Hmm...I don't think this is a good idea. In fact, it's downright reckless.

The game industry has a terrible habit of killing the golden goose with far too many titles, that are far too alike, in far too short a time. Just ask Harmonix about the collapse of Guitar Hero/Rock Band, or third-party publishers about the collapse of their "casual" games on Wii. As soon as a new hit game emerges, publishers pounce on it and crush the market to death. And then they sit back, puzzled, once the market has been driven off.

Ubisoft's bosses need to get this through their thick heads: There ain't no such thing as "Casual Gamers." The Wii's Expanded Audience are not fools or simpletons; they are, in fact, extremely cautious and skeptical consumers. They are also very hostile to video game sequels. I don't know why the game industry can't figure this out.

Shawn White Snowboarding: Road Trip became a hit game on the Wii; the sequel crashed and burned. Boom Blox was a hit game; the sequel crashed and burned. We Cheer was a hit game; the sequel crashed and burned. Even yearly sports games are no immune from this fate; compare last year's Tiger Woods '10 to this year's edition.

Have you noticed how slowly Dance on Broadway has caught on among the fans? This game didn't explode out of the gate at all. Only now has it moved to the top of the UK charts, and it has yet to catch fire here in America. Heck, even I haven't bought the game yet. THAT is how skeptical by nature we are. Looking at the wreckage third-parties have dumped on the Wii, can you blame us? Among Just Dance fans, there is a great demand for the sequel, but this does not turn consumers into mindless drones. We will not settle for Malibu Stacy in a new hat.

Just Dance is one of the Wii's defining titles. It represents the new generation of music games, thanks to its motion controls. It presents itself as nothing more than a good time, an evening of laughs with family and friends. This makes it a milestone in the paradigm of Social Games. It has one foot in classic arcade games, and the other foot in iPod commercials. Oh, and boys? This game is a girlfriend magnet.

I honestly don't know if Ubisoft understands why Just Dance sells or what makes it great. I think they only see sales numbers, and figure that, well, if it takes six hours to cook a roast at 100 degrees, then cooking the roast for one hour at 600 degrees should work, too. And so we see three Just Dance-inspired titles in the span of six months - Dance on Broadway, Just Dance Kids, and Michael Jackson.

I do think the French development team gets it, and they are carefully constructing a potentially landmark video game in Just Dance 2. Ubisoft should carefully cultivate this sequel as their star title, not flood the market with copycat titles. Heck, I wouldn't even release the Michael Jackson game this year, but very carefully let it marinate and cook until next year. As for "Just Dance Kids," I wouldn't release this game at all. I honestly don't see the point.

If Ubisoft isn't careful, they're going to turn away the Just Dance fans. Meanwhile, Harmonix and Konami are waiting in the wings, ready to pounce.

Well, it's a dance game, it's a large company. I guess this is the scorched-earth policy to shake the pennies out the market and leave it in such a state that competitors would think twice before embarking on another product similar to this.

"I honestly don't know if Ubisoft understands why Just Dance sells or what makes it great. "

I think the same could be said of the entire game industry, especially the game media that cluelessly panned the game. I say clueless, but the more proper term is probably something along the lines of 'disconnected from the average game player.'

Just Dance as a successful title tells us a lot about ourselves as an industry actually. I would have loved to have seen a session by the developers at GDC.

I agree in wondering if it isn't a little bit of overkill to extend to kids, but I also immediately thought, "Hey, I'll bet my kids would love that" (though they already enjoy the first game, there are a few songs I'd rather they didn't 'dance' to).

I think with dance games coming out on the PS3/KinectBox this fall that Ubisoft probably saw this as a good opportunity to appear to be ahead of the competition ("we're on part two and have fixed the things that the other guys don't know they have wrong yet"). Regardless, as you mention, I do think the development team gets it, and the 2 person interactive dancing planned for the sequel looks like it could take the brilliant approach of Just Dance (motion controls + actual dance routines instead of stepping on arrows on a dance mat) to the next level.

Hello franchise fatigue, dumb executives, they could milk this for years on end as long as they have a good controlled release plan.

Screenshots of Just Dance Kids, courtesy of Friday's press release:

http://danielvol4.blogspot.com/2010/08/photos-just-dance-kids.html


@Russel: You make some really interesting points. I always enjoy these anecdotal insights, especially where your kids are concerned. If you look at the photos and think, "Hey my kids would like that," this means the game has a successful hook. Let's see how the kids react when the Youtube videos arrive.

Looking at the screenshots, it's very obvious that JD Kids is aimed at a different market than the original series. The look is clearly distinguished, and I don't think anybody could confuse this with the original. But is this overkill? I still feel that it's too much, too soon. This always happens with each new video game fad. The hot new game becomes swamped in me-too clones almost overnight.

That said, I'm a fan of this new genre, and I'd like to see dance games expand and grow. Interesting to note that the strongest game from the Kinect lineup is Dance Central.

As for the question of the video game critics and press, that's a bit trickier. I try to be more sympathetic and understanding with my peers. We can't all have the same tastes, after all. It has been frustrating for me to see Just Dance just ripped by all the reviewers. They seemed more interested in tearing down another "cheap casual game" than give it a fair shake.

No doubt the avalanche of crummy third-party "casual" titles on Wii left many of us burnt out, and that's a larger problem the industry seems unwilling to address. But that's more of a "Birdmen and the Casual Fallacy" discussion. I think this is more of a Bob Dylan situation - "Ya know something is happening, but ya don't know what it is."

Consider the history of video games as a series of rising and falling eras:

arcade -- console -- portable

home computer -- pc -- cinematic

The Cinematic Game has been the dominant style for the past decade. Its roots lie in the Playstation and Xbox generation. Perhaps Myst could be considered an early landmark. With the defeat of the Dreamcast, the Cinematic era took over the consoles and have ruled ever since.

Now we are seeing the rise of the new era of Social Games. This era is defined by two things: social media and motion contols. Social media means the rise of Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and especially cell phones. Motion controls mean touch screens, the Wii Remote, and future technology like Kinect.

What makes this new era revolutionary? Females! At long last, girls are now embracing computer technology. They've embraced smart phones, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube. And video games have tapped into this growing market. Nintendo tapped into this momentum at just the right time with the DS - Nintendogs, Brain Age - and exploded onto the console scene with the Wii.

The HD Twins are dominated by Cinematic Games. It's very much a boy's realm, and the boys are perfectly happy with that. Now here comes the girls with the Social Games, and it's a different set of rules. It's a different set of values. When we look at it this way, Just Dance makes perfect sense. Of course, they're going to be harsh in the reviews. Of course, they're going to knock those who play it.

You'll notice that Just Dance gets more respect, now that it's sold three million copies. The sequel may actually get some positive reviews from our fellow critics. Well, Dance Central, at least. That's on Xbox (Kinect), so that legitimizes things a bit.

My wife and son both love this game so I'm glad they're catering to both parties now. The original was so simplistic and lean that it left customers craving more content, game-play options, more diverse and accurate scoring mechanics... more of anything to do with the game, basically.

In the end though, I just want the dance routine from Napoleon Dynamite for the sequel.

Excellent points. And double on Napoleon Dynamite. Did you notice all the Austin Powers dance moves they snuck into the first game? I think the humor is the key to Just Dance's success. We definitely have to pass the Napoleon idea to the French design team.

I loved that lighthearted sense of humor in Just Dance; it lowered barriers for people like me (who can't dance to save my life). Dancing is a lot like public speaking. The Dance Central demonstration at E3, frankly, intimidated the hell out of me. I can barely stand upright, and now I have to perform these acrobatic stunts flawlessly? Ack!

I see your point Daniel, but the game has an opportunity to grow from a gameplay standpoint, and this Kids variation looks quite different from the original.

The gameplay had a lot of room for improvement, and as a result I'm more excited for Dance Central from a gameplay standpoint, though I prefer Just Dance's visuals and presentation. I think I might prefer the music in DC as well, that's one area where Ubisoft nailed it, obviously an important aspect in a music game.