, abbreviated
DDR and also known as
Dancing Stage in earlier games in
Europe and
Australasia, and some other games in
Japan, 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
genre in video games. Players stand on a "dance platform" or stage and hit colored
arrows laid out in a cross with their feet to musical and visual cues. Players are judged by how well they time their dance to the patterns presented to them and are allowed to choose more music to play to if they receive a passing score.