DanceDanceRevolution X (AC) (International)

To play devils advocate for AeronPeryton's benefit, the bad pads and possibly, though I couldn't be 100% on this being the cause, sensors have come up before.

As I stated in my feedback to Konami, the pads feel uncannily similar to ones in vanilla Dancing Stage Fusion AC machines. Playing one in it's original form made completing many freeze-heavy songs like 'Tough Enough' a nightmare due to how often freezes would break due to no fault of the player.
Believe me when I say that playing on a DDRX machine feels almost exactly the same in this regard. I would almost swear it was the same problem we are seeing here although in Fusion's case it could have simply been the panel and sensors being badly aligned.

I don't mean to be presumptuous here but I think the real problem AeronPeryton and others a bit like myself are facing is that Konami are admitting that something may be wrong and the will look into the problem, rather than something is wrong and provide a solution based upon our feedback.
If pads with one sensor do not register well but previous ones with four did then I think that it doesn't take too much effort to put two and two together and try sticking three extra sensors under each panel in one machine and testing the machine out for the same issue. If that then solves the pad issues then wonderful, whether it causes extra cost to Konami to distribute technicians with the tools to provide a fix then it's the least Konami could do really.

I think it's really an issue of confidence and trust, Konami have admitted to designing this cheaper alternative to the Japanese model for the US and Europe and they are now paying the price for it's shoddy design.

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DDR X / Friday 4th September / Player Test Report

Straight to the point in this report. Three people were involved in this player test including myself.

KONAMI have tinkered a pad today and asked players to play on all the pads on the two machines to see which pad we liked best.

After like an hour, we all concluded that we like the pad that was indeed modified.

Scores people were getting on the modified pad were typically AA/AAA full comboes, whereas you couldn't on the other pads because of pad misses or N.G.s on the freezes.

Personally, I think KONAMI have nailed it 100% with the pads, I only weigh about 105lbs (7.5st) and managed to FC AA SABER WING EXP on EXTRA STAGE with 0 N.G.s. This says a lot about the modified, fixed pads. The pads trigger even if I barely put much weight into the panel and the panel doesn't stick either.

A sign of good things to come.

Jesus alan, but yeah that should satisfy a load of player complaints about the new cab ;D

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That's what I like to hear, thanks of the report Al, excellent stuff, KONAMI!

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This sounds good, but I'm still questioning durability. The pads may work perfectly, but will they stand up after months of regular play? I hope so.

Anyways, very glad to see that Konami is taking these complaints seriously.

That's good to hear, but then I'm also wondering what's going to happen to the test machine in London.
It's been there for an extremely long time and X has been released for a while. So I'm wondering if that machine is going to remain now, meaning that there will be one machine in the UK identical to the Japanese version anyway... or if they plan on taking it back and giving us the only option of getting one of the newer designs.

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It's very good to see this happening, but what about the US market? Where are our test locations?

I am glad you guys are getting the tests and the modifiers and all that other stuff, but where is KOA in this? I somehow feel like we are screwed until...sometime December or some other time >_>

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This might be where JP and EU get it good, and US gets crap. I really hope not.

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I can see that they're fixing problems, glad they're doing SOMETHING. I just wish they'd fix the chief problem, you know, as if it were the most important thing or something?


There was more than one machine. That and when one of them got additional sensors installed by Betson it suddenly was a very good machine, responding like you'd expect it to. That made it clear that at least part of the issue was a lack of sensors and any machine not performing well had missing sensors. If there always were four sensors then the issue is the construction of the stage itself.

To be honest I never cared that there was wood in the new stage. Every DDR stage has wood in it. Yes, open any Jap cab up and look inside, not even painted to look like anything. It did bother me, though, that the new stage didn't have cuts of real wood and instead what looked more like particle board.


Not really... I'm venting for my own health and entertainment and whatever you personally believe you have to admit I do have a point.


Was it you that mentioned Electrocoin before? I had asked if they were even part of the cabinet manufacturing process anymore and never got an answer.


I didn't follow the release of Fusion that much, but I don't remember hearing anything bad about the machine. In fact, It was a testbed for what became the SuperNOVA cabinet and I personally think THAT was the soundest machine made for DDR yet. However if Konami has been trying to slip lower grade pads into DDR machines in the past and this is just their latest effort it gives some validity to my ranting. They're "looking into" the issue to keep from having to spend more money on quality materials and construction. That's as many as four tens. And that's terrible.


BRAVO! You are going from 0 to +5 just because you seem to be the only one here that caught on to why this bothers me so much. Everyone else, take notes. Xavious just became the smartest man on this thread.


Good! That doesn't address the overall lower quality of the stage, but if they ship that fix to every effected owner without hesitation that's better than any assurance or apology they could muster.


It's a shame that they couldn't have put out a decent cabinet to begin with. Again, they shouldn't have fixed what wasn't broken... because they broke it. The SuperNOVA 2 cabinet is just fine, and it's not as expensive to make as, say, a IIDX cabinet. Konami can sell them for 10,000 and still make a good chunk of change on each. And better profit margins can be gotten from upgrade kits... if they'd have the heart to release them.

Sadly, I see 3rdMIX machines outlasting these new ones. The disclaimer on the bar that says "do not lean or apply weight" is kind of telling. How long before we see a stage crippled before its prime and a new stink raised then?

oh my god shut up

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i concur with bolt, stop whining ffs

seriously though if the pads really are improved i'll be happy tbh. then for ddr x2 ac we can all shut up if konami doesn't commision raw thrills to design those cabs again.

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With complaints this much, trust me, they won't.

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Well Konami did stick with Betson on SN2 despite the complaints of no e-amuse and inferior cabinet design from SN1, so who knows whether they'll have Raw Thrills design cabinets again or not.

No that I'm doubting anyone.... but...... where is everyone getting their definite information that Raw Thrills designed these cabs?

As far as I know, the DDR X cabs use the same internal hardware as Guitar Hero AC cabs, and those were designed by Raw Thrills. The speakers are also the same ones used on Guitar Hero AC cabs.

Thank you, but I don't know how I feel about being your partner in crime here. Al and Oni might never speak to me again... >_>

As I said though, I sympathise with you and understand why you feel the need to 'whine'. When the creators of one of your favourite games makes poor design choices which seem crazy or unnecessary then you cannot help but take it slightly personally. DDR has been going since 1998 and Konami have been designing arcade pads for a very long time. It's a shame that issues as large as this should even come up anymore, or they should at least get caught and fixed during testing.


As an interesting comparison, I played two rounds on an old EuroMIX2 machine a little while after playing DDRX and even though the machine could easily be 7 or 8 years old by now it was still sturdy enough to play on. No sensor issues, the game still seemed to work fine, and even though I wasn't at my best (but no expert normally either) I still did fairly well on it. THAT is good design for you made by the same company that created DDRX, would you ever have guessed?

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And yes, I concur with the results you guys came up with. Admittedly I had less of an issue with dropped freezes on the other pads but then... I weigh twice what you do Alan.

It took me a couple plays to adjust my timing but then even I was pushing at AA grades for most attempts and managed 17great FC on Un Deux Trois which is a personal best. And I was very impressed with sensitivity, I could trigger the pad with a single finger. My only concern is durability, seems pretty sturdy though and only time will tell but I do think the guys trying to sort out this situation are onto a winner.

@ Aeron: tl;dr
@ the test result: hey, cab,copy paste yourselves all over the place