Cobalt Flux

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Cobalt Flux is a company that makes metal dance pads for use with home versions of dancing games like Dance Dance Revolution.

Some keen arcade players often dislike the flatness of the Cobalt Flux pad, in contrast to the slightly indented panels found on arcade machines. They may find it difficult to know where their feet are in relation to the panels. It is however possible to adjust the height of unused panels by inserting a piece of cardboard or a similar object underneath the panel, and currently an arcade-style modification pack is available from the manufacturer, raising the panels around the buttons to mimic the arcade platforms.

Recent versions have nine usable foot panels (center, left, right, forward, back, and corners). This is unique for hard pads, and makes them compatible with both DDR style games using four side arrows, and Pump It Up simulators using five (corners plus center), though the corner square panels are smaller than their rectangular equivalents in Pump It Up. However, the Cobalt Flux pad is only compatible with Pump It Up when used with the special Pump It Up control box, available from Cobalt Flux's website.

Recently, a new control box became available for Cobalt Flux pads, allowing connectivity to PS2, Xbox, and PC. There is also a special Pump It Up version of the control box that enables the center sensor and properly maps all buttons in order to play Pump It Up without issue. This version connects to PS2 only.

It is possible, with knowledge of the pad-box connector's pinout, to build your own control box. This is especially popular for the Xbox, as a control box built with the electronics from a soft dance pad will be properly recognized as a dance pad, not a controller. This same technique can also be used to adapt a Cobalt Flux for PC use.

Cobalt Flux is based in the greater Salt Lake City, Utah area of the United States.