Hey all. I know most people on Facebook have probably already seen/heard about this, but I wanted to start a post here because A) I love PNWBemani.net and B) Some people just don't use FB or have Kyle Ward friended.

Kyle Ward and Step Revolution are introducing a new dance game called Stepmania X (or perhaps Step Mania X?). It will use four panels (similar to DDR/ITG), but will also have the center panel like PIU. I snipped an image from Facebook of the Arcade setup (see attached image).



Video showing the music selection:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nqvhS44hC8

It definitely looks really interesting. From reading Kyle's Facebook posts over the last 12 months, it seems like he has made entirely new hardware specifically geared towards the needs of hardcore dance game players. It also sounds like this new hardware will be able to be easily installed on existing dance cabinets like In the Groove 2 and possibly DDR machines. There has been no price points mentioned yet, but it does seem like this machine is being targeted at both arcades and hardcore dance gamers for use in their own homes.

So far the only negative I have heard is that the screen can shake a bit when a heavy player is using the machine. This could be because the screen and main body of the cabinet are resting on the front of the pads. This also means that adjusting the screen farther back isn't an option. It also looks like this may not be able to be made into a single-pad setup for home use with the current design (DDR Solo style).

These are minor things, but as a 200cm tall player who weighs over 250lbs, the screen wobble and how close it is might affect me. I prefer the cabinet (screen) on my ITG cabinet to be ~ 2ft away from the pads so I don't have to crank my neck down super far just to see the screen.

All-in-all, it is a very impressive setup and I'll be keeping an eye on it as it progresses.  If you're interested to see more, check out Kyle's facebook page where there's videos and a lot of additional photos of people using the new machine.

https://www.facebook.com/kyleaward

edit: Here's a link to BemaniStyle where they cover some of what I have mentioned here.
http://www.bemanistyle.com/2017/01/07/stepmaniax-full-song-list-and-debut-information-from-magfest-2017/


Update 09/29/2017:
Here's the shop page for Stepmania X:
https://shop.steprevolution.com/

The standard pad (1 player) costs $1337. The entire "arcade" setup hasn't been officially released yet, but it is expected to cost around $6000.