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Court denies Ubi's request to restrain Get Up and Dance
Oh, it's the dancing neon people. Which one is this again? Ubisoft's lawyers have learned -- and a judge has confirmed -- that you just can't stop the beat. "Get Up and Dance," a rhythm game and euphoric command from OG International, can sway American customers unimpeded after a Californian court hip-bumped Ubisoft's request for a temporary restraining order. It's published in North America on PS3 and Wii by O-Games. Legal action sprang from Ubisoft's belief that OG's dance game uses on-screen avatars that are a mite too similar to the ones in Just Dance (pictured), the wildly popular franchise that we only write about because of how wildly popular it is. According to MCV, the court was not satisfied with demonstrations that the games are "substantially" similar. Ubisoft is said to be appealing the decision in the hopes of telling OG to Sit Down and Cease Your Gyration. [Update: Crave Entertianment was erroneously listed as the publisher of Get Up and Dance. This has been corrected.]
Just Dance franchise sold a million units during Black Friday week
Holy fu-nky chicken, Ubisoft announced this morning that Just Dance 3 sold 700,000 copies on the Wii and Xbox 360 over six days, between November 20 and 26 of the Black Friday shopathon. The company also stated that Just Dance 3 sales are up 48 percent from those of Just Dance 2, which launched in mid-October of 2010, when compared "year over year to date in the US." Ubisoft also claimed it has 76 percent market share among dance games in 2011. That statistic could be a little messy, since unlike Zumba Fitness and Dance Central, which has one sequel, the Just Dance franchise follows Activision's Guitar Hero model of suffocating saturation. The Just Dance franchise currently includes: Just Dance 3, Just Dance 2, Just Dance, Just Dance Summer Party, Just Dance Kids 2, Just Dance Kids, Michael Jackson: The Experience, The Black Eyed Peas Experience and ABBA You Can Dance. All these titles combined sold over one million copies in the US during Black Friday week. The NPD previously stated that dance game sales are up 326 percent over last year.
NPD: Sales of dancing games up 326% over last year
In the US, dancing game sales are up 326% percent year over year, the NPD told the LA Times. That's for the 12-month period ending October 31. Compare that with overall game sales, which rose 3%. Of course, at the end of October last year, Just Dance 2 had only started selling. Since then, it's been doing very well for itself, and has been followed by several spinoffs, including Just Dance Kids (and its sequel!), Michael Jackson: The Experience, The Black Eyed Peas Experience, Just Dance 2 Summer Party, and, of course, Just Dance 3. Too damn many Just Dance games can't claim all the credit for the growth in dancing-machine sales. Dance Central is at somewhere over 2.5 million units, and it's been followed by a sequel; Zumba Fitness has been a phenomenon, and Sony's Everybody Dance is also available. Update: corrected Dance Central sales figures.
Battlefield 3 holds the line, Uncharted 3 debuts in second on UK charts
Battlefield 3, despite experiencing a 54 percent drop in sales, maintained the top spot on Chart-Track's UK All Formats chart for another week. PS3 exclusive Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception debuted in second, with sales that were up 37 percent from the previous sequel, Among Thieves. The rest of the top ten features the usual suspects playing musical chairs, except for Just Dance 3, which refuses to give up its fifth-place chair. Other premieres last week included Sonic Generations and Goldeneye: Reloaded, entering at the tenth and 16th spots, respectively. The strong debut of the spikey blue mammal on meth means one should expect another 4+ Sonic games from Sega in 2012 (not that it wasn't going to happen anyway). This week will see the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. Expect the top title next week to sell more than that top 10 combined times two. Speaking of top ten, check last week's after the break.
Battlefield 3 secures top of UK charts
As expected, Electronic Arts and DICE's Battlefield 3 got the drop on its competitors and came out victorious atop the UK Charts, becoming the tenth biggest (by units) UK All Formats week one seller ever. Chart-Track notes that the game did double the sales of EA's Medal of Honor last year (which DICE also had a hand in), but here's the crazy stat: Battlefield 3's first week sales were greater than those of the last 17 Battlefield (retail) game debuts combined since 2002. The rest of the top five is a case of making room for Battlefield 3, with Batman: Arkham City justifiably moving down one spot, then FIFA 12 doing the same, and so on. Well, except for Just Dance 3, which maintains its spot in fifth, because it's protected by dark dance magic, provided by the power of the babe. Premieres this week include Namco Bandai's Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi at 23, also Kinect Sports: Season Two at 18. The original Kinect Sports was "by far the best-selling Kinect game in the UK," according to Chart-Track. Dance Central 2 does a little better in its second week, electric sliding from 40 to 34. Check out the UK top ten after the break.
Batman: Arkham City has fourth biggest UK launch in 2011
Batman: Arkham City knocked out the competition last week on the UK charts. Chart-Track notes the caped crusader's time in ol' Gotham town is the fourth largest launch of the year, behind FIFA 12, Gears of War 3 and L.A Noire. Football Manager 2012 debuted in third, only 1,800 unit sales behind FIFA 12, which holds on to second place despite a 35 percent drop in sales. Last week's checkered flag winner, Forza Motorsport 4, slipped into fourth, with Just Dance 3 feelin' the groove in fifth. Two other premieres in the top 40 last week were Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Dance Central 2, in spots 24 and 40, respectively. It's an odd start for the sequel to Harmonix's hit dance game, so we'll see where it lands next week. Shimmy on past the break for the UK top ten.
Forza 4 finishes first on UK charts, Just Dance 3 takes third
It'sa Forza, woo-hoo! Yes, the land of Top Gear saw Forza Motorsport 4 race to the top of the charts in its debut week. According to Chart-Track, the racing game claimed the "biggest launch week ever" for an "Xbox 360 racing game" ... considering most high-profile racers are multi-platform (with the exception of Gran Turismo) we take this to mean the latest sequel maneuvered past Forza 3's premiere. With seven new entries in the UK Top 20 this week, there are plenty of places to look, but let's start with Just Dance 3 premiering in third. Ubisoft's dance series has consistently entered the top 10 and hung out there for months while others come and go. With Dance Central 2 ready to step it up this year, it'll be interesting to see if Just Dance 3 has the staying power of its predecessors. The other two newbies in the top ten are sports titles Pro Evolution Soccer 2012 and Jonah Lomu Rugby Challenge at fifth and tenth place, respectively. Rush past the break for the full UK top ten.
Just Dance in front of your phone to make a music video
Ubisoft's Just Dance 3 promotional app for iOS (and, later, Android) isn't exactly the same as Just Dance 3 -- but it does encourage you to do the thing in the title of the game. In fact, rather than a graded dance simulator, the app is sort of a VidRhythm thing, speeding up and recutting your video footage into an automatically generated music video to one of three songs from the game. You can see some examples, uploaded from the app, at the Autodance YouTube page. We're not convinced it's a thing we'd want to try more than once, but we don't even have that opportunity just yet -- the app isn't available in the American App Store as of now.
Seen@PAX: Jerry Holkins just dances
Snicker all you want at this footage we captured of Penny Arcade godfather Jerry Holkins playing Just Dance 3 on stage at PAX, the fact of the matter is this: The guy's got moves. Also, is that Quail Man at his side? Trick question, we were there: It's totally Quail Man.
What's this? It's Just Dance 3's latest track list
Ubisoft released an updated track list for Just Dance 3, and ... guys, it's the weirdest thing. Every time we read about Just Dance (and its insane popularity) we feel like we've jumped into an alternate universe, and this one seems even more alternate than usual. You and your friends will be able to dance to Kiss's post-makeup hit "I Was Made for Lovin' You," and the "Just Dance Classical Orchestra's" performance of Brahms' Hungarian Dance No. 5. Not random enough? How about "What's This" from The Nightmare Before Christmas? Disney must not be doing any music games for a while, to license out one of its songs to a competitor. Stylistically, the track list is all over the place; functionally, it's right past the break.
Ubisoft bringing Assassins, Rabbids, and Future Soldiers to Gamescom
Sure, said assassins, rabbids, and future soldiers will arrive in video game form, but there's at least an air of danger in Ubisoft's Gamescom lineup. The French publisher revealed its German cavalry this week, saying that all titles will be available either in hands-on versions or hands-off presentations. From Dust (released on consoles thus far), Far Cry 3, Might & Magic Heroes VI, and Rayman Origins will be on site. Ubi will also hold a roundtable discussion titled, "Is Online Gaming Changing How We Create?" and featuring "creative leaders from Ubisoft's online teams. It'll be open to press, Ubisoft partners and the show's trade visitors. It's not necessarily bad news for you, Joe Public. While we're busy watching the roundtable, you could be jamming on some Anno 2070!
See Just Dance 3's 'Just Create' and four-player mode
This Just Dance 3 trailer supposedly shows off the "Just Create" mode, which allows players to record custom choreography and challenge offline and online players to match it -- but, in practice, it just turns into more footage of people dancing like idiots. The rest of the trailer is, essentially, the same thing, but still manages to be more impressive: it shows the four-player mode, which puts four dancers on the screen (and in front of the camera) at the same time. Is Just Dance really this groundbreaking? We would not have guessed that.
Play new Rabbids, Rayman and Just Dance games at Comic-Con
Ubisoft has announced its totally non-comic-related (but perhaps comical) contributions to the July 21-24 Comic-Con event, including opportunities to play its new games. Booth 4245 in the Exhibit Hall will host playable demos of Rabbids: Alive & Kicking, Just Dance 3, and Rayman Origins. On July 23, Ubisoft will hold an "Assassin's Creed: The Creation of a Universe" panel, featuring a preview of the Assassin's Creed Embers animated short. Outside of the Comic-Con venue itself, Ubisoft and "The Nerd Machine" are setting up a "Nerd HQ" in downtown San Francisco, where players will find demos of Rayman Origins. Yes, "Nerd HQ" is somehow not inside Comic-Con.
Just Dance 3's E3 trailer says nothing, game will make millions
Ubisoft announced Just Dance 3 during its press conference yesterday, with the dance simulator coming to "all motion platforms." That means the series, which has sold over 10 million units between the main series and its spin-offs, no longer exists primarily in the Wii's domain. Given Just Dance's staying power in or near the top ten of the UK charts from its Wii version alone, we foresee the multiplatform sales keeping Ubi footloose and fancy free.
Just Dance 3 coming to 'all motion platforms' this October
While it may seem unthinkable, Ubisoft took the wraps off of Just Dance 3, the latest sequel to its massively successful series of dancing and/or embarrassment simulators. The trailer featured all sorts of professionally attractive people having a good time and who are we to judge them? Have you seen what we look like? Just Dance 3 is coming to "all motion platforms" – meaning another appearance on Wii, and its debut on Kinect and PlayStation Move – on October 11. Update: Ubi just sent over a press release with some more details on the game, including console-specific features like the Wii's "four-player choreographies and dynamic environments" and Kinect's "Shout Out!" feature "which allows players to score extra points by belting out their favorite song verse." The first confirmed tracks include: 2 Unlimited – "No Limit" Black Eyed Peas – "Pump It" Duck Sauce – "Barbra Streisand" Groove Century – "Boogie Wonderland" Gwen Stefani – "What You Waiting For" Katy Perry – "California Gurls" Kiss – "I Was Made For Lovin' You" Laura Bell Bundy – "Giddy On Up (Giddy On Out)" LMFAO featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock – "Party Rock Anthem" MIKA – "Lollipop" Taio Cruz – "Dynamite"
