DDR Craze

In just two weeks, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, the promotional wave launched by Sony and Sega swept the globe with unprecedented force.

A barrage of TV commercials, full-page articles in fashion magazines, celebrity endorsement videos, and massive pre-launch buzz propelled an arcade game called <DanceDancerRevolution> to major cities worldwide.

Everything is building momentum for the release of DDR.

DDR was officially released on the eve of Thanksgiving.

On this day, as dawn broke, the scenes outside flagship arcades in major cities around the world were strikingly similar.

The crowd surged, mostly young faces in the queue, their eyes sparkling with excitement and anticipation.

Media reporters set up their cameras and microphones, ready to capture this extraordinary moment.

Tokyo, Akihabara.

Before the hustle and bustle of the Electric Town had fully subsided, several girls in dark school uniforms were already chattering excitedly.

"The Masked Ball the song 'Maitokai' from Gossip Girls are so cute."

A girl with pigtails gestured to her name, eliciting a soft laugh from her companions.

"Yeah, yeah, I never expected the Shonentai to be able to dance like this. It seems like both boys and girls could dance it."

They were discussing the DDR dance moves performed by a popular girl group in the promotional video—novel, beautiful, and full of girlish aspirations.

Not far away, a young man dressed in loose hip-hop clothes and wearing a baseball cap looked down on the craze.

He is a seasoned street dance enthusiast, and faint tattoos are visible on his arms.

"Tch, it's just following the arrows and hitting the beat, something only kids play with."

He muttered under his breath, his tone full of disdain.

His friend pulled him up with force.

"Don't say that, A-Ken. We're already here, let's give it a try."

The young man, nicknamed A-Ken, was eventually dragged into the group by his friends, albeit reluctantly.

When it was his turn, he deliberately chose the song "Bad." Michael Jack's image appeared on the screen, and a highly difficult chart appeared.

At first, he was somewhat playful, trying to keep up with LaVeleSmithJr.'s dance moves in the video while stepping on the arrows.

As a result, the continuous "Miss" on the screen completely wiped away the ease on his face.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and a few suppressed chuckles drifted from the surrounding area.

When the song ended, the results were disastrous.

A-Ken's cheeks were burning, not from the exercise, but from a long-lost sense of frustration.

He stared at the glaringly low score on the screen, then recalled Smith's cool moves in the game, and his expression changed.

The dancer's competitive spirit was completely ignited.

"One more time."

He pulled a coin from his pocket, his tone leaving no room for argument.

North America, New York.

On a giant screen near Times Square, a cool promotional video for DDR is playing on a loop.

Inside the arcade, deafening music and dazzling lights intertwined, attracting countless curious glances.

A blond, blue-eyed young man awkwardly stomped to the beat of "Never Gonna Give You Up," his stiff movements somewhat comical.

Each of his mistakes drew good-natured laughter and encouraging whistles from the onlookers.

The atmosphere was lively and free, full of American exuberance.

Suddenly, a small gasp of surprise rippled through the crowd.

A graceful girl, dressed in a simple T-shirt and jeans, moves to the melodious tune of <La Isla Bonita>.

They stepped onto the dance floor.

Her dance steps were not entirely based on the on-screen instructions, but rather incorporated many improvisational, Latin-style upper body movements and spins on the basis of precise timing.

Her confidence and composure instantly made her the center of attention.

When the music ended, thunderous applause erupted.

A middle-aged man in a suit walked through the crowd and handed over a business card.

The girl took the business card, glanced at it, and saw the logo of a well-known modeling agency printed on it.

Such stories quietly unfolded around the world in the first few days after the release of DDR.

London, Europe.

A trendy arcade in Soho attracts many fashionably dressed young people.

ABBA's energetic disco beat for "Gimme Gimme Gimme!" inspired several girls with elaborate makeup to try it out.

They soon discovered that the game was far more challenging than it appeared.

The arrows at your feet are just the basics; what truly attracts attention and earns high praise is the upper body performance synchronized with the music and the overall stage presence.

After several rounds, a thin layer of sweat appeared on their foreheads, their cheeks flushed, but their eyes gleamed with a desire to conquer.

Challenging themselves with difficult songs and researching more elaborate dance moves has become their new source of enjoyment.

Whether it's the refinement of Tokyo, the exuberance of New York, or the fashion of London.

Players were all amazed by the high-definition video quality delivered by DDR using the LD carrier.

I was impressed by that incredibly accurate judgment system.

I was ignited by the dazzling sound and light effects that perfectly synchronized with the dance steps.

In particular, songs by female idol groups that are not difficult to play but have catchy melodies and cute dance moves have attracted a large number of female players who previously avoided arcade games.

They jumped lightly in front of the screen, their faces beaming with pure joy.

Sega Headquarters, conference room.

Just days after the release date, orders and revenue data from all over the world poured in.

Nakayama Takuya sat at the conference table, his expression calm, but the slight upturn of his lips betrayed his true feelings.

The finance manager's voice, tinged with barely suppressed excitement, echoed in the rather quiet conference room.

"Reporting to the board of directors, as of yesterday, the initial global rollout of 50,000 <DanceDancerRevolution> machines has been largely sold out."

"Additional orders from arcades across the country have exceeded 100,000 units."

"Preliminary calculations show that the project's research and development and initial promotion costs have been fully recovered within three days of launch."

"Currently, the daily net profit is climbing at an astonishing rate."

As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp filled the conference room, followed by enthusiastic applause and murmurs of amazement.

Director Yoshikawa's wrinkles seemed to smooth out. He clapped his hands vigorously. Although he had initially supported this project because he was in charge of liaising with Sony, the company now counted him for a share of the credit. It's just that winning without lifting a finger is really hard to resist.

After the initial excitement, a senior executive maintained a degree of composure amidst the joy.

"The success of DDR is certainly the result of our team's hard work, but we must also acknowledge that Sony's powerful global marketing network, abundant music copyright resources, and readily available, established channels like arcades played a crucial role."

These words calmed the atmosphere in the meeting room slightly.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Nakayama Takuya nodded slightly; Sony's assistance was indeed one of the key factors that enabled DDR to quickly take off globally.

The conversation naturally turned to Sega itself.

"In contrast, our own sales channels for home consoles have always been a weakness."

Director Yoshikawa frowned slightly, his tone carrying a hint of heaviness.

"Taking the SG-1000 as an example, we rely too heavily on a few large game distributors such as Tonka Toys."

"The distribution scope is far from sufficient, resulting in many excellent games failing to reach a wider range of potential users."

The atmosphere in the meeting room suddenly became somewhat heavy.