Whenever the question arises about which company ruled the arcades, the long-term answer might be Sega, just because of the longevity. However, when it comes to the higher highs, I feel it goes to Konami. A series like Dance Dance Revolution capitalized on the last saving throw for the worldwide appeal of arcades, and brought the experience home for the PS2, Xbox, and GameCube throughout the early 2000's. 

Rhythm games have been experimented in the past, with Parappa the Rapper being one of the first influential titles to break into the medium. Developed by Konami's music division, Bemani, the first Dance Dance Revolution was produced in 1998, a year after their first rhythm-themed game, Beatmania, was released. DDR caught fire in the west and was a cultural phenomenon that saw close to 100 games and/or variations being released from 1999 up to now. Granted, it's cooled off here across the other side of the hemisphere, but what a time to be alive, hitting up your movie theater and killing a few minutes before going to see something Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter-related and seeing if anyone ran up your top score.

DDR2 Extreme was released in 2005, and was the first game in the series to include online multiplayer. This was the first game that prompted me to invest in the home dance pad when my wife and I were indulging in the series. 

I always wanted to get one of the heavier steel ones that are more legit and sturdy, just never got around to it. At this point, prices have climbed to the point of questioning the worth of investing. The core gameplay remains the same, get consecutive perfectly-time steps to earn score multipliers to double the results. 

There is very little difference about this DDR game from any other one, except that this title has my favorite soundtrack overall. A lot of former Konami music producer Naoki Maeda's tracks on this one have stuck with me over the years. It was also around this time that many of the songs from this album were featured in anime music videos (the practice of splicing clips from an anime to sync up or symbolize meaning with the lyrics), something else I heavily indulged in during the tail-end of my peak weebo days. 

It's actually amazing that in the age of VR being a success for several companies and Nintendo marketing Ring Fit Adventure very well, Dance Dance Revolution has always been a great application for getting active. Moving to the beats of the songs, at any difficulty level, can be pretty exciting and exhausting, depending on one's stamina. While it can be viewed as a fad of sorts, DDR has some amazing longevity. I can only assume that the manufacturing of adequate peripherals (and a shift in the market at the time, as Rock Band and Guitar Hero were on the way) has left a dampening on the franchise's universal appeal. That goes without saying that Dance Dance Revolution can almost be enjoyed in any format with gamer fans.