I'm amazed at some of the kids I see on the boardwalk playing DDR. They have it on a really hard mode, accellerating arrows, and still got 100%. That takes talent.
I need to get a metal pad, it's too hard to get past the middle stages with a soft pad.
I got some xbox related accessories and a pad from
http://www.lik-sang.com/ . Their shipping is expensive since it's from Hong Kong, but they ship FAST, and if you get more than a few, they take drastic discounts, like 10-50% off and then you can resell them here. You can usually make some money on them over Ebay, even with the huge shipping cost.