What's more, the study's authors were surprised to find the Wii Sports games, which rely almost solely on upper-body motion, still provided a good enough calorie burn. I guess they hadn't played the home run derby, which still whips my ass every time.

Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center conducted the study, looking at 23 boys and girls ages 10 to 13. They examined the kids' energy expenditure at rest and while watching TV, then playing Dance Dance Revolution at two skill levels, then Wii Sports bowling and boxing, and then walking at various speeds on a treadmill.

Unsurprisingly, kids burned three times more calories playing the games than watching TV. The researchers were impressed enough to recommend "active games such as DDR or Wii" as "a complement to activities such as walking or cycling."

Of course, anyone who's gone 3 rounds in Wii boxing and ended up heaving and sweating already knew this. But it's a top-flight university study in a leading research journal, and the mainstream media's picking up the ball. So for those keeping score on whether we gamers are getting slapped upside the head or patted on it, today I'd say the latter.

Let the Kids Play Video Games - They're Burning Calories [Los Angeles Times]

Less than 150 feet from any shoreline near a beach boardwalk, there's probably a video game arcade. Beach arcades have been around even before there were video games – in the late 1880s and early 1900s, you could pay a nickel to have your palms shocked by an electric current or your grip tested by a challenge to squeeze metal handles at Venice Beach, California or Coney Island, New York. And then, since the advent of Pong in the 1970s and through the phenomenon of Dance Dance Revolution, video game arcades and beaches have been closely linked.

Your average trip to the seaside can be a trip back to childhood. We undervalue trips like this, especially since the bum economy has many people taking "stay-cations" to local beaches instead of vacations to tropical resorts. Even worse, we undervalue some of the last dedicated video game arcades in the country, which you can find at Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts, Weirs Beach, New Hampshire, Redondo Beach, California or Virginia Beach in Virginia. With a good listing of local arcades featuring classic video games, you're all set for a summer of time travel.

Santa Cruz, main arcade.

For me, my beach arcade nostalgia trip began with a visit last week to the arcades at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. I walked up and down the boardwalk, watching kids try to drag their parents into the smaller arcades where redemption machines were visible from the walkway. I saw a group of preteen girls gather around MTV Drumscape, unsure of how to work the controls and apparently unwilling to read the instructions. I doubled back toward the Casino arcade and noted how the sand that people tracked in from the seaside gathered in little piles by the line of Mario Kart arcade machines. Turns out, people were sitting down on the plastic kart seat to empty out their shoes. And I saw a sunburned little girl who could have been me 15 years ago head toward the Galaga machine with a handful of tokens.

I'd never been to Santa Cruz as a kid, but I was overwhelmed with nostalgia as I walked between arcade machines and squinted against the flashing neon lights coming from their screens. It took me back in time 15 years to a noisy, air-conditioned cacophony of flashing neon lights and blaring 8-bit music in an arcade somewhere near Monterey Bay, California. On that fateful day 15 years ago, I was converted from a budding beach bunny into a total arcade animal when I got a high score on Galaga after two hours and $10 in quarters.

Santa Cruz, the Classic Corner.

That arcade in Monterey is gone, now. Like so many arcades across the country, it probably closed when Nolan Bushnell's Atari and Chuck E. Cheese empire declined and arcade machines across the country lost the 3D technology battle to Nintendo and Sega's home consoles. By 1997, there were maybe two arcades in my hometown where I could find Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Ms. Pac-Man, but by and large, those "arcades" threw out their video games and replaced them with kiddy gambling machines that spat tickets. The thrill I got from those kinds of arcades faded like a sunburn – it was nothing like the burning passion Galaga instilled.

The feelings and experiences of that long-gone arcade all came back to me within minutes of finding the Galaga machine at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – tucked into the Classic Corner of the Casino arcade building along with a dozen other old-timers, even a Sea Wolf machine, circa 1976. There were actually several Galaga machines throughout the boardwalk, since there's more than one video game arcade. In the last few years or so, the management team at the boardwalk decided to merge their video game arcades with their kiddy gambling centers (a.k.a. "redemption centers") and now you cannot go twenty feet along the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk without spotting Street Fighter, DDR, or Ms. Pac-Man right next to ski ball and UFO catcher machines.

Santa Cruz.

The arcades at Santa Cruz have a reputation among hardcore arcade gamers for having one of the largest selections of classic arcade games of any beach arcade. There's only one other place where you can find more than the 50-odd functioning classic arcade games of the 70s and early 80s; and Funspot in Laconia, New Hampshire doesn't count because it's a museum, not a beach arcade.

What does count as a beach arcade but doesn't quite top Santa Cruz's collection is Half Moon Arcade at Weirs Beach, New Hampshire – about two miles away from Funspot. Like Santa Cruz, it's a tourist location with a lot of local traffic, but unlike Santa Cruz, it's only open in the summer. Arcade manager Robert Ames says that no matter what, there will always been an arcade at that beach.

Weirs Beach — Image Cred.

"I grew up with this business," he says. "At one time or another, we've had just about everything in this arcade." Between the arcade's two locations along the shoreline of Lake Winnipesaukee, there are more than 200 machines (redemption and video game) for people to play. Ames says the arcades see a mixed crowd of families and teenagers as well as hardcore gamers who compete at DDR.

The crowds who gather at Santa Cruz's Casino arcade include hardcore gamers, first-time teenagers and a ton of families. Arcade manager Barb Phillips and chief technician Brian Gustavson say that the Santa Cruz crowd shifts from mostly families and 15-year-olds without driver's licenses in the summer, to hardcore Capcom vs. SNK and DDR crowds and students from nearby UC Santa Cruz during the off-season in the winter.

Even with the recent downturn in the economy, the boardwalk hasn't taken a hit. "We're seen as a local destination, so people think of it as an inexpensive vacation," says Phillips. "We've had consistent [tourism] numbers this year and even in the off-season we do okay." I can see how they would. The Classic Corner may not have gotten as much foot traffic as the rest of the arcade – it's tucked into an awkward location next to laser tag and a row of pinball machines and can only fit about 15 comfortably. But tight clusters of teens formed around light gun games like Time Crisis 3 and around fighting games like Virtua Fighter 4, feeding token after token into the machines with the same fervor I remember from my 15-year-old affair with Galaga.

Santa Cruz.
Fuller would not disclose just how much money the arcade games pull in for the boardwalk total – but of the 176 arcade machines that don't spit tickets, every single one pulls its weight enough for Gustavson to justify the expense of ordering custom parts to fix them when they break.

Maintaining old arcade machines is definitely a challenge for beach arcades in a strapped economy. Gustavson talked about how sand gets where isn't supposed to go, overzealous gamers break joysticks and about how machines left in storage near salty sea air tend not to do so well when you try to switch them back on. Replacement parts for machines from the 70s can cost as much as $200 on auction sites; and many arcade technicians have to improvise.

Flipper McCoy's arcade in Virginia Beach does pretty well on its own repairs. Most coin-operated machines in the South are run by the Southern Amusement Corporation – and according to arcade manager Jay, the chief technician at the arcade is the husband of one of the corporation's owners. "He never has trouble finding parts," says Jay, who declined to give his last name because he's joining the Navy. "We've got a ton of machines here and they run off quarters, so there's enough money to keep ‘em all running."

Jay says Flipper McCoy's hasn't had a hard time with the drop off in summer travel, either – mostly because their tourist crowd is made up of foreigners from Russia or Morocco. "We do get a lot of local hardcore gamers who want to play Marvel vs. Capcom, but there are a lot of [tourists] who are all like, ‘Hey, there's Spider-Man in a game, I want to play that.'" Arcade games and classics like the original Super Mario Bros. are a big draw for the Flipper McCoy's crowd, he says, but there are still way more redemption machines than classic arcade games.

Back in Santa Cruz, Gustavson observes that any game where you can show off or at least ride a plastic motorcycle is enormously popular with older kids and adults – while the ticket-spitters are mostly the domain of young children. "People like to compete with each other," he says. "And the games where you can sit down and pull a curtain shut – they're pretty popular with the teenagers out on dates."

Santa Cruz, Casino Arcade.

That made me blush. Jurassic Park, first French kiss, Chuck E. Cheese, 1994. See what I mean about time travel?

Beach arcades may not be that different from other arcades that survived the downfall of the Golden Age. A few arcade gaming experts I interviewed said as much.

Ken Chaney, co-conspirator and operator of classic video game arcade showcase California Extreme says that after the Golden Age ended, "Arcade games were relegated to niche markets, tourist traps." And what are beach boardwalks besides very large tourist traps?

Chaney's co-organizer, East Coast-based arcade tournament director Bowen Kerins, agrees and adds that the redemption machines are just as ubiquitous at beach arcades as they are in the Chuck E. Cheeses they conquered. "These games are not providing the kind of experience people will want to come back to," he says.

But there's something to be said for the nostalgia the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk brought me. Chaney and Kerins trade on that same feeling for their annual showcase – but with the right arcade nearby, anyone can take that trip back in time almost at any time of the year.

I take comfort in knowing both that there's a place where I can get my Galaga fix and in knowing that there will be other generations of kids after me that will one day grow up, go to the beach for a vacation, and find that arcade game and all of the memories attached to it somewhere nearby.

Course, that's just my $0.02. If you're a DDR fanatic and can see yourself enjoying this, rather than smashing it into a million pieces/throwing it out a window, knock yourself out! It's only $16.

DDR Alarm Clock Takes Your Fingers Back to 2003 [Gizmodo]

Game Changer: Investing in Digital Play to Advance Children's Learning and Health admonishes health officials, educators, philanthropists, universities, policymakers, the games industry and the federal government to get off their butts and start shelling out money for research.

"Despite their reputation as promoters of violence and mayhem, digital games have in fact been shown to help children gain content and vital foundational and 21st-century skills," the study reads. "Digital games are here to stay and offer the country a rare opportunity to leverage children's already established enthusiasm in order to reform education and promote healthy development."

Game Changer proposes research and development funding for video games as well as partnerships between game makers and the government. Dance Dance Revolution and the Wii both get a hearty shout-out as does the Serious Games Initiative and Games for Change. But the biggest point the study seems to make is the need for grownups — particularly parents — to get involved early and often when their kids encounter games.

You can check out the text of the study here and if you missed today's two-hour webcast discussing the study, keep your eyes on this space for the video upload.

Noon Webcast: Using Games to Advance Learning & Health in Kids [GamePolitics]

Takarazuka is no stranger to adaptations; their five troupes have each put on works based on Western literature and films, Japanese mythology and even popular manga throughout the group's 96 year history. The Cosmos Troupe — newest and most experimental of the Takarazuka gang — handled the Phoenix Wright adaptation, rendering the DS esquire down to the last detail along with his colorful cast of supporting characters. Because they the adaptation with developer/publisher Capcom's blessing, they had a certain quality standard to live up to.

Clearly something clicked as Capcom and Takarazuka are continuing their collaboration for the musical Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2. Takarazuka's success in adapting a video game into a musical begs the question, then, of when we can expect to see a major-production video game musical in the United States.

The answer: We're almost there.

Below: From Les Freres Corbusier presents Dance Dance Revolution

Just a little over a year ago, Les Freres Corbusier presents Dance Dance Revolution completed a successful run at the Ohio Theater in New York City (off-Broadway, but still Broadway). The production wasn't in anyway affiliated with Konami, but because it's a comedy "loosely based on" DDR, it falls under the protection of parody law in the United States.

Even with that legal cover, Alex Timbers, Les Freres Corbusier's Artistic Director said, "It wasn't parodying Dance Dance Revolution per se. But no one was purchasing tickets because they thought it was DDR."

"I'd already done a musical based on Buck Hunter," he said, revealing his tendency to hang out in video arcades for inspiration. "I had, on a lark, written [a DDR musical] — and at that time, I'd never played it — but we did a really sort of low-budget production of it and it was really fun, it was a huge hit."

In his adaptation, Timbers invented a plot to go with the music that was taken mostly from Dance Dance Revolution Disney's Rave Remix. The story is set in a futuristic totalitarian society where dancing is illegal (think George Orwell's 1984). The "dance prophet" Moonbeam Funk arrives to shake things up for the no-fun government — and that's where the Dance Dance Revolution part comes in.

After a summer stock production, Timbers brought on professional video designers and took their vision of Dance Dance Revolution to the next level. They got a larger venue in New York and planned to stage the production in a bar where the audience could be a part of the action instead of just the spectator (and of course drink).

"It was a success in that it sold out before its first performance," said Timbers. "And the show was good. It's a little hard to quantify it in theater [where productions are expected to lose money]. But it definitely felt like it met all expectations and exceeded them."

Timbers said that for some the production was a "sweetly loving ode" to DDR, while others said they wanted to see more of the actual game in the show.

"Though," he said, "I have no idea what that show would be."

Below: From Jonathan Mann's Mario Rock Opera.

Chances are it would look something like Jonathan Mann's Mario Rock Opera. Not this crazy puppet version, mind — but the live action one-act musical staged as part of the California Institute of the Arts student showcase in 2005.

Writer-director Jonathan Mann said he'd always wanted to do a Mario musical. "The first video game memory I have is of playing Mario at a babysitter's house," he said. The nostalgia he felt for the game in college was so powerful, he found a way to sneak it into his curriculum. "I was in the writing program at Cal Arts, which is sort of this really wide-open [program]. As long as you justify what you're doing you can make whatever. It was technically my thesis project."

Mann's adaptation draws from the basic themes in most Super Mario games: princess gets kidnapped, Mario jumps on goombas, wash-rinse-repeat. Mann expands the idea of Mario as the everyman, painting him as a hero in an emotional crisis.

"He realizes he's this Sisyphean character who's done this thousands of millions of times," Mann explained. "And he has a sort of existential crisis and he becomes really depressed. And at the end of the first act he dies at the hands of Magic Koopa."

Boy, I can't tell you how many times that happened to me.

Below: The CD cover for Mario Rock Opera.

"Most of the teachers didn't totally get it," Mann laughs. "I just don't think that they understood [because they'd never played the game]. I had to frame it in this sort of Joseph Campbell [premise] to sell it to them. But everyone who saw the finished piece enjoyed it. I think they enjoyed it whether or not [they'd played the game]."

That will be the ultimate challenge of adapting video games to musicals: Can the script and the music build off of the premise the games on which they are based and still be fun for everybody to watch?

San Francisco Bay Area theater critic Sam Hurwitt thinks it's possible. As a critic who specializes in reviewing plays and musicals based off of movies and books, it's not hard for him to imagine what a video game musical adaptation would look like or how soon he'll be reviewing it.

"It's only a matter of time," Hurwitt said. "You've got tons of people who play video games going to movies, so they're making games into movies… and a lot of movies are being adapted into musicals."

There are two problems with this from Hurwitt's perspective, though: the first is that adaptations in general don't leave a lot of room for originality in musical theater.

"The thing with musicals is you'll often have the temptation to completely revamp the story to make it more musical friendly — maybe give it a happy ending or something," he explained.

The second thing Hurwitt is a little leery of is the lack of narrative in many video games: "In the case of something like Super Mario, it's not that much of a story. You can't have two and a half hours of just somebody jumping over turtles and knocking over things to get to the princess."

Clearly he hadn't seen the Mario Rock Opera.

Ironically, Hurwitt's concerns address each other. If a game has a weak or non-existent narrative, there is more room for a would-be adaptation to get creative.

Left: Another scene from the Dance Dance Revolution production.

"[Video games are] exciting and incongruous in a way that allows you a lot of latitude," Timbers said. "Doing a musical based on Toy Story, for example, you know what that's going to be. But doing a musical based on Dance Dance Revolution, that's exciting and mysterious and there's a lot of creative latitude."

Even something like Mario which follows a very clear (if basic) narrative is still a wide-open field in terms of creativity. Just look at the Mario Ice Capades show (do not look at the film bastardization adaptation).

Endless creativity in adapting video games to musicals presents its own set of challenges, though. Les Freres Corbusier presents Dance Dance Revolution hasn't caused any Konami lawsuits so far (hooray for parody law!). But if rouge theater companies start staging musicals "loosely based" on licensed properties left and right, chances are a game publisher will take exception.

It's this fear of corporate pressure that's kept Mann from completing acts two and three of his Mario Rock Opera — and from exploring Metroid or Zelda operas, which would be his ultimate dream. "If I had some help, I could do it," he said. "I got kind of burnt out doing Mario all by myself."

But even if he got funding and a troupe like Cosmos, Mann would still be afraid of Nintendo quashing the project before it even got going.

"You will not find someone that thinks that there is more of a market for this kind of thing than me," said Mann. "I put two years of my life into it. But… every once in a while someone will call me up and say, ‘Hey, Mario Opera – it's a great idea' and their first question is ‘do you have the rights?' And my answer is ‘No' and their second question is… Well, they don't have a second question."

Left: The Phoenix Wright musical's promo poster.

That doesn't mean it's impossible – but it will take time and some vetted examples of success to convince both theater people and game companies that video game musicals could, in fact, rock. Fingers crossed, Takarazuka's Phoenix Wright production will clue other publishers in to the idea that there's a market for video game musicals.

They may already have. Andrew Lloyd Webber wants to make his musicals into games; Takarazuka already has Phoenix Wright sequels in the bag; and — rumor has it — EA is shopping for theater companies to look into adapting some its licensed games to the stage. (Our contacts at EA were unable to comment on the rumor one way or the other.)

"The real test is not going to be a video game musical's fealty to the video game — although that could be interesting — the question is how entertaining is it as an evening of theater," said Hurwitt. "In order for it to work, it's great for it to appeal to the fan base of the video game… but it also has to have some sort of crossover, to play to somebody who hasn't played the game. If the video game theater audience crosses over a bit more [into musical theater]… it's only matter of time."

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney 2 hits Bow Hall in Hyogo, Japan on August 21 and will come to Tokyo's Akasaka ACT Theater September 5. Jonathan Mann is hard at work on getting the first act of his Mario Rock Opera animated; and although Alex Timbers doesn't have any future plans for video game adaptations (yet), his next show will feature live robots on stage. That's not too far off from a Super Robot Taisen musical, right?

Why you'd do this, we don't know. Unless you had no arms, or something. It could at least have some back-up dancing and maybe some kind of highland jig. Or be put to use on something a little more interesting. Like a game. But still, seeing two DDR dancemats (for the PS2, no less) stitched together and made to do something practical is worth a "well done" and a pat on the head.

Largest TV Remote Ever Controls Windows Media Center [Gizmodo]

Gameplay is as straightforward as it gets, requiring players to tap four touchscreen arrows in time as they scroll by to the beat of shrill pop music. Konami promises "innovative new gameplay modes" which we'll assume to refer to the "Shake Mode" which uses the iPhone's built-in accelerometer.

Dance Dance Revolution S also has a "Lite" version, letting you demo the game's capabilities with a single song and lone dancer. The full version is said to pack 26 songs and 18 playable characters and will set you back $6.99 USD or whatever your local currency is.

Full disclosure: Dance Dance Revolution S may have actually been available for some time now, but Konami decided to actually tell us about it today, finally cluing us in to the wonders of DDR on the iPhone and iPod Touch. So, save those precious "Old!" and "Um, this has been out for weeks now." They're no good here.

Dance Dance Revolution S [iTunes]

In the name of promoting healthy lifestyles in children, Subway has teamed with Konami in order to include DanceDanceRevolution toys in every Fresh Fit for Kids meal at participating locations through March. Sure to be a big hit at raves, the premium items include an Action Armband, Water Bottle, Disco Revolution, Pencil Pal, Dancemania and Break-it-Down. Other than the armband, which is pretty self-explanatory, and the water bottle to help rehydrate your children before they collapse to the ground and have to be hauled off by security, I have no idea what any of that stuff is. Included with whatever you wind up with will be a $10 off coupon good on the latest DDR games, currently stacked five high at your local game store.

Haven't they done this before? I could have sworn I'd gone into a Subway back when I was concerned about my health and laughed at the silly DDR merchandise sometime in the past. Oh well.

SUBWAY® RESTAURANTS, IN PARTNERSHIP WITH KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT, INC, WILL HAVE KIDS DANCING AT THEIR TABLES WITH DANCEDANCEREVOLUTION® PREMIUM

Thru March 29, 2009, Subway Restaurants To Offer DanceDanceRevolution® Premiums With Each Purchase Of A Fresh Fit For Kids Meal

WHAT:
Kids can dance into the New Year at SUWBAY® restaurants with the all-new DanceDanceRevolution® promotion. Konami and SUBWAY® restaurants today announced a partnership that will help promote a healthy lifestyle for children by delivering the fun and excitement of Konami's best-selling get-up-and-move video game to children everywhere. From December 29, 2008 thru March 29, 2009, participating SUBWAY® restaurants will offer one of six exclusive, high quality DanceDanceRevolution® branded premium toy accessories along with a $10 coupon good on any of the newest DanceDanceRevolution games with each purchase of a SUBWAY FRESH FIT FOR KIDS™ meal.

Available for a limited time while supplies last, the SUBWAY FRESH FIT FOR KIDS™ meal premiums include, DanceDanceRevolution® branded Action Armband, Water Bottle, Disco Revolution, Pencil Pal, Dancemania and Break-it-Down. The kids meal and each premium will come in four color DanceDanceRevolution® kid's meal bags that feature DanceDanceRevolution® images on one side and details about the SUBWAY FRESH FIT FOR KIDS™ meal program on the other.

The SUBWAY® promotion is the latest in a series of initiatives that has made the DanceDanceRevolution® franchise a fitness phenomenon that has received a tremendous amount of recognition for helping people of all ages lose weight and achieve better health. DanceDanceRevolution® has truly pioneered the latest trend in gaming that takes players off of the couch and away from the joystick. Each version of the game has a Workout Mode that allows users to track calories burned and monitor their own fitness regiment. Additionally, DanceDanceRevolution® has been an official part of the physical fitness curriculum in multiple school districts throughout the United States including every school in the State of West Virginia. The game has also been a valuable tool used in numerous research studies on fighting childhood obesity and has been a mainstay in health clubs and libraries across the nation as organizations look for new and innovative ways to fight childhood obesity.

Sorry, make that three. Frogger's coming along for the ride as well.

Silent Hill will be a touch-screen port of the mobile game Silent Hill: The Escape. So nothing really new there. The Dance Dance Revolution title - DDR S Lite - looks a little more suited to the touch-screen, although without the dancing, it doesn't really have much of a point.

And Frogger? Well, it's plain old Frogger, and considering the waking nightmare most iPhone ports have been over the past few months, it...well, it may actually turn to be the best of the lot.

[Konami Touch]

Click through the pictures below sent to use by reader Dan. There does seem to be a dearth of DDR and a whole lotta WTF. That's okay and isn't necessary bad. Legal issue can probably stop theater troupes from using DDR arcade machines, but not from theater troupes using WTF. Nothing can stop WTF. Nothing.

It's set in an Orwellian society where a dance prophet named Moonbeam Funk helps dancing youth gangs rebel against a fascist government. The company working on the show describes it as "like Footloose set in the future — but kind of scarier, and with 40 really attractive, barely-clothed young actors and buckets of free beer."

An oppressive regime, video games, scantly clad people and beer. Something for everyone!

Van Hansis to Star in Les Freres Corbusier's Dance Dance Revolution [TheaterMania via AfterElton via GayGamer]

The site also supports stat tracking, though currently the only game that supports the feature is DDR Universe 2 for the Xbox 360, which I own and have played exactly three times in the past three months, displaying my powerful commitment to personal fitness. Hit the link to set up your own online DDR presence, or jump right over it for a press release guaranteed to make your body move, probably.

DDR Online Community Site [Konami]

KONAMI HELPS CELEBRATE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF DANCEDANCEREVOLUTION BY LAUNCHING OFFICIAL DANCEDANCEREVOLUTION BRAND AND COMMUNITY PORTAL

Fans Of Best-Selling Dance Franchise Can Come Together At DDROnlineCommunity.com To Create Personal Profiles, Videos, & Blogs, Chat With Friends, Learn About Upcoming DDR Releases/Events, And More

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - June 17, 2008 - As part of the year-long celebration of the 10th anniversary of its best-selling DanceDanceRevolution® franchise, Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc., today announced the launch of the official DanceDanceRevolution brand and community portal. Fans of DanceDanceRevolution can now go to www.ddronlinecommunity.com to join other DanceDanceRevolution enthusiasts as they enjoy a host of exciting features related to the DanceDanceRevolution craze. Included among the many features offered such as blog updates direct from the development team, the site offers opportunities for fans to create their own personal profiles, post videos, and write their own blogs. Additionally, they can chat with other DanceDanceRevolution fans around the globe and join special forums. Those who think they are among the DanceDanceRevolution elite will enjoy the live stats tracking feature that can be linked to profiles and scoreboards for DanceDanceRevolution Universe 2 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft with a future iteration planned as well. Through the site, Konami will also keep fans updated on all DanceDanceRevolution related news including upcoming product releases, local and national events, and more.

"For 10 years, DanceDanceRevolution has evolved from a video game into a pop culture icon. Millions of versions of the game have been sold, fan clubs have been formed, and the people who count themselves as members of the DanceDanceRevolution community continue to grow exponentially each year," said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing at Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc "As we celebrate this special anniversary, the time was right to provide a fun place online where our fans can share their love for the DanceDanceRevolution brand and also enjoy a host of special features, promotions, and activities that are certain to add to the allure of this special franchise."

Originally debuting in arcades in 1998, DanceDanceRevolution has been available on most consoles including Xbox® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, and Wii™. Revolutionizing the get-up-and move concept for video games, DanceDanceRevolution combines high energy music with fun-filled gameplay. The game has swept into the pop culture psyche as it has had its own television program on CBS, is regularly featured on primetime television, music videos and feature films, has its own fan club and fan sites, is part of the physical education program in many school districts, and is a featured workout in fitness clubs across the United States.

As an internal memo describes it:

"Concept: There is a whole generation of kids (and adults) out there who aren't into sports and/or don't get enough exercise. At the same time there is a huge fitness market. We have seen how kids can become addicted to our video games. We are going to hook up an exercise bike to a video game, where the bike is the controller. Hook up a bike to "Pole Position" and you have to pedal to make your car "go". Hook it up to "Dig-Dug" and shovel faster - or else! We can make fitness freaks out of the kids and game players out of the keep-fitters. We capitalize on the combination of the two powerful markets — video games and aerobic fitness."

Better than that, you could hook the bikes up to a generator, too, and have an army of child fitness freaks powering your city's electrical grid. That captializes on the combination of THREE powerful markets — video games, aerobic fitness and child labor public utilities!

The Puffer is actually one of the better ideas in this look at 18 products — because it wasn't released. Most of the others, up until Dance Dance Revolution, were disappointments and DDR wasn't even specifically released as an exercise game. Now we have Wii Fit, selling like nuts and offending parents of fat children everywhere. But it's early, and as Boing Boing notes, anything that promises to make exercise more fun usually doesn't. Because if it was fun to begin with, we wouldn't be sitting on our asses playing video games.

From Atari Joyboard to Wii Fit: 25 Years of Exergaming [boingboing]

If you are a PS2 owner you'll be able to link up to four PS2 up with LAN cables and provide a dance party for up to eight people. With that kind of set up you better have a huge living room and no neighbors if you wish to avoid arrest for disturbing the peace. You can also plug in your EyeToy camera and become part of the game.

Xbox 360 players will be treated to sixty five songs, Xbox LIVE compatibility and the ability to customize their own dancer. Also included are two new modes; DJ Mode where you can create your own tracks and set lists and City Mode where you can compete against various bosses to rule the dance floor.

Wii owners will get four player multiplayer, Wii remote and nunchuck support, new modes and an all new soundtrack. The new modes consist of the Dance n' Defend Battle Mode, a head to head dance off using the Wii remote, Course Mode and Groove Arena Mode. You'll also be able to use your Mii in the game!

Make the jump to check out the full press release and all the swinging details!

KONAMI CELEBRATES 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF DANCEDANCE REVOLUTION® WITH THREE NEW RELEASES:

DanceDanceRevolution® X for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system
DanceDanceRevolution® Universe3 for the Xbox 360
DanceDanceRevolution® Hottest Party 2 for Wii™

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. - May 14, 2008 - Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. today announced three upcoming DanceDanceRevolution® titles will ship this Fall in honor of the 10th anniversary of the franchise. After a decade as one of the most popular franchises in the music genre, DanceDanceRevolution® fans can move their feet to different beats with DanceDanceRevolution® X for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system, DanceDanceRevolution® UNIVERSE3 for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and DanceDanceRevolution® Hottest Party 2 for Wii™.

"We cannot thank our fans enough for their continued devotion to the DanceDanceRevolution® franchise. The continued popularity and longevity of DanceDanceRevolution® has transformed it from a video game into something much bigger and more special," said Anthony Crouts, Vice President of Marketing for Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc. "We wanted to celebrate this special occasion by bringing to market three new versions of the game that offer the biggest and best musical selections along with a slate of unique features."

DanceDanceRevolution® X

In DanceDanceRevolution® X, players can dance their way through a soundtrack packed with major hits from some of today's top artists. The latest release for the PlayStation®2 system offers fans of the beloved dance video game enhanced graphics along with fun, interactive gameplay and innovative new game modes, including the brand new LAN Battle Mode — which lets up to eight players battle simultaneously through the LAN lines on their PlayStation®2 system. Additionally, players can work up a sweat by customizing their own workout and fitness programs and, by plugging in the EyeToy™ USB Camera (for PlayStation®2) peripheral, they can put themselves in the game.

DanceDanceRevolution® UNIVERSE3

Marking its return to the Xbox 360, DanceDanceRevolution® UNIVERSE3 offers fans a whole new experience with the debut of new modes including DJ Mode and City Mode. In DJ Mode, players can explore their inner DJ while creating tracks and song lists to dance to while City Mode allows players to compete against bosses throughout the DanceDanceRevolution city and become the ultimate champion. Additionally, the game boasts one of the biggest soundtracks, giving fans more than 65 songs spanning from the '70s to some of today's hottest tracks. DanceDanceRevolution® UNIVERSE3 also features online multiplayer function — allowing for dance-offs with up to four friends from around the world and character customization with more than 400 options of clothing, faces, skin tones and hairstyles — letting players create the ultimate dancer, and complete Xbox Live functionality.

DanceDanceRevolution® Hottest Party 2

Rounding out the DanceDanceRevolution® 10th anniversary celebration is the release of DanceDanceRevolution® Hottest Party 2 for Wii. DanceDanceRevolution® Hottest Party 2 is sure to be the life of the party with 4 player multiplayer, Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ support, smash hits taken from the last four decades of music, entirely new modes and more! The all-new soundtrack features big hits such as "I Want Candy", "Umbrella", "Black or White" and "We Got The Beat" ensuring that DanceDanceRevolution® Hottest Party 2 will appeal to dance enthusiasts of all ages. The mutliplayer function allows for head-to-head battles in the Dance n' Defend Battle Mode where players use the Wii Remote to battle their opponents. Other new modes include the non-stop dance action in Course Mode, the ability to unlock hidden features in Groove Arena Mode and the all-new Hottest Training Mode. With brand new gimmicks, the incorporation of your Mii™, enhanced motion capture, new characters exclusive to the game, and new stages with enhanced effects on more than 50 unique dance environments, there is no party like Hottest Party 2.

Hit up the jump to catch Colbert breaking it down, as the kids say, in a head-to-head dance-off with adorable Korean pop singer on Dance Dance Revolution.

These statistics are all based upon a 160 - 170lb person, so my guess is that they will be a little naturally inflated over teen stats.

Walking (4 mph) - 6.1cal/min
Bicycling (10 mph) - 7.8cal/min
Jogging (5 mph) - 11.5cal/min
Basketball (full court) - 13.2cal/min

So if you are playing on standard or above, you really aren't doing too badly.

Ace Fitness PDF [via I4U][Stats from CoolNurse]

Fulfilling your life long dream of playing Pac-Man on the Game Boy Advance using nothing but your feet is within your grasp. Thanks to the folks at Instructables, who provide a step-by-step tutorial on how to hack together such a contraption, fat kids everywhere will be able to combine their two favorite things: eating (dots) and shedding pounds by frantic shuffling. They call this a "win-win."

How to modify your DDR pad to play with your Gameboy Advance [Instructables via Wonderland]

Mellone Cutts is the head of PE at Lea Manor High School which took part in the trials.

"There is a number of students who we don't reach with competitive sports," she said.

"With more and more children becoming obese, one way we can help is by increasing participation in sport and this does that."

And who says video games have no redeeming value?

Computer dance gets pupils active [BBC News, thanks Daniel!]

At a recent health and fitness exhibition in Japan, Konami introduced GROOVE MOTION DDR. It's based off the company's Dance Dance Revolution game, but includes six programs like yoga and martial arts-style exercises. While a DDR-type mat is used, GROOVE MOTION differs in that a motion sensor belt is worn. It calculates individual data like calories counted and "score." This title most likely won't find its way into Japanese arcades, but rather, into Konami's own fitness clubs. Yes, there are Konami fitness clubs — hence the exercise games. Makes sense! Brian Ashcraft

GROOVE MOTION DDR [Famitsu]