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In the world of Dance Dance Revolution, companies are always out to set new standards in performance on the dance pad. Be it better cushioning, better sensors or just all out new construction. The problem through all of this is two fold. Quality and Performance.

Since 3rd parties have started they've tried to figure how to make a better version of the two standard products. The Konami Dance Pad and The ever so impossible to find Konami Deluxe Pad. The problem is though that even though they can duplicate the technology at a lesser price, they always seem to fail in creating a product equal in quality. That's why I've decided to create a shootout between the best of the best in economy and in high performance.

The products that I plan to benchmark with are the following.

The Topway PSX Soft Pad
The Topway PSX + PC Soft Pad (1st generation as I could not find the 2nd)
The Madcatz Beat Pad
The Konami Soft Pad
The Topway Hard Platform
The BNS Ultra "DX" DDR Dance Pad
The RedOctane Ignition Pad

First Impressions:

The soft pads all pretty much come out in the same fashion. What I could notice was this right off of the bat. The Topway and Konami Pads feature a slick plastic surface and the Madcatz features a nylon type material. All of them are pretty much identical by view minus some minor case changes for the pcb.

The Topway Hard Platform came in a massive box. Mainly because this thing comes assembled. The platform itself is quite noisy as the panels have nothing to dampen the sound of plastic smacking plastic with. The overall appeal is quite pleasing as it really doesn't move around that much. Most likely because its like 25lbs of plastic.

The big shootout for most people is right here though. The BNS Ultra "DX" DDR Dance Pad and the RedOctane Ignition Dance Pad. Mainly because at comparison they appear identical minus some minor graphic changes. The biggest problem people have is the price differences and who has the better overall product.

Each of these pads boast these traits which make them the top of the chain in the retail market.

1 inch or more of removable foam padding inside. Raised buttons with reinforcement to improve accuracy A slick nylon top surface for easy movement Improved sensor layout Non-Slip bottom surface

Don't be fooled though as they along with the Topway hard platform all are in the higher cash range of $50 - $110

Let the Testing Begin..

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