First a confession. I have never owned a game console before. Up to now, I was in a demographic that wasn’t targeted by video games. Starting with Dance, Dance Revolution and the Wii Fit, the game console folks were moving in, getting closer and closer. But no bulls eyes, however, until I saw Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2 at BlogHer 2010.
Just Dance
Ubisoft had a stage at BlogHer, and ran a continuous dance demo/contest with their upcoming Just Dance 2 video game for the Wii. So, after tapping my feet for awhile, I jumped up on the stage for a round of dancing. Brave? No, not really. I would NEVER sing Karaoke, but I will ALWAYS dance! I love to dance.
After the conference, I couldn’t get Just Dance out of my mind. Should I buy a Nintendo Wii so I could get Just Dance? It nagged, and nagged at me, until I just did it! My daughter, my niece they all thought I was crazy to care about this dance game. Then one night, just a few days after I had set it all up and showed my daughter how it worked, I got a call from home. My eighteen-year old daughter and her friends wanted to Just Dance, could I tell her how to turn it all on?
Well, from that day, our own personal Just Dance hurricane just kept getting bigger and bigger, as we converted more and more folks to Just Dance fans. The next weekend we had a party, and a dozen friends and family took turns dancing. That day alone I “sold” about nine copies of Just Dance game to friends (ages from 16 to 60) who had fun dancing with us. Just a few days later, one of my daughter’s friends had a Just Dance party with her brand new copy.
Just Dance 2
So what’s the big deal? It’s infectious fun, it’s a healthy workout, it uses real dance moves, and with friends you can compete for points! The first Just Dance comes with 30 songs, from a variety of styles and decades. And, hold your horses, ’cause that’s not all. On October 12, Just Dance 2 will be released with 40 songs, and a host of new features. Do I sound like a groupie? I am!!
The gist of the game is to follow exactly the animated dancer on the screen, just as you would in an aerobics or Zumba class. Holding a Wii remote in your right hand as you dance, you accumulate points for each move you get right (on a sliding scale from Okay to Great.) Each of your friends (up to 4 on Just Dance, and up to 8 on Just Dance 2) also accumulates points on the screen, so at any point you can see who’s ahead and who’s catching up! Here’s a forty-second video snapshot from Just Dance.
After the video, post your own comment. What do you think? Are you already a Just Dance fan, or are you ready to be converted?
I want that game so bad!!!!!! I love dancing and video games so I really want to try it!!!
I love to dance too. Thanks for this.
I finally succumbed and bought my kids their first Wii console about a year after it came out simply because of the active games that the kids can play. I have a really busy nine year old who will play Wii Sports for an hour before school in the mornings. He loves it and I love that it helps him to be so active!
That looks so cool! I am so into that stuff. I am only 10 but video games are total for me!!! Thanks for the info. I also like the video. Can’t wait to play!