Update on April 6, 2016: Cineplex Ottawa turned down the card reader. I’m offering this opportunity to seven more arcades in Ontario and Québec..
Originally posted on February 4, 2016: although at least ten dance arcade machines are floating in the Ottawa region, only two of these run DDR Extreme. The best value and the most convenient location is at Cineplex Cinemas (formerly Coliseum). It is conveniently located near Bayshore Shopping Centre and the machine’s condition is nearly perfect. The other option for Extreme is Fun Junction, located in distant eastern Gatineau (a little east of Labrosse, currently STO’s easternmost Rapibus station), but their machine receives poor maintenance. This is why I have contacted Cineplex first about the card reader.
Based on the information I currently have, there are two main components needed to install a memory card reader on a DDR Extreme reader: the faceplace (which I left at Cineplex) and the memory card reader (shown in the left photo and currently in my possession). I obtained both of these parts from an arcade which is not using them, for they have upgraded their 5thMix to Dance Dance Revolution SuperNOVA, a game powered by PS2-based hardware and thus incompatible with original PlayStation (PS1) memory cards.
Here is a summary to compare DDR Extreme without and with memory card readers:
| no cards | PlayStation | e-Amusement | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom steps | no | yes | no |
| Nonstop scores | two | TBA | yes |
| Oni scores | one | TBA | yes |
| Personal progress | no | yes | |
| Song scores | no | yes | yes |
| Price per card | N/A | $2 | $13 |
Overall, memory cards personalize the Dance Dance Revolution Extreme experience and encourage dancers to keep track of their progress. Setting up the readers and cards does take some work, but for the enhancements it brings, it is totally worth it. I look forward to trying out the memory card reader and providing information on this site regarding how to obtain and use memory cards.
Reference: Dance Dance Revolution Extreme – Memory Card FAQ by Thunderbird on IGN.
Update: the first location reported by Dance Dance North to feature a working memory card reader is the DDR Extreme machine at Cineplex Beauport, not far away from Québec City. Despite running the bootleg software DDR Megamix, the card reader appears to be functional by displaying messages to that effect (see image to the right) throughout the game. Joint Premium is turned off and games cost four coins per side, contrary to Sainte-Foy and its three-coin charge, but it’d be interesting to try out the card reader feature!