Just Dance (video game)
Motion-based dance game that launched a major franchise.
Just Dance is a 2009 music rhythm game developed by Ubisoft Paris and published by Ubisoft for the Wii. It is the first installment of the Just Dance series, which as of November 2024 had collectively sold over 90 million units, making it Ubisoft's second-largest franchise. The game originated from a minigame concept introduced in Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Ubisoft Paris
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Platforms
- Wii
- Released
- 17 November 2009 (NA)
- 26 November 2009 (AU)
- 27 November 2009 (EU)
- Genre
- Music, rhythm
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Gameplay
Players select a song and either a short or full version, then mirror the motions of an on-screen dancer's choreography while holding a Wii Remote in their right hand. Scrolling pictograms and silhouettes occasionally display specific poses. The game judges each move's accuracy compared to the on-screen dancer, awarding points with three possible ratings: "X" for not copying the move, "OK" for an attempt that was not exact, and "Great" for an exact copy. Shake moves trigger a shake meter, allowing bonus points by shaking the Wii Remote rapidly. Each song has two scoring targets: 10,000 points for Standard and 15,000 points for Master. Three additional modes are included: "Warm Up" serves as practice; "Strike a Pose" instructs players to freeze at random; and "Last One Standing" gives players seven lives, losing one on mistakes and regaining one after five correct moves in a row, with elimination upon losing all lives.
Reception
Just Dance received generally mixed-to-negative reviews, with a Metacritic aggregate score of 49 out of 100 from 21 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable" reception. GameSpot gave the game 5.5 out of 10, praising its simplistic gameplay and calling the dance routines "fun" and "hilarious," but criticizing the motion detection as "frustrating and unrewarding," along with poor graphical quality and lack of career modes or downloadable content. The review concluded the game worked best as a multiplayer party game but was "water-thin" in single-player. Nintendo World Report described the soundtrack as "fun" but sometimes "cheesy," the user interface as "colorful" yet minimalistic, and the on-screen dancers' appearance as reminiscent of iPod commercials. They noted that pictograms sometimes contradicted the dancer's instructions, making timing appear based on poses rather than movements, but that once understood, the game became enjoyable and silly, especially with friends. IGN's Sam Bishop called the game devoid of depth and basic game concepts, criticizing its mechanics, "sloppy" motion detection, lack of variation or unlockable content, and the absence of the Lady Gaga song of the same name. He urged readers not to buy or play the game.
Legacy
The success of Just Dance led to Just Dance 2, which added new features and refinements including improved motion tracking, new modes, and downloadable content support. Just Dance 2 sold over 5 million copies by January 2011, becoming the best-selling third-party title for the Wii. Laurent Detoc, CEO of Ubisoft's North American operations, said this achievement "solidified the Just Dance brand as a pop culture phenomenon." Poix noted internal pressure to keep the franchise enormous, but recalled doubts after the first game about its longevity. The release of PlayStation Move and Kinect spawned competing motion-controlled dance games such as Dance Central, Dance Masters, Dance Paradise, and SingStar Dance. Dance Dance Revolution for Wii added a mode combining dance pad gameplay with Wii Remote gestures; IGN declared the dance pad "antiquated" by motion-controlled dance games. Just Dance 3 introduced versions for PS3 and Xbox 360 alongside Wii, becoming the second best-selling video game of 2011 behind Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Tony Key, Ubisoft's senior vice president of sales and marketing, credited Dance Central for proving Kinect dance games' viability but stated Just Dance had become "a juggernaut way beyond anything that any dance franchise has ever done." The series continued on Wii until Just Dance 2020 in 2019.
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