Software:ABBA: You Can Dance

ABBA: You Can Dance
European box art
Developer(s)	Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft Bucharest
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	Just Dance
Platform(s)	Wii
Release	NA: November 15, 2011 AU: November 24, 2011 EU: November 25, 2011
Genre(s)	Music, rhythm
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer

ABBA: You Can Dance is a dance and music rhythm game for the Wii, developed by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Bucharest and published by Ubisoft. It released in November 2011 in all territories, and is a spin-off of the Just Dance series, featuring 26 songs by the Swedish pop group ABBA. The game tasks up to four players with matching the movements of ABBA members by dancing with the Wii Remote motion controller in hand, with accuracy being the goal. It also includes a multiplayer "Karaoke Mode," allowing two players to sing using USB microphones while two other players can dance. The development team was reportedly excited to work on an ABBA game, putting in effort to ensure that they accurately represented ABBA by examining a variety of ABBA content. For original content, they also tried to be distinct while also in keeping with ABBA. The game was met with mixed reception, with criticism directed at the lack of available songs; however, the lower price and the idea of an ABBA video game were recognized as positive traits of the game, and the choreography was well-received.

Gameplay

ABBA: You Can Dance is a music and rhythm game based on Ubisoft's franchise, Just Dance. In the main mode of play, up to four players must match the movements of members of the Swedish pop group ABBA by dancing with the Wii Remote motion controller in hand. The players' score is determined by how accurate their movements are. A Karaoke mode is included, where two players can sing along together to the lyrics using USB microphones while two other players can dance during a song. In addition to the lyrics, the songs also display the rhythm of the singing. This is unlike past Just Dance and titles connected to Just Dance, which only let players sing along for fun. The game also features a story mode called the "Mini Musical Mode" that features select songs from the main mode of play, and also shows the original ABBA music videos. The game features 26 songs from ABBA.

Expand song list

• "Angeleyes" (1979)
• "As Good as New" (1979)
• "Bang-A-Boomerang" (1975)
• "Dancing Queen" (1976)
• "Does Your Mother Know" (1979)
• "Fernando" (1976)
• "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" (1979)
• "Head over Heels" (1982)
• "Hole in Your Soul" (1977)
• "Honey, Honey" (1974)
• "I'm a Marionette" (1977)
• "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" (1975)
• "If It Wasn't for the Nights" (1979)
• "Knowing Me, Knowing You" (1977)
• "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1981)
• "Mamma Mia" (1975)
• "Money, Money, Money" (1976)
• "People Need Love" (1972)
• "SOS" (1975)
• "Summer Night City" (1978)
• "Super Trouper" (1980)
• "Take a Chance on Me" (1978)
• "Voulez-Vous" (1979)
• "Waterloo" (1974)
• "When I Kissed the Teacher" (1976)
• "The Winner Takes It All" (1980)

Development and release

Development of ABBA: You Can Dance was handled by Ubisoft Paris and Ubisoft Bucharest, divisions of Ubisoft that have worked on other entries in the Just Dance series. The decision to make a dancing game based on ABBA was, according to the development team, due to ABBA and Just Dance having similar philosophies about uniting people through music. They stated that they were excited to work on an ABBA game when given the opportunity. The team chose the band's most popular songs, such as "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen", and "Take a Chance on Me", but also wanted to reflect the variety of moods and aesthetics ABBA songs represent. To design the dance scenes, they hired professional choreographers, who worked with their level designers. Certain songs, such as ballads and slower songs, were harder to choreograph for. The team reviewed various footage of ABBA performances, including music videos, anecdotes, backstage photos, live footage, and TV shows. The backgrounds were also designed with the intend to convey certain elements from ABBA's work. Some costumes were taken from ABBA music videos, while others were original, meant to get as close to the spirit while still being original. It was originally revealed without a release date of Q4 2011, intended to be a budget release. It was released on November 15, 2011 in North America, later releasing on November 24 in Australia and November 25 in Europe.

Reception

The game has characters on screen that players are meant to mimic. The choreography received commentary from critics.

ABBA: You Can Dance has received mixed reception, with Metacritic lists the game with an aggregate score of 66 out of 100. When discussing the game before its release, GamesRadar+ writer Andrew Hayward felt that the song selection was slim, though being relatively cheaper than typical Wii games helped. Multiplayer.it writer Fabio Palmisano felt that it would be best enjoyed by avid fans of the band. Despite finding the content light, what was there was good. They also praised the choreography, though felt that it inherited both the good and bad qualities of Just Dance. The Guardian writer Sarah Ditum found the idea of ABBA being used as the basis for a video game to be a good one, appreciating that the choreography was appropriate for the music. However, she felt that the game was somewhat limited and that it stops being engaging relatively quickly, though she appreciated that it was cheap. Cubed3 writer Adam Riley was more positive about the game, feeling it would be enjoyed by fans of dancing games and ABBA alike. PC Mag writer Jeffrey L. Wilson included it in his list of the top 10 Wii games of 2011, exclaiming his enjoyment for the modes of play in the game. Wired writer Dak felt that this would be enjoyable for families to play together. Jeux Video writer Anagund felt that, despite enjoying ABBA, found it boring. Despite the choreography being identified as accessible, they felt it was unoriginal and repetitive. Club Nintendo staff felt that it may have nostalgic appeal for people, but also appeal to people of all ages and genders. The combined sales of ABBA: You Can Dance and seven other Ubisoft dance games from November 20–26, 2011 totaled more than one million copies sold. In total, ABBA: You Can Dance sold 720,000 copies.