''Dancing Stage'' is a series of

music video game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...

s developed and published by

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

. It is a spin-off of ''

Dance Dance Revolution (''DDR'') is a music video game series produced by Konami. Introduced in Japan in 1998 as part of the Bemani series, and released in North America and Europe in 1999, ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is the pioneering series of the rhythm and dance V ...

'' for the European market as well as a few Japanese titles. Games were released for

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

and

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

European releases

''Dancing Stage''

''Dancing Stage'' is a music video game, developed by Konami, released in arcades on March 9, 1999. This game was released as ''

'' in North America. It includes 13 songs: nine composed by Naoki Maeda, and four licenses. It uses the ''Dance Dance Revolution 2ndMix'' engine. In North America, the game received a PlayStation port, which omits "Butterfly" and "Make It Better (So-Real Mix)". Songs in the arcade version include: * "AM-3P" by kTz * "Boom Boom Dollar" by King Kong & D.Jungle Girls * "Brilliant 2U" by Naoki * "Brilliant 2U (Orchestra-Groove)" by Naoki * "

Butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

" by

Smile.dk Smile.dk (sometimes written SMiLE.dk or Smile-dk, pronounced ''Smile D-K'') or Smile is a Swedish Eurodance group with Veronica Almqvist as the only current member. The band is known for many songs featured in music video games, such as ''Dance ...

* "

Have You Never Been Mellow ''Have You Never Been Mellow'' is the fifth studio album by British-Australian singer Olivia Newton-John, released on 12 February 1975 by MCA Records. Reception Both the title single and the album rose to the top of their respective US charts ...

" by The Olivia Project * "Make It Better" by mitsu-O! * "Make It Better (So-Real Mix)" by mitsu-O! * "

My Fire "My Fire" is a song recorded and performed by American Dance musicians Nile Rodgers and Tony Moran, featuring vocals from American singer (and Chic vocalist) Kimberly Davis. The song is co-produced by Rodgers, Moran and Georg Bissen. The collabor ...

" by X-Treme * "PARANOiA" by 180 * "Put Your Faith In Me" by UZI-LAY * "Put Your Faith In Me (Jazzy Groove)" by UZI-LAY * "Trip Machine" by De-Sire 180, kTz, mitsu-O! and UZI-LAY and are

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

s for Naoki Maeda. Songs with "Groove" or "Mix" in the title require certain criteria to be unlocked by the player. ''Dancing Stage Internet Ranking'' was released exclusively in Europe. It adds another three licensed covers, credited with the original artists: * " It's Like That" (cover of Run–D.M.C. vs.

Jason Nevins Jason Nevins (born December 15, 1972) is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of " It's Like That" by Ameri ...

) * " Last Thing On My Mind by Step Ahead (cover of Steps) * "

Uh La La La "Uh La La La" is a 1997 song recorded by Italian singer Alexia featuring additional vocals by an uncredited male rapper. It was released as the fourth single from her debut album, '' Fan Club'' (1997), and is written by Roberto Zanetti and Alexi ...

" by Party All Night (cover of Alexia)

''Dancing Stage EuroMix''

''Dancing Stage EuroMix'' was released in 2000, and is based on the

Dance Dance Revolution 3rdMix (''DDR''), is a music video game, developed by Konami, released in arcades on September 26, 1998 in Japan. ''Dance Dance Revolution'' is a unique game involving dance and rhythm that defined the genre. It involves timing and balance by having p ...

engine. It includes 28 tracks and can be expanded to a total of 34 tracks with Internet Ranking enabled. Contrary to 3rdMix, EuroMix does not use a

PC Card In computing, PC Card is a configuration for computer parallel communication peripheral interface, designed for laptop computers. Originally introduced as PCMCIA, the PC Card standard as well as its successors like CardBus were defined and devel ...

. The game's console port was released for

on June 1, 2001 and contains 24 songs. It removes the Dancemania licenses and all but one song added in the Internet Ranking version, but adds five Konami Original songs. * Bold denotes songs added in the Internet Ranking version.

''Dancing Stage EuroMix 2''

''Dancing Stage EuroMix 2'' was released in 2002, and is based on the '' DDRMAX2 Dance Dance Revolution 7thMix'' engine. It includes 68 tracks, of which 52 are new and 16 are Konami originals from ''EuroMix''. ''EuroMix 2'' requires a PC Card and omits the Internet Ranking feature. In contrast to ''EuroMix'', there is no home version of ''EuroMix 2''. However, ''

Dancing Stage MegaMix ''Dancing Stage MegaMiX'' is the fifth home release in the ''Dancing Stage'' series, a European version of the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series of music video games. ''MegaMix'' was the first ''Dancing Stage'' game released on the Sony PlayStatio ...

'' features a similar interface. This game features 28 songs, including 11 Konami originals from ''EuroMix 2'' and a remix of "Let the beat hit em!"

''Dancing Stage Fusion''

''Dancing Stage Fusion'' is the first arcade release to be powered by the PlayStation 2 through a Bemani Python board. Despite the improved hardware, this game has fewer songs than its predecessor. ''Fusion'' features 49 songs, of which ten were available in previous ''Dancing Stage'' arcade releases, ten are from the arcade release of ''

Dance Dance Revolution Extreme is a music video game by Konami and is the eighth release in the main ''Dance Dance Revolution'' (''DDR'') series. It was released on December 25, 2002 for Japanese arcades, on October 9, 2003 for the Japanese PlayStation 2, and on September ...

'' and seven are from older Japanese arcade releases. The remaining 21 songs premiered in ''Fusion'': six are Konami Originals that later appeared in ''Dancing Stage SuperNova'', while 15 are licenses that do not return in later arcade releases, with the exception of "Waiting For Tonight" by P.A.T's reappearance in ''

Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova 2 , released in Europe as ''Dancing Stage SuperNova'', is an arcade and PlayStation 2 game in the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' (''DDR'') series of music video games. It was produced by Konami and released through Betson Enterprises. The game was rele ...

'' and ''

Dance Dance Revolution X ''Dance Dance Revolution X'' is a music video game developed by Konami. A part of the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series, it was announced in 2008 for Japan and on May 15, 2008 for the North American PlayStation 2. The arcade version was announced ...

''.

''Dancing Stage SuperNova''

''Dancing Stage SuperNova'' used the Bemani Python 2 board.

Console exclusives

* ''Dancing Stage Disney Mix'' is a direct port of ''

Dance Dance Revolution Disney Mix is a music video game released in Japan in Amusement arcade, arcades on November 30, 2000. On the same day, it was also released for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation, but under the name . It was later released in September 2001 North Americ ...

'', the American equivalent of the Japanese ''Dancing Stage featuring Disney's Rave''. It was released on September 28, 2001 for the PlayStation. * ''Dancing Stage Party Edition'' is a port of the American ''

Dance Dance Revolution Konamix ''Dance Dance Revolution 4thMix'' is the fourth game in the main ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series of music video games. It was released as an arcade game by Konami on August 24, 2000 in Japan. ''4thMix'' features 136 songs, of which 37 are new so ...

'', with the addition of 5 licensed songs and the removal of 6 Konami Original songs for a total of 51 songs. It was released on November 15, 2002. * ''Dancing Stage Unleashed'' is the European counterpart to the North American ''Dance Dance Revolution Ultramix'' series for the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

console. Three games were released annually from 2004 to 2006: ''Unleashed'', '' Unleashed 2'' and '' Unleashed 3'', each with exclusive songs replacing some of the ''Ultramix'' songs. No European counterpart to ''Ultramix 4'' was released. These games cannot be played on the

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

or newer consoles. * ''Dancing Stage Fever'' is the second European DDR game to be released for the PlayStation 2, although a port for PlayStation was also released. The PS2 edition uses a recolored ''DDRMAX2'' engine with an aqua blue background complemented with star motifs instead of black and gray, while the PS edition uses a recolored ''DDR 4thMix'' engine. Also, the PS edition omits freeze arrows and full motion videos. : The PlayStation 2 edition has 29 songs: 8 licenses, 16 Konami originals (of which 14 are also on ''Dancing Stage SuperNova'' for arcades) and 5 Bemani crossovers (of which 4 are also on ''Dancing Stage SuperNova'' for arcades). The PlayStation edition only features 15 of these songs: 5 licenses, 8 Konami originals and 2 Bemani crossovers. : All licensed songs, with one exception, are exclusive to ''Fever''. Both ''Fever'' releases include "

All That She Wants "All That She Wants" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in Scandinavia in 1992 as the second single from their first studio album, ''Happy Nation'' (1992), and in the following year, it was released as the first single from ...

", " Cool for Cats", "

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Step ...

" and "Virtuality" (by

VBirds VBirds were a British virtual girl group, created in 2002 by a team of designers, producers and musicians. An animated television series of the same name, consisting of six one-minute episodes, aired on Cartoon Network between long-form progr ...

). On the PlayStation 2, these songs feature their music video, except for "Cool for Cats". The "Virtuality" music video notably shows the VBirds members dancing on flying

dance pad A dance pad, also known as a dance mat or dance platform, is a flat electronic game controller used for input in dance games. Most dance pads are divided into a 3×3 matrix of square panels for the player to stand on, with some or all of the pane ...

s to the rhythm of the arrows shown on screen. The PlayStation 2 version also exclusively features "

Come On Eileen "Come On Eileen" is a song by the English group Dexys Midnight Runners (credited to Dexys Midnight Runners and the Emerald Express), released in the United Kingdom in June 1982 as a single from their second studio album '' Too-Rye-Ay''. It reach ...

", "

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Be ...

" (with its music video) and "

The Boys Are Back in Town "The Boys Are Back in Town" is a song by Irish hard rock band Thin Lizzy. The song was originally released in 1976 as the first single from their album '' Jailbreak''. It is considered by ''Rolling Stone'' to be the band's best song, placing it ...

". "

Wannabe "Wannabe" is the debut single by English girl group the Spice Girls. Written and composed by the group members in collaboration with Matt Rowe and Richard "Biff" Stannard during the group's first professional songwriting session, it was produ ...

" was once exclusive to both ''Fever'' releases, but it was later included on ''Dance Dance Revolution Party Collection''. * ''Dancing Stage Universe'' is the European counterpart to the North American ''Dance Dance Revolution Universe'' series for the

. '' Dancing Stage Universe'' was released in 2007 in Europe and Australia, while ''

Universe 2 ''Universe 2'' is an anthology of original science fiction short stories edited by Terry Carr and illustrated by Alicia Austin, the second volume in the seventeen-volume Universe (anthology series), Universe anthology series. It was first published ...

'' was released in 2008 for Europe only. Both games feature exclusive songs, replacing some of the North American songs. No European counterpart to ''

Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3 ''Dance Dance Revolution Universe 3'', sometimes abbreviated as ''DDR Universe 3'', is a video game for Xbox 360. It was announced by Konami on May 15, 2008, and released on October 21, 2008. The game has new songs, a story mode, the ability to cre ...

'' was released, as Konami launched a Chinese edition of ''Universe 3'' in 2009 instead. These games cannot be played on the

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

or newer consoles. * ''Dancing Stage SuperNova 2'' was originally meant to complement the planned arcade release of the same name. The arcade version was cancelled, however, making this a console exclusive.

Japanese releases

''Dancing Stage featuring True Kiss Destination''

is the first "Dancing Stage" title of the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series released in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and other parts of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

on July 27, 1999. The Dancing Stage games in Japan all deviate away from the main DDR series of games and for True Kiss Destination, it features a themed set of music by the Japanese group of the same name as well as original music from Konami's in house artists. On December 9, 1999 Konami released the game on the Sony

. It was part of their "Dance Simulation" series of titles for the PlayStation. This game notably includes the songs "Celebrate Nite" and "Sexy Planet", credited to aliases of Naoki Maeda, which returned in '' Dance Dance Revolution Solo 2000'' and later ''Dance Dance Revolution 4thMix Plus''. With the exception of ''

DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix ''DDRMAX Dance Dance Revolution 6thMix'' is the 6th game in the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' series of music video games. It was released in the arcades by ''Konami'' on October 19, 2001, and for the PlayStation 2 on May 16, 2002, in Japan. ''6thMix ...

'', these songs were subsequently kept in every main DDR release, including the current title, ''

Dance Dance Revolution A20 ''Dance Dance Revolution A20'' (pronounced Ace Two Oh) is a music video game, the 17th installment of the ''Dance Dance Revolution'' arcade series in Japan (the 8th in North America), and the sequel to ''Dance Dance Revolution A''. The game was re ...

''.

''Dancing Stage featuring Dreams Come True''

is the second Japanese Dancing Stage video game. The gameplay is similar to Dance Dance Revolution and it has songs performed by the J-Pop group, Dreams Come True.

References

External links

* *
Dancing Stage SuperNOVA
' official website * *
Dancing Stage
' at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

{{Dance Dance Revolution games 1999 video games Bemani games Konami games Dance video games Music video games PlayStation 2 games Arcade video games Dance Dance Revolution games Xbox games Konami arcade games Video games developed in Japan