A dance pad, also known as a dance mat or dance platform, is a flat electronic game controller used for input in dance games. Most dance pads are divided into a 3×3 matrix of square panels for the player to stand on, with some or all of the panels corresponding to directions or actions within the game. Some dance pads also have extra buttons outside the main stepping area, such as "Start" and "Select". Pairs of dance pads often are joined, side by side, for certain gameplay modes.
Dance platform for PlayStation version of DDR, with a hand controller in the lower left square for scale
The 1987 Power Pad is a classic example of the soft pad.
The arcade version of Dance Dance Revolution's two-player dance platform is an example of a hard pad.
Homebrew DDR pad
A game controller, gaming controller, or simply controller, is an input device or input/output device used with video games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game. Input devices that have been classified as game controllers include keyboards, mice, gamepads, and joysticks, as well as special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games. Controllers designs have evolved to include directional pads, multiple buttons, analog sticks, joysticks, motion detection, touch screens and a plethora of other features.
A player holding a North American Super Nintendo Entertainment System controller
A modern recreation of the controller for the 1958 video game Tennis For Two
A Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, a typical modern two-stick gamepad
Paddle controllers were popular early in the 2nd console generation for Pong games.