DDR Goes Platinum
Company: Konami Product: Dance Dance Revolution
Konami Digital Entertainment - America has announced that cumulative sales in 2004 of its groundbreaking music game, Dance Dance Revolution, reached a staggering 1.2 million units in North America. This brings the total sales of all DDR products in North America to more than 2.5 million since it was first introduced in 2001.
Dance Dance Revolution is an interactive game that is sweeping living rooms and arcades across the nation. The brand has received tremendous acclaim from a wide variety of sources due to its simple concept, high energy music, and fun-filled gameplay that gets users off the couch and provides a healthy, energetic, fitness workout. The premiere dancing game in which players move their body to upbeat tunes while allowing them room to exhibit their own innovative flare and original dance moves, DDR combines quick reflex action with pulsating dance music for intense ?get-up-and-play? fun. Players are challenged to match their dance steps with the flashing arrows on the screen while keeping up with the high-energy beat of the music.
The innovative ?Workout Mode? in the home version allows users to track the calories they burn as they have fun getting in shape. The workout component and interactive nature of the game have been highlighted as key elements to the game?s success. Additionally, the DDR series has benefited from major game/dance tournaments that have been held all over the world. The game has successfully crossed over international boundaries to win over a global fan base. ?DDR has become a cult classic in North America and it just continues to attract more fans everyday,? said Jason Enos, product manager for Konami Digital Entertainment - America. ?There are DDR fan clubs and fansites, DDR contests and it has also become an extremely popular and fun way to lose weight and stay in shape. However, DDR is mostly about the music and the dancing -- with each release including an incredible selection of songs that attracts fans of all ages.?
In 2004, two new pulse-pounding versions of the popular brand were introduced into the North American marketplace -- Dance Dance Revolution: Extreme for PlayStation 2 and Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 2 for Xbox. DDR: Extreme extended the entire DDR experience by allowing players for the first time to become part of the game with gameplay that supports the EyeToy USB camera for the PlayStation 2. Modes such as ?Hands & Feet,? ?Clean the Screen,? ?Watch Me Dance,? and a number of fun EyeToy mini-games will have gamers using their hands and feet to dance along to more than 100 minutes of pulsating dance tunes. Meanwhile, DDR: Ultramix 2 continued the online revolution on the Xbox by connecting players with all-new gameplay modes, exclusive songs and enhanced Xbox Live support. Through Xbox Live, players can compete head-to-head with other dancers nationwide, conduct online tournaments, upload content, and download new songs, dance steps, and characters. Dance Dance Revolution: Ultramix 2 also includes new game modes only found on the Xbox version including Team Battles Mode and Synch Mode.
-Red Dawg, GameVortex Communications AKA Alex Redmann
Related Links: Konami
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