How many of you have busted some moves (or busted your back after pulling it) while using a dance mat over the years? It's something I get dragged onto every time we head to our local retro gaming bar, and as a kid, there was always someone who seemed to have one that they'd pull out at parties.
Well now, the gaming mat is heading back to our floors thanks to GameX Studios. They've announced their GAMR Active Gaming Play Pad, a Bluetooth dance mat that provides wireless grooving for all of the dance and fitness games you could possibly need in your life.
The GAMR Play Pad works on any title that you play with a controller, though the level of success you'll get with it will greatly differ from title to title. I can't imagine playing Breath of the Wild on one of these things; I'd be exhausted just running from one corner of the map to the other! Still, it does have action buttons as well as directional buttons, so there will be lots of simple platformers that you could play with this thing.
The pad is designed to work with a PC/Laptop, Apple TV, Google TV, Smart TVs, Fire TV Sticks, Tablets, and your Phone. It will come with 10 original games for you to play from the get-go and also works with, according to the official Kickstarter Page, popular games such as Sonic Racing, Temple Run, Horizon Chase 2, Tetris, and many more arcade-style games too.
I'm a big fan of anything that promotes active gameplay, and the GAMR Pad provides reflex games, titles where balance and stability are key, puzzle games, running and obstacle-avoiding games, and titles where timing and agility are paramount.
There are three versions of the mat designed for different types of gamers -
- Rhythm - For everyone wanting to play Dance Dance Revolution-style titles and show off their dance skills.
- Junior - For children to use when playing games. It's bright, colourful, and easier to use for smaller feet.
- Active - For those who like to game and get a proper workout at the same time.
One thing I can't test without actually getting hold of one of these mats is whether this would work with emulators. I would love to plug this in and use it on old PS1 titles through an emulator. I can't see why it wouldn't work, especially with button mapping functions available on emulators like RetroArch, so this could be a great way to relive the games you used to play as a child while experiencing newer titles too.
The official marketing materials for the pad say that you'll get around 10-12 hours of play per charge, which is a lot considering you probably won't be playing dance titles for 10 hours straight. You can also play with a wired connection too if you want to play while charging. It rolls up like a yoga mat when not in use, and it's big enough not to get leg-tied while playing with it.
I've not seen a peripheral like this that could bring people together gaming in the same room since the Wii Fit Board, and I'm very excited that the GAMR Pad has already smashed its $35,000 goal with a total of over $260,000. The future is retro, and we're all here for it!
The mat has an early-bird order price of $149 and will increase by $50 to $199 once the campaign has ended. For anyone in the UK, that's around £110 and a final price of around £147. Head to the official Kickstarter Page to back the GAMR Pad and for videos of it in action!
