Counting Combos - A History of the Japanese DDR Community

(An Insider's Perspective)

I apologize that this is the 3rd thread in the past few years mentioning this content (4th if you include the one for cover art design) but I have had a few queries asking if this book was ever published. In short, yes it was. It has been out for a little while, though unless you follow me on my own site, the graphics forum where I asked for help with the cover, or facebook, you might not have known about the current status.

For those that don't know, a few years back I gathered most of the photos and media I had or could get a hold of as well as reports, memories, stories and conversations with fellow fans/players of the DDR series. I believe I wrote the synopsis as :

A history of the Japanese gaming community surrounding the Dance Dance Revolution series, from 1998 to 2011, from the perspective of someone intertwined with the community from the beginning. This work follows the trends, opinions and impressions of both the casual and hardcore players over the years.

It started as a forum post I made at my own site though I shared the information here once I made a PDF of the basic contents. I originally self-published the book through lulu.com which was fine and all since I could do it so fast, but there was no quality control and my writing was admittedly pretty bad, so I then went back later and with the help of a number of fans, rewrote significant sections of the book as well as expand upon ideas that were missing from the original draft. I will always be pessimistic about my own writing style, even with help, but even I can say it is definitely more presentable and readable now as a finished product.

For all your goodies and information/stuff to read:


For purchase:

Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Counting-Combos-History-Japanese-Community/dp/1475003161/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1340204281&sr=1-1&keywords=counting+combos

CreateSpace:
https://www.createspace.com/3819770


For more info:

Shelfari's Extra Book Details (Don't ask why it says "Volume 1", I'm still trying to get them to fix that):
http://www.shelfari.com/books/29611490/Counting-Combos-A-History-of-the-Japanese-DDR-

My Blog Post on the common Q&A I have had about the book (might change from time to time):
http://aaroninjp.blogspot.jp/2012/08/questions-and-answers-about-counting.html

Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Counting-Combos/447143558646162




Thanks again to everyone that helped. (I have already placed the order for 10 more copies of the book and whenever it magically gets here I'll send you guys your long-overdue copies). <- For those that don't know, shipping to Japan has been a major ordeal for me over the past few months in particular.

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Price: $5.73. Love it.

Looks really interesting, will probably order a copy Friday when it's payday!

Thanks for the interest. I am actually waiting for a shipment of my own book since I still have the Proof Copies and it would be nice to have a more final edition. Also, I have a few people here that want to buy it off me after I ship a few copies to those overseas that helped me.


Oh yes, I have been toying with an eBook version. The PDF works fine depending on your reader, but if anyone wants a Kindle version in its native format I'll have to work on it.

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Definitely getting/ordering myself a copy...tomorrow?

In fact, I will definitely need this book and I might get more people to be interested/buy the book come November

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Going to order it as soon as I get paid. Will it go to bookstores? I would like to tell Barnes and Noble to sell your books.

Makes me wish I was still in a class that required source citing so I could not do a legit report on DDR. And maaan if I'd known about this like a week ago I could've combined it with my textbook order. D: Ah well, my fault for not paying attention.

Anyway, the finished cover looks very snazzy, and from what I read in the .pdf last time you posted it, it's pretty awesome. Thanks s'much for writing and sharing the history.

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There is an extended sales option I used, but there is a more expensive one I *could* use that might push it into more stores in the US/Canada.

I did noticed from a friend my book made it into Kinokuniya here in Japan but it used the original Proof Copy cover, which I didn't ask for, but fortunately they all sold very fast and any other shipments will have the new cover. I think I have a pic of that still... hold on

*NOTE : This is the old old cover from the Proof Copy and 1st immediate release of the book before the finalized cover a few days later; this older version is not what you will see if you order the book now. For that, look at the pic in the first post. *


I'm not sure about shipping costs and conditions but I purposely priced the book low, so it might even be worth it on a medium scale to just buy many of the copies of the book at $5.73 a piece and sell it in the end for $10 to cover shipping costs and still make a profit (assuming enough sales are made).

Edit> Barnes and Noble lists it, but at some stupidly high price. I don't know what is up with that.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/counting-combos-aaron-chmielowiec/1111778238

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Placed my order for the book from amazon, getting here around September 4th? Maybe and hopefully

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Considering ordering this. Actually, no. AM ordering this.

EDIT: Ordered.

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I read through the PDF draft in the first post, and I have to say it was interesting to say the least. Like everyone else here, I may actually order it I just don't have any way of paying for online stuffs right now. Still, great book!

Really nice to see something of mine in print now overseas. That will be really nice addition to my design credibility and resume.

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Just ordered my copy from Amazon. Long live DDR!

I just bought this book. It will sit on my shelf as a constant temptation as I attempt to study Law. ಠ_ಠ

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I only had the chance to download a pdf of the book, but I hope I can have the chance to buy it. I'd also like to translate it into Spanish, so fans of DDR who doesn't speak and understand English very well can be able to read this book. I think it could be a great project.

I am perfectly willing to help translate this book into other languages. I know enough Spanish that I can help get this started if you want.

If you would like the text of the book to work on, let me know. Actually, I think you can rip it all from the PDF anyways.

Well, thanks for the attention. There is currently a Spanish and Italian version in the works.

I just probably need help with the covers when the main contents are finished.

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Did anybody else receive their copy today? I got mine. It looks Fantastic!



I do notice a slight slant of the text on the left-hand pages, but it's no big deal.

I should be reading this instead of spending time on ZIv.

Weird on that slant issue. My proof copy and some others that have the final edition said it was fine but I saw on CreateSpace that some print runs have odd flaws like that. I hope it doesn't detract from your enjoyment of the book.

And thanks for picking up a copy


My original shipment of 10 copies was lost in the mail but they reshipped at ultra-light-speed priority express at no charge so I'm finally expecting it within the next day, no later than Tuesday. I'll see how those copies turned out and if they have that slant on the left pages.

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Noticed this on your FAQ page:
So does that mean that, technically, every single video out there of Brosoni/Rin-Go!/etc. getting those high scores is an "illegal" video?

I finished this book in 2.5 hours after getting it Friday (yesterday). It was picked up by my roomie and when I came back from learning couples mode (Yeah.. didn't know this existed cause I'm stupid) I found it on the kitchen table and immediately read the whole thing!

I do have a few criticisms regarding the "over seas" crew, mostly because I fall into a rather special subset on which you might have some interest.

1. I did not play DDR until 3 years ago. I went to college at Auburn University which had an Extreme machine. I got up the courage to play it and continued ever since. There are certain oddities in my own "youthful" exploration of DDR:

---a. I played Butterfly light->standard->heavy. I, obviously, failed the last attempt on this first round.

---b. I really liked the song and the flow of the game from it. However, I wanted to play because I heard the song Healing Vision. I thought the song was beautiful.

---c. Now oddly enough, I thought that the entire point of the game was a hybrid mix of "fun" and "score." Because the extreme machine already had a very strong standard of grading (compared to, say, 3rd mix) I understood that obtaining a Perfect was important. However, I always felt that stepping in a natural method would be best and I became quickly adept at alternating feat even if spins were required. (With the exception of angelic mix, I still tend to do this even today) So, I understand that fun aspect but wanted to have my steps match the note pattern well enough to obtain perfects.

---d. I got to expert songs and even AAing them ridiculously quickly. I don't discount lower difficulty songs though. I greatly enjoy playing them, but not to the level of perfection as DDR players. I would probably only do so for the songs that I loved the most.

2. My first run in with a master of the game was a guy named "Ben." He was so good at the game that I once joked "If he ever gets a great, it's the machine's error." BUT! I would like to note that I said this without ever having the thought that the machine could error. I had not given it much thought until I chased AAAs some time later. The point here is that he loved DDR.

3. Because my arcade experience was exceptionally limited to the Extreme machine, I decided to buy a home console version, HP2. I proceeded to buy HP and 3 later on and really started to love the second and third one because their step charts and songs felt awesome. I was honestly surprised at the quality the console only songs held.

4.Around this time, I met a new DDR player named Alex. I thought he was "okay" but the first time I watched him, he got turned around on R3 and only scored an A. I took this to mean that I was better than him, but he'd be some nice fresh air. Little did I know I was wrong on both counts.
---a. Alex was a tremendously competent and skilled player of the older 8 mixes. He would be, if he had been in the Japanese scene, a top contended and probably one of the best players in Japan. However, he was disposed to strongly disliking the new DDR songs because he held on to the intense nostalgia of the older (bootleg) Japanese machines. He had become jaded over the whole ITG fiasco and the series of sub-par DDR machines released that he turned to ITG 2 and his home pad because they were the only pads solid enough for him.

---b. Using Alex as an example, many of the Americans who came to blindly hate DDR had no real means of appreciating the scene available to Japan. There was no DDR option here, so when one was invented, Konami had them shut down. I do not agree with Alex and those like him, but I have to admit that I see their point.

5. I agree with the Japanese side more often the American view regarding expectations of DDR, but I would like to note a few points in your book with which I strongly disagree:

*I strongly believe you should have typed "a AAA" because it would be pronounced: "A triple-A." "An" requires a following vowel sound.

*The quarter line is more acceptable in America because people tend to spread out to watch. This isn't considered rude here because if someone were to say "Oh, that's distracting." We would reply "It's not on the screen, it's over the decal which is irrelevant to your play." I personally find this to be true and prefer this method, but this might have something to do with the fact that it's an old American arcade tradition. This type of objection simply does not exist here with any real backing because we have always done it. In fact, I once did this with Alex's friend, Jive, who immediately said "OMG! a quarter line! this brings back so many memories, lemme join in." People I hadn't seen before showed up to join the quarter line out of pure nostalgia. I hope this clears up some things.

*"Shadowing" is really common in America because whenever we play the game, we are rarely going after a AAA, and if we are, we make a point of doing so. NOW, I would like to point out that even though declining someone the right to shadow is generally distasteful, no one has ever shadowed with me unless they first asked. This is true for friends and strangers alike, and I must strongly apologize for this happening in Japan with visitors. In fact, I personally only shadow when teaching new players because they can hear the timing easier from my steps, and I slowly slow to a stop unless they lose track of the rhythm again.

*The golden age of DDR is gone in America because the arcades are gone. The DDR players who are left feel lost and stranded, and it is not their^ fault. Most of the DDR (not ITG) players left seem extremely interested in helping players get into the game. I know that I've managed to personally teach 4 players how to play the game (and well! My first student got his first AAA a few weeks ago on a song I haven't manage to AAA!) and countless others on how to get better.

***Even Alex has taught people how to get better, though he is far more abrasive in doing this.
*The biggest issue is that when DDR is in down time, America gets screwed. We get no help, no events to keep the game fresh, no alternatives in music games (except stepmania? and guitarhero, which I personally hate), an the worst pads. I will admit that Alex has a point about his preference for pre-supernova games; the pads are definitely better because they are the Japanese pads. We took care of our extreme very well and it is still the best machine I've ever played on.

*Finally "Gimmicky." I think we can, and should, all agree that Valkyrie Dimension is gimmicky. But, that doesn't make it bad. I think that almost every 17+ song has something gimmicky about them. Delta max , Pluto series, VD, Possession, Anti-matter, etc. BUT! Does this make them bad, unfair, etc? No! Being gimmicky isn't a bad thing! However I will say that people who use the argument "It's gimmicky, so it's bad" are poorly reacting to a game that demands adaptation.

THANK YOU FOR WRITING THIS BOOK! It was a thoroughly awesome read, and I hope to be able to talk to you in the future.

^Note: The remaining DDR players are not the ones described in your book who created this barrier of access. Those players became the ITG players. Dedicated DDR players tend to have a more Japanese mindset. At least in the area I play.

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Technically, yes. The only exceptions would be those streamed at the Konami Arcade Championships or related tournaments, but then by the same token you aren't allowed to re-broadcast that without Konami's permission anyway. It's such a mess people (try to) just do their own thing because it is much easier to ask for forgiveness than to beg for permission


Wulfy013> Thank you very much for your writeup.

The big slant with the book was that I had ready physical access to arcades and players for over a decade and spent much of my time at these arcades and with these players, even outside the scope of DDR (a group of us still holds EatMania dinner meetups now and then)

With the Western crowds, my experience was mostly online, *however* I have had the pleasure of dealing with many of my earlier contacts in person, and some of them still visit Japan regularly (one of them is coming back in a couple weeks actually). In addition to having my own site around since the dinosaurs roamed the land, I frequented many of the online haunts related to DDR and music games, and there were definitely trends and opinions that time-and-time again played themselves out. I am perfectly aware that any opinion I may state can't possibly apply to all Japanese players just as it is true any statement I make about the overseas players can't possibly apply to everyone in the West. The difference in stances and opinions is what makes the "community" (for lack of a better word) so interesting. So, when I see:


That must mean I'm doing something right

(The whole "AAA" written as such was a sticking point in the beginning. I believe I was looking up how some other acronyms were used in sentence and just chatted with a few people. It might be something worth changing, however. (Appending changes to a book in print is a bit cumbersome, though. I'd like some more solid changes before I do that)

I actually really enjoy reading writeups like yours since that does give me more of an insight into many different types of players. Who knows, maybe someday I'll update this to a more international version with more cross-references between the East and West. That sounds like a mammoth project, though (like this one wasn't, ha!)


*ALSO* I have my shipment of 10 books. The strange slanted print mentioned above isn't in any of mine, so I do think this problem may be on a per-demand basis :/



And HOHOHO look what finally arrived:

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