was steadily gaining weight," Jessen said in a telephone interview.

She knew if she kept on that path, she'd weigh 300 by age 25.

Then when Konami released DDR USA two years ago, Jessen got hooked, playing at a Gameworks arcade before and after class. After a year, the 5-foot-8 college student had lost 60 pounds. That motivated her to become more health-conscious — cutting back on high-calorie foods and drinking water instead of soda.

Jessen, 22, is now a svelte 140 pounds and says self-confidence has made her more outgoing and particular about her appearance.
"There's something about not having to shop in the men's section anymore," she said.

Xbox Dance Mat Reviews

2007-11-25T21:22:00.001Z

Xbox Dance MatMost Dance Mats compatible for the PlayStation 2 aren't compatible with the Xbox, so I have put together a list of Xbox Dance Mats with some small reviews, to make your choice easier.

The most well-known Dance Mat is the Dance Dance Revolution Pad Mat, now also available for the Xbox. This durable pad allows you to perform all kinds of cool dance moves with some of the hottest dance games for the Xbox. Easy to set up and fun to use, this dance pad is a must have for all gamers. The pad has also been redesigned to give you better sensitivity, resulting in better performance and more accurate game play. The dimension of this Dance Mat is 36" x 32" so it would fit in most living rooms.
Manufacturer: Dance Dance Revolution
Price range: $20-$40

Dance UK, the purple and pink dance mat, has eight steps (standard up, down, left, right as well as the four corners) and these make routines for all levels. Players have the choice to play single player, two-person and eight-player consecutive modes, and there are also four progressive difficulty levels to work through. If you are a beginner, it might be a bit difficult to start with eight steps, so try the tutorial mode which is basic and not as difficult as the Dancing Stages. Other nice features include an aerobic mode and a step recorder allowing you to record, save and dance your own routines. The Dance Mat is fairly big compared to others, so make sure you have enough space!
Manufacturer: Dance UK
Price range: $40

The Mad Catz Xbox 360 Beat Pad is also an 8-way direction control Dance Mat, but this one can be played with 4 steps as well. The Mad Catz Dance Mat is extra stable by using foam inserts and zippered design which provides you a rigid dancing platform. The very durable textured surface makes that the step transitions ar easy and increases tractions.
Manufacturer: Mad Catz
Price range: $40

The next one is Logic 3's Dance Dance Dance. This Dance Mat has 4 action buttons, the mat has slip resistant duty plastic covering and hard wearing pressure pads. It's a fairly simple Dance Mat of which you shouldn't expect a life long lasting, but ideal for starters who've never had a Dance mat before. The manufacturer is an experienced and appreciated Dance Mat maker.
Manufacturer: Logic 3
Price range: $20-$30

Tips for using a Dance Mat

2007-11-14T21:38:00.000Z

When you have bought a Dance Mat, you will have to look after it properly so you enjoy the mat for a long time. Here are some tips for using a Dance Mat.

Some people recommend maintenancing Dance Mats by putting the Dance Mat in a dry place when storing, dampness and humidity will not be good for it. Also, the obvious, keep Dance Mats away from flames, high heat and moisture. Just generally try to avoid any damage coming to the mat - that means no high-heeled shoes, babies, drinks, puppies and other causes of general havoc

Some people recommend opening and folding the Dance Mat with two persons and recommend wearing gloves while doing this. I reckon it depends on what kind of mat you have, just make sure everything you do, do it carefully.

Some soft mats can be kinda slippy on some surfaces, you might want to try tape the corners of the Dance Mat to the floor or similar. Usually if you put the mat on a piece of non-skid rubber carpet, it will help solve the problem.

Once you have bought a new soft Dance Mat, try to unfold it slowly and put it carefully on the floor. Then leave it alone for about 2 hours, so the mat can settle because if you start dancing on it you are likely to crush the creases, making damage to the mat more likely. Once you're done
playing, you should try put it in a place where you don't need to fold it, such as under the sofa, as it that simply folding the mat can wear away the inner printed circuit, causing far more harm than if you dance on it for months on end, so try to fold it as rarely as possible.

Dance Dance Revolution

2007-11-12T22:00:00.000Z

Dance Dance Revolution is also known as DDR or Stage in Europe are produced by Konami and are well known in the video arcade halls for their Metal Dance Pads. Dance Dance Revolution was first introduced in Japan in 1998 where the arcade halls have always been popular. After Japan, the DDR became very popular in North America, Europe and Australia. Konami is a big player in the Dance Mat world, since 2005, ninety versions of Dance Dance Revolution have been released covering about 1,000 songs to play on.

The Dance Dance Revolution game works as follows:
Players can score points or lose them depending on how well they're playing. De player has an energy level that he/she has to keep up, if you put your foot down at the right time, you get more energy, if you miss the arrow completely, you will lose energy. Do not lose all your energy or you'll have failed your game. These are the points awarded or deducted per performance:
* Perfect: +2
* Great: +1
* Good: 0
* Boo: -4
* Miss: -8
* O.K.: +6 (when a 'freeze' well)
* N.G.: 0 (when missing a'freeze')

If the player plays well, a combo can be made. A combo means that you have done a series of steps with a minimum socre of "good", the longer the combo, the more points. If the player gets to do the full song in one combo, it's called a "full combo".

Once the song is finished, the player gets to see a general score where "AAA" the best is and "E" the worst. During the game DDR also calculates a numeric score, this number is based on achievement combined with bonusses from combo's. This means that it'd be possible for a player to score an "A" with a low numeric score (then the player has done a lot of good scores but not a lot of combo's) whereas another could score a "C" with a high numeric score (less good scores, but good combo's).

Dance Dance Revolution has produced Stepmania and In The Groove as main DDR games.

Dance Mat used at schools

2007-11-12T17:25:00.000Z

According to the BBC website, Dance Mats have increased the amount of youth enjoying PE and losing weight. Young people who hate doing sports, especially young girls that are difficult to get to join competitive and traditional sports have succesfully tried out the trail on a school in London, UK.

The Head of PE of a local school in Luton says: "With more and more children becoming obese, one way we can help is by increasing participation in sport and this does that". The trial classes proved so popular that they have now been opened up to all pupils as part of Lea Manor's sports curriculum and as an after school activity.

Pupils fighting obesity have the opportunity to work on balance, cardio vascular, coordination and stamina and per hour of playing on the Dance Mat, people can burn between 400 and 600 calories.

The English government also want to teach kids Spanish by using the Dance Mat. Children will learn Spanish words by placing their feet on coloured squares to the orders of a cartoon character on a screen. The theory is that pupils get excited about learning and therefore will be learning the language quicker.

Sources: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6995365.stm and http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/4222089.stm

PS2 Dance Mat

2007-11-11T21:51:00.000Z

Dance mats are really popular amoung PS2 owners and Dance Mat makers have seen that trend. There are a lot of dance mats to chose from, for each budget, level and usage different Dance Mats are available. Find a list below with tips about PS2 Dance Mats.

First one up is the RedOctane In The Groove Official Dance Pad. This Dance Mat is non-slip and will prevent the mat from moving by using a unique foam cushion bottom called Grip Tite. The RedOctane Mat is designed to give better sensitivity to the users, which will result in better performances.
Manufacturer: RedOctane
Price range: $15-30

The React Universal Dance Pad comes with padding inserts which makes it non-slip and better for your knees to play on. It uses Dual Grip Surfaces a rubberized surface on the bottom of the pad ensures that it stays in one place during the intense game play. While the upper layer provides a safe non-slip area for the gamer.
Manufacturer: React
Price range: $40-$50

Next one is the Naki Wireless Infrared Dance Mat. The special thing about the Nake Dance Mat is they have developed a wireless one and is compatible for over 20 feet. Some have commented on this product that the response time of the Dance Mat isn't fast enough when using the Stepmania game which makes it quite to get a perfect score. Others comment that the wireless option is excellent.
Manufacturer: Naki
Price range: $15

The Competition Pro Dance Mat works excellent on the PlayStation 2. With the L/R buttons you can also play a lot of other Playstation games! This Dance Mat might slightly suffer from mat slipping as this mat is a soft one.
Manufacturer: Powerplay Ltd
Price range: $15

Mad Catz Beat Pad Pro is engineered and specially designed for intense dancing and fast feet. You will have to use this Dance Mat on a hard surface to play on, if you have carpets, it might be worth looking around a bit further as this one could be slippy. The Mad Catz Pro is very responsive, durable and convenient to carry around. Attention: this pad does not work with PS2->USB adapters but does work with XBox->USB adapters. This is an auto-sensing PSX/Xbox pad and it does not start in PSX mode as soon as it receives power. Most PS2 adapters do not initialize the pad in the same manner as a real PS2/PSX so the pad will not function.
Manufacturer: Mad Catz
Price range: $15-$30

Dance mats

2007-11-10T17:37:00.000Z

Dance mats have always been fairly popular in arcade game halls, but now home versions have been introduced, it's hitting a sky high popularity. In the times of fighting obesity, this is an excellent way to start, what's more fun than losing weight while having a good time! For people who don't really know how it works, here is some information on dance mats and how to play it.

What is a Dance Mat?

A dance mat literally is a mat, which can be plugged into several different game consoles, such as the PlayStations (PS1,PS2 en PS3), Xbox, Xbox 360 and the PC. On the mat you will see four arrows that point up- and downwards, left and right. Instead of using the console controllers or keybord, you use your feet to play dance mat games.

De bedoeling is om op aanwijzingen van het spel op het juiste moment op de maat van de muziek op die pijlen te stappen. Wanneer dit met hoge snelheid gaat is het een spectaculair gezicht.

How do you play Dance Mat Games?

The point of this game is to step on the correct arrows when the game tells you to, in the right rhytm of the music. Most games have several game modes, so if you're a starter, it's easy to use as well as when you're an expert. There are also a different modes for the reason to play this game, either you are on the game mode which will grade you or the workour mode that has a calorie counter and once you put your weight in it, it will tell you how many calories you have spent by playing the Dance Mat games.
Most Dance Games have a lot of songs to chose from, so there'll be something for everyone. See the menu on the left for videos of people using the Dance Mats. Now start dancing!

Why should I get a Dance Mat?

You could say that it's one of the best and most fun ways to lose weight and keep fit. There are so many possibilities in music, level and game mode that it won't bore you easily!

You won't need an expensive gym membership and get bored at the gym with the same program every time, you can get a dance mat for about £10, depending on quality. Nor do you need someone to play with you, you can play on the dance mats on your own, but also with others if you want to.

In about 10 minutes, you can burn 60 calories, but the dance mats are so addictive, you will probably be playing longer than that!

Not only will you lose weigt, but it also helpes you improving your co-ordination levels. You will find it difficult in the beginning to keep up with the game, but soon you will find yourself dancing like you never have before!

Last but not least, dance mats are easy to set up and put away. The most commons ones can be folded up and be kept in a box, so the mats will only take up some space when you actually use it!

Links

2006-12-11T20:19:00.000Z

Business Pages Update

Exchange Catalog