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Not to be outdone by their competitors, Ubisoft has used their Aisha Tyler-helmed E3 2015 Press Conference to show off a robust line of games geared more toward mature gamers, such as the cheekily-titled South Park: The Fractured But Whole, the sequel to 2014's hilarious The Stick of Truth. While orienting one's gaming products to cater to an older demographic is a smart move in this era, a slew of their releases come off as redundant. For instance, with The Division, Rainbow Six Siege, and Ghost Recon: Wildlands, it seems as if Ubisoft is trying to corner the market on gloomy, urban warfare video games. However, in an effort to draw in an all-ages audience, the game developer showcased the most recent entry in their motion-based series, Just Dance 2016.
After an out-of-place and somewhat lackluster performance by Jason Derulo, the pop star helped present a new trailer for Just Dance 2016, which not only features tracks like his song "Want to Want Me" and Meghan Trainor's "All About That Bass", but also a new way for fans to play the game. By downloading the Just Dance Controller App, players without visual detection devices can boogie without the use of cameras, as the free application "turns your smartphone into a controller that scores your dance moves."
In addition to the innovative new dance tracking system, Ubisoft is offering up a subscription service for songs called Just Dance Unlimited. However, the service will only be available for Just Dance 2016 players that own a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or Wii U. And for those of us stuck with older consoles who want to bust a move, it appears as if the PlayStation 3 version will support PlayStation Move controllers, while the Xbox 360 port will require the Kinect.
While certain last-gen input hang-ups are a drag, it's certainly evident that Ubisoft put a lot of work into the visuals, as Just Dance 2016's graphics are more colorful and realistic than ever. Even though the mo-capped avatars in the game resemble faceless cartoon characters, their movements and gyrations are just as fluid as the real thing.
Before Just Dance 2016 is officially released, Ubisoft is giving fans of the game the chance to try it out for free this summer by registering for a demo via Uplay. While such a move is generous, it's also rather underhanded, as Ubisoft is obviously attempting to get more users for the much criticized Uplay, especially after it caused problems for PC gamers playing Watch Dogs last year.
Just Dance 2016 will be available on October 22 for the Wii, Wii U, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.