Just Dance is a motion-based dance video game for multiple players, with each game including a collection of classic and modern songs each with its own dance choreographies. During each song, players mirror a dance performed by dancers on the screen, following moves that appear as pictorials on the bottom right corner of the screen, and are awarded for their accuracy. Additionally, there are gold moves in which players must strike a pose or complete the hardest move in the dance in order to earn bonus points. Players are given ranks based on how well they do. Depending on the game and system it is played on, the game can be played with either motion controllers or camera devices (such as the
Wii Remote and
Kinect), or using an
app downloaded on a smart device. The game can be played by up to six players at once on eighth- and ninth-generation consoles, as well as the
PC version of Just Dance 2017 and the
Stadia version of Just Dance 2020, Just Dance 2021, and Just Dance 2022, with support for a gamepad and a keyboard used to navigate the menus. This excludes Dance Crew routines for Kinect users for the
Xbox One version, as well as Wii Remote users for the
Wii U version, and
PlayStation Move users for the
PlayStation 3 and
PlayStation 4 versions, which are limited to four players. Seventh-generation consoles and the Wii U versions of Just Dance 4 to Just Dance 2015 and the Wii U version of Just Dance 2019 are also limited to four players.
Just Dance 2 was released on 12 October 2010.[2] This installment features 48 tracks including DLC tracks, and was the first and only installment to date to support 8-player sessions. It also supports
downloadable content. It has over 40 tracks by
Kesha,
Outkast,
The Pussycat Dolls,
Wham!,
Avril Lavigne,
Mika,
Rihanna, and others.
Released on 9 October 2012. This installment was announced at the Ubisoft
E3 conference on 4 June 2012 and was the first installment to be released on the
Wii U. It includes over 50 tracks by
Carly Rae Jepsen,
Pink,
The B-52's,
Rihanna,
Flo Rida, and others.
Released on 23 October 2018.[6] The trailer for the game was revealed at the Ubisoft
E3 conference on 11 June 2018. It includes tracks by
Bruno Mars,
Big Bang,
Blackpink,
Sean Paul,
J Balvin,
Camila Cabello,
Daddy Yankee, and others. It was the last game in the series to be released on the Wii U and the last game overall to be released for the Xbox 360 worldwide.
Released on 5 November 2019.[7] The game was announced at the Ubisoft
E3 conference on 10 June 2019. It includes tracks from
Ariana Grande,
Billie Eilish,
Ed Sheeran,
2NE1,
Panic! at the Disco,
Khalid and others.[8] It was the first game in the series to be released on
Stadia and the last game to be physically released on the Wii in North America.
Released on 22 November 2022. It was unveiled on 10 September 2022 during the Ubisoft Forward September 2022 web presentation.[11] It includes tracks from
Justin Timberlake,
Bruno Mars,
Dua Lipa,
Ava Max,
BTS,
Taylor Swift and others. It marks a new release form for the series, with all future content being added to the game to the same platform through online updates, therefore, switching to annual song packs.[12]
Released on October 24, 2023. It was revealed on June 12, 2023 during the Ubisoft Forward June 2023 web presentation. It includes tracks by
Sub Urban,
Rosalía,
Miley Cyrus,
SZA,
Blackpink,
Aurora and others. It is also the second annual song pack.
A Japanese version[13] of Just Dance published and edited by
Nintendo but developed by Ubisoft Paris. It was released on 13 October 2011, only for the Wii.[14] It features 16 J-pop songs from
Exile,
Kara,
Kumi Koda, and
AKB48, as well as 11 songs from Just Dance and Just Dance 2 and only one song based on the Super Mario Bros. game that can be unlocked by playing all of the other songs. According to
Media Create, as of 11 March 2012, the game sold 560,301 copies in Japan.[15]
The second Japanese Just Dance game published and edited by Nintendo but developed by Ubisoft Paris. It was released on 26 July 2012, only for the Wii.[16] It includes 20 J-pop songs from Exile, Kara,
Speed,
Da Pump,
T-ara,
DJ Ozma,
2PM,
Happiness, and
MAX, as well as 15 songs from Just Dance 2 and Just Dance 3.
The third Japanese Just Dance game published and edited by Nintendo but developed by Ubisoft Paris. It was revealed in a
Nintendo Direct on 14 February 2014, and was released on 3 April 2014, only for the Wii U.[17] It includes 20 J-pop songs by
SKE48, AKB48, BIGBANG,
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, and
Momoiro Clover Z, as well as 15 songs from Just Dance 4 and Just Dance 2014.
The fourth Japanese Just Dance game developed by Ubisoft and co-developed and published by
Level-5, featuring songs and characters from the Yo-kai Watch video game and anime franchise. It was released on 5 December 2015, only for the Wii U.[18]
Released 9 November 2010 for the Wii, it was created with an emphasis on songs popular with children. It features 42 tracks from various kids' songs, songs from TV series including Yo Gabba Gabba! and The Wiggles and current pop hits from various artists,[19] including
Justin Bieber,
Selena Gomez & The Scene, and
Demi Lovato. The game was released in Australia and Europe under the name Dance Juniors in February 2011.
The second installment in the kids themed lineup, released 25 October 2011 for the PlayStation 3, Wii and Xbox 360. It features 40 tracks from various kids' songs, songs from films including Shrek 2, Gnomeo and Juliet, Despicable Me and
Disney's The Lion King and Tangled, songs from TV series including Yo Gabba Gabba! and The Wiggles, and current pop hits from various artists, including
Selena Gomez & The Scene,
Ashley Tisdale, and
Bruno Mars. The game was released in Australia and Europe as Just Dance Kids in November 2011 because of the first installment being called Dance Juniors there.
The third installment in the kids themed lineup, released 22 October 2013 for the Wii, Wii U and Xbox 360. It features over 30 tracks that includes the original versions of songs from artists including
Demi Lovato,
One Direction, and
Bridgit Mendler and songs from TV series and films, including Victorious, Fraggle Rock, Yo Gabba Gabba! and The Wiggles.
Just Dance: Disney Party is the first installment in the Disney Party series, a spin-off to the Just Dance Kids series, published for the Wii and Xbox 360. It was released on 23 October 2012 in North America, 25 October 2012 in Australia and 26 October 2012 in Europe. It includes songs from
Disney films, and current pop tracks from
Disney Channel.
Another spin-off of the Just Dance series, featuring 26 songs and full dance choreography by
Michael Jackson. It was released in November 2010 for the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Mac OS X.
Yet another spin-off of the Just Dance series, the game features more than 20 tracks by
The Black Eyed Peas and was released in November 2011 for the Xbox 360 and Wii. Note that the Xbox 360 version has a completely different gameplay from that of the Wii version.
The third Experience game by
Ubisoft. It includes top hit tracks by artists like
Flo Rida,
B.o.B,
Rihanna and much more. It was released in 2012 for the Wii and Xbox 360.
A spin-off of the Just Dance Kids series, featuring 25 songs. The game allows players to dance alongside
Papa Smurf,
Clumsy Smurf,
Brainy Smurf,
Grouchy Smurf,
Gutsy Smurf,
Smurfette, and
Gargamel. It was released for the Wii on 19 July 2011 in North America, 29 July 2011 in Europe and 8 September 2011 in Australia.
Another spin-off of the Just Dance series, featuring 26
ABBA songs. It was released for the Wii on 15 November 2011 in North America, 24 November 2011 in Australia and 25 November 2011 in Europe.
Just Dance: Greatest Hits (also known as Just Dance: Best Of for PAL Wii) includes Ubisoft's favorite songs from previous titles: Just Dance, Just Dance 2 and Just Dance: Summer Party, only one PS3 exclusive/Wii DLC from Just Dance 3: "Baby Don't Stop Now" by Anja, and the two NTSC
Target/
Zellers/Xbox 360 PAL exclusive songs from Just Dance 3: "
Airplanes" by
B.o.B feat.
Hayley Williams, and "
Only Girl (In the World)" by
Rihanna.
Just Dance Summer Party (also known in Australia and Europe as Just Dance 2: Extra Songs) includes most of the downloadable content from Just Dance 2, and two of the
Best Buy exclusive songs from that game: "
Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" by
A.R. Rahman and
The Pussycat Dolls feat.
Nicole Scherzinger, and "
Funkytown" by
Lipps Inc. covered by Sweat Invaders in-game. All the songs that were missing from the game were planned to be featured at some point but were scrapped during development. These scrapped songs include: "Crazy Christmas" by Santa Clones, "
Spice Up Your Life" by
Spice Girls & 3 more.
Just Dance Now is a mobile video game that lets players play Just Dance anywhere after syncing up a device with the website on a television screen or a computer. It does not require a console to be played and the device used to sync the game will be used as a controller in a similar way to the
Wii Remote.
Just Dance Controller
The Just Dance Controller is an app that lets players play Just Dance anywhere after syncing up a device with a game on a console or computer. The device used to sync a game will be used as a controller in a similar way to the Wii Remote. This was originally known as the Just Dance 2015 Motion Controller for the PS4 and Xbox One versions of Just Dance 2015, it was later renamed to the Just Dance Controller on July 27, 2015. Support for the app was added to the Wii U version of Just Dance 2016, and later the Steam and Nintendo Switch versions of Just Dance 2017 (the Steam version requires a smart device to play). Until Just Dance 2018, there was the photo booth option, which allows the player to take a photo of themselves. Smart device compatibility was removed from the Wii U and Nintendo Switch versions of Just Dance 2019 in October 2018, and later Just Dance 2015 in November 2018. It was later added back to the Nintendo Switch version of Just Dance 2020. It was then added to the Stadia version of Just Dance 2020 and the ninth-generation console versions of Just Dance 2021, all which require a smart device to play.
Just Dance+ is a Just Dance subscription service that launched alongside Just Dance 2023 Edition. It serves as a replacement for Just Dance Unlimited and features songs from previous Just Dance games alongside new exclusive songs.[21]
Just Dance 2014: 71 out of 100 (Xbox One),[31] 72 out of 100 (Wii U),[32] 75 out of 100 (PS4),[33] 77 out of 100 (PS3),[34] and 79 out of 100 (Xbox 360)[35]
On 14 January 2019, Deadline reported that
Screen Gems has acquired motion picture rights to Just Dance with Jason Altman and Margaret Boykin from
Ubisoft Film & Television set to produce alongside Jodi Hildebrand and
Will Gluck of Olive Bridge Entertainment.[62] In January 2023, Gluck was reported to be writing the script alongside
A.C. Bradley.[63] The script was finished by December 2023.[64]