Well I'm not sure about an mmo per se, but you're thinking the right way.  If Konami wants to save this franchise the only option is to somehow bring back the sense of community.  I feel that if konami ever implements some decent online multiplayer, this game could possibly get popular again.  Online multiplayer is the direction everything is going, so let's get with the program Konami!

What I mean is that if you want a metal pad to work with the 360, you'll have to use the housing from the ddr universe bundle pad since there are no metal pads that are compatible with the 360 as far as I know.

I know metal pads are expensive, but as you point out, it's either that or buy another plastic one every few months.  I found a cobalt flux (barely used) on craigslist for $160.  As for compatibility, if you hold on to the plastic housing from the plastic xbox 360 pad and you are willing to do a little modding (or have a friend who is)  you can make any pad work on your 360.

@maxninja

 It's true that Konami makes more than just ddr games, but if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on a music game being the one that Konami is using Natal for.  I can assure you they aren't risking the reputation of their medal gear franchise by incorporating Natal unless it's in the form an inconsequential minigame or something.

Still trying to imagine what they'll do exactly if it were DDR.

Somebody brought this up in the xbox forums and I thought it was an interesting thought, but those forums or dead, so I decided to bring it here.  Do you think future DDRs will support Natal?  Do you hope they do/don't?  Do you have any guesses or ideas for how it would or should be implemented?

lol, I can't believe we're being RickRoll'd by Konami.  Seriously, I'm kinda excited by this but I don't want to get my hopes up because I've been let down in the past.  I hope they change the interface.  The current one is outdated and clumsy.

Let us know how the mod comes out.  And btw where do you get pads for 5$ ?

It sounds like you're using the standard mat that comes with the game and it's gotten worn out.  There's a thin piece of foam inside that compresses when you step on it.  That's how it registers that you step on something because there's holes in that foam, so when you step on it, it compresses, the top comes in contact with the bottom, and a circuit is completed.  What happens is that foam wears out over time and gets thinner and thinner until eventually the contact is made even without you stepping on it.  I went through several of the bundled pads before I realized that I would have to buy a better pad or else I'd need to buy another konami pad every two months.  If you buy a better pad, you won't have this problem, and even though a better pad costs more money, it can save you in the long run because it lasts longer.

Glad to help.  My first DDR was Universe 1, which didn't have that setting, but when I got my first ps2 ddr, I felt like it was unplayable.  I could never put my finger on it, but I kept missing arrows that knew I should be getting.  It was so exceedingly frustrating you have no idea (or maybe you do).  Anyway you can imagine how happy i was the day I found out about that dance mode setting.

I'm almost positive that what you are describing is not a problem with the pad itself, but with a setting in the game. 

If you have any of the ps2 versions besides Extreme:

Go into settings and turn dance mode on (or off if it's already on, I can't remember)

If you have Extreme:

There is no option to disable dance mode so you have to download a hacked game using action replay.

If you have Universe 3:

You have to disable abxy input in options.

go into options and disable xyab input.  This fixes the problem.

Is it just me or are those almost exactly like the default arrows from stepmani 4.0?

I like this idea.  The problem for those of us that are 'experts' is that most of the charts are easy to the point of being boring.  Your idea would add an extra optional challenge so there's more songs that are fun to do. 

I say try the ps2 out.  It's the cheapest of all those (I got one used for 70 dollars), and it has the most games (7).  Personally, I think those games are better than the ones on other systems, but that's personal preference.  Also, you can use any pad on the ps2, whereas for the wii and xbox30, you can ONLY use the one that comes with the game unless you do some modding.

One other thing, I think you should consider stepmania.  It's a free program that you download on your pc, and it works just like ddr, and it can use most dance pads.  And regardless of what anyone says, Stepmania is 100% legal as long as you don't download the DDR songpacks, or any other copyright protected music.  Don't worry, though, there's plenty of free, legal downloads at Stepmania's website.

So I'm trying to do quest mode in Universe 3, and the very first challenge says "fail at the tenth boo".  How on earth do you do that?  Even if you don't hit any steps, it takes more than 10 boos to fail.  If I hit anything, it only adds to my guage.  Does anyone remember how you complete this challenge?

Here are the things I think would requre minimum effort on the part of the programmers, but have a positive impact on the enjoyment of the game:

* Separate display timing and input timing, like in DDRX.  I really don't understand why this option has been neglected.  If Konami is worried that this might be too confusing, then implement an automatic timing adjuster:  First a steady beat of audio cues plays with no visual cues, and the player steps on the pad in time with the beat, then arrows scroll with no audio, and again the player steps in time with the beat.  These two tests should be enough to determine the player's input offset, as well as tv lag.

*  Let the player choose default settings in options, and get rid of the "select difficulty" screen.  Take a page from my atm's book.  When I go to my ATM, it knows my default setting: withdraw 20$ with no receipt, and since that's what I do the majority of the time, it saves time.  If I want to withdraw 40 one day, then it's just a couple extra button pushes.  It would be nice if after we selected game mode and chose the number of players/mats, the game started at our default difficulty with all our usual mods already selected.  Then if you want to change difficulty or mods, you still could change them at the song wheel like we do now.

* When I play doubles, why do I have to choose the input options before EVERY SONG?  This gets old fast. Especially since there are only two options, and one of them is one that nobody would EVER choose.  For those of you who don't play doubles, let me explain:  After you select your song, it goes to a screen where you must choose between two input styles:  Using one mat or two.  And to make matters worse, using one is the default.  This means that before every single song, you have to select 'two mats' and confirm on both mats.  Now I could be wrong here, but I doubt that anyone in the history of the world has ever played doubles on one mat.  None of the ps2 versions do this, get it out of Universe.  If I have two mats plugged in, and I choose doubles, just assume that I want to play with both mats, you'll be right 100% of the time.  If the ability to play double with one mat absolutely has to be in the game, then at least only make me choose once instead of before every song.

I apologize if any of these have already been changed in Universe 3; I don't have it.  Suggestions 2) and 3) might be convenient, but not a huge deal.  The first one, however, is crucial

I'm curious to know which is more important in perfect timing, timing by ear to the beat of the song, or timing by eye to the outline of the arrow.  I think my natural inclination was always to learn visually where the sweet spot is and timing accordingly, but as time goes on, I'm getting better at hearing the beat of the song.  Focusing on the beat seems to be more consistent, but then the greats start coming when it's a song with a subtle beat, and especially for slow songs.  I know I'm not the most musically inclined, so probably it just comes down to practice, but I'd still like to hear thoughts on how to get those fpc's.

A fun chart is a fun chart regardless of whether it's a license or a KO.  My problem with the licenses is sometimes they are thrown in there because of name recognition and not because they would make a good DDR chart.  Jamiroquai's "feel's just like it should" has no earthly business in a DDR game, it's all about the back of the box.  With that said, there are plenty of bland KO's as well.