PlayStation 2:
half.ebay.com/cat/buy/prod.cgi
$100 - $150

DDR MAX/Max2/Extreme
cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll
$40 - This is agood deal, because with the game you get 2 crappy pads that might last you a month or few. Then you can decide exactally how much you like playing ddr at home before deciding to invest in something deccent or quality :D

Cobalt Flux Pads
host156.ipowerweb.com/~cobalt...ndex.php
$300 each - These are REALLY sweet pads. I have this video of these guys running theirs over with a car and then playing on it -- and it worked fine.

Sure, you can go buy the crappy pads off ebay (don't pay more then $10 each including shipping for soft-pads), but they break pretty fast. Cobalt flux is a really nice "hard" ddr pad, meaning it's made out of metal instead of plastic and rubber.

If you end up buying another hard pad that isn't cobalt flux, don't pay more than $100 (not including shipping) because in my experience the plexi glass arrows crack, and the contacts wear off on eachother. Sure you can replace the plexi and use a screw driver to clean it out, but that's no fun.

The only good soft pad i can recommend is red octane's ignition:
www.redoctane.com/ignitionpad.html
-$110.

Including shipping, a crappy setup will cost you $200

A not that bad setup will cost you $300

A really nice setup will cost you $500
A really nice setup with 2 pads will probably run you $750

If you make your own DDR pad (like i did :D) it's only like $220 for everything.

The ONLY difference between these setups is the DDR pad.

PS. Also, if you wanna be creative, you can get a playstation 1 (not PS2) and get older versions of the game. You can probably get away spending under $200. DDR pads for PS2 work on PS1's and normal playstations.

hope you find this helpful