I think the lack of centralized authority is by *far* the most crucial point. It's so far above the rest that I can't stress it enough.
Digging up an old post of mine:
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8. Hard to answer this question. I would take after Steam's example and try to build a lot of the core functionality into a main app where you could participate in communities, play the games, download songs, etc. Getting people to go online and set up folder systems and look for bumper backs and troubleshoot theme issues via forums is tedious and timeconsuming. It's also one of the reasons people dislike using Linux -- ain't nobody got time for that. Most people aren't hackers who want to fiddle around with shit. They want to jump in and get things moving ASAP. The rise of the console/mobile markets only puts more pressure on the need to keep things simple and easily accessible. Also, one of the main reasons I stopped using Stepmania is because *every damn song stepped nowadays is complete shit*. I don't give two squats about things like color theory or dumpstream flow or whatever. Of course, there are other major issues with the rhythm gaming industry at large but this answer is getting too long so I will stop here
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I agree that moving operations to Stepmania.com would be a wise idea (or at least making a new game entirely). Right now, everything is so free-range and splintered. The lack of standardization completely kills incentives on all sorts of fronts: Why bother making a file if only a few people on some forums will play it? Is it even considered a good file? Who actually plays this game anymore? If I make a theme, is it actually going to be something people can install? Am I wasting time with crap that is outdated? If I play the game, where do I get songs/files from? How can I share scores and see if I am doing any good? What incentive do I have to get better? How would a newbie every hear about this game, and what incentives do they have to stick with it?
In pretentious Wharton-speak, we basically call this problem "having too much differentiation in a deregulated/decentralized market that is no longer newly penetrable." In other words, we've all seen rhythm games before. We know what they are and how they work. But there's no way for something like Stepmania to ever regain popularity again at this rate when everyone is pretty much doing their own thing, and when much more popular gaming alternatives exist.
Another big problem is that the centralized forces like FFR that *do* exist have been perpetually mismanaged and improperly funded. It also doesn't help that FFR is basically catering to the veterans/elites right now in terms of files released. I don't play anymore but I peek into the score threads and it seems like every other file is a BRRRT-BRRRTT-BRRRRRTTTT breakcore ass-stream WRECKYOTENDONZ stuttercock 18-footer dumpladen bukkakeflash shtistorm. Not very newbie-friendly.
I don't even know wtf Stepmania.com does nowadays. As far as I know, it's just a place to download Stepmania. And that's a problem.