Best dancing game console?

May 2, 2011 4:09 AM

My wife went to a party with co-workers, and enjoyed the heck out of a Wii dancing game they played. If I were to invest in a console, which would have the most fun dancing games for it?

I understand the Xbox with Kinect supports HDTV resolution and eliminates the need for a controller, but it's more expensive and Nintendo has a reputation for games that are more playable for everyday folks.

I'm not a gamer myself - I play Stone Soup Dungeon Crawl from time to time, but I haven't even finished Angry Birds on my phone. This really is for her and her friends to enjoy. Does either platform have other get-off-your-seat games non-gamer adults might find interesting or fun as a group?

We already have a Blue-Ray player and a Roku, so we've already got movies, Netflix and Pandora covered.

posted by Slap*Happy to Technology (9 answers total)

I haven't played any dancing games on the Wii but I know the dance moves are restricted to want the sensor picks up with the controller. I own an Xbox 360 Kinect and Dance Central and it is AMAZING! I love it. The sensor picks up moves of your whole body so you are really dancing (well as much as you can for a video game). There are other dancing video games on the Kinect that are crap, but I heard The Michael Jackson Experience is good, and I think Dance Central 2 is coming out. You can also download additional songs from the Xbox Live Marketplace at an additional cost. I think it's the best dancing game to date. I loved Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) on the older consoles, but it doesn't compare to the capabilities of the Kinect.

Now for the cons, to play online you will need an Xbox Live account (1 year subscription is $60 a year, but you can also buy 3 or 6 mo increments), but you don't really need it for this type of game. Playing offline works very well. You will need a lot of space so the sensor can really read your body movements (there is a distance requirement from the television that you must stand apart from). You can't wear baggy clothes, again the sensor needs to read your body movements.

As fun as the Wii is for party games, if what you are specifically looking for is dancing games, the Kinect has it beat. Plus it's new.. and lots of other party and dance games (and hopefully better) will be coming out in the next year.

MHO YMMY

Have fun!
posted by xicana63 at 4:52 AM on May 2, 2011

Just Dance 2 is pretty fun on the Wii.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 4:55 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nintendo is set to release a new console within the next 12 months, so I'd avoid getting that one for fear that it wouldn't get new games past that point. I'd imagine the 360 with Kinect will have a bit more life left in it comparatively.
posted by inturnaround at 5:14 AM on May 2, 2011 [1 favorite]

What I like about the wii is that you do the best you can, and are rewarded for that, well, at least keeping in time. If your partner has two left feet, a more sophisticated system might be actually less fun. Also I LOVE tennis on the wii.

Fun vs accuracy...
posted by b33j at 5:32 AM on May 2, 2011

I have a Wii and really, really enjoy playing Just Dance and Just Dance 2. The best thing about them (to me, as a complete non-gamer) is that everything is available to play from the start--you don't have to "unlock" the good songs by getting high scores or anything like that. And unlike Dance Dance Revolution, there isn't a crowd or an announcer that comments on your performance, which always irritated me. The accuracy of the wii-mote is not perfect, but it does seem to be pretty consistent for any given player, so you can get a sense of whether or not you're getting better.

I've played a fair amount of Dance Central on the Xbox Kinect as well, and I have to say that overall I prefer Just Dance. I think the dances are more interesting, I get a better workout, the graphics are less hideous, and I love being able to do my own thing with minimal console feedback.
posted by Jemstar at 6:31 AM on May 2, 2011

We have Just Dance and Just Dance 2 for the wii, and I have to say this game is literally "fun for the whole family." For real -- my kid loves it, I love it, so does my husband, all the way up to the grandparents. I highly, highly recommend it, and the wii system in general.
posted by BlahLaLa at 7:30 AM on May 2, 2011

My husband and I sold our Wii on Ebay to finance/pay for the Kinect. The Wii is fun, but not nearly as cool as the Kinect (to us). My husband and I quickly got tired of the Wii's novelty, and it just sat on our shelf. Having to use the wiimote was annoying. And the feedback on your moves is much more specific on the Kinect (useful if you actually want to learn to dance them. This is especially true for the workout games. If i heard the computer to tell me to get my lunges lower one more time....!)

I play the Kinect games regularly - Dance Central, Your Shape Fitness Evolved. I've got some more on my list to get soon --Zumba and some other dancing games.

I totally agree with xicana63 about the party aspect. We had a bunch of friends over for a birthday party, and EVERYONE was dancing--my husband, the older couple from across the street, the incredibly shy birthday boy. Never happened with the wii for us...
posted by Kronur at 7:51 AM on May 2, 2011

We have both a Wii and XBox with Kinect. You should know that Kinect takes up more room than the Wii. We've had people over to play Wii and play XBox and both were the type of parties where everyone is into the game. I think it's really about what games you have - everyone was into Smooth Moves and Rock Band for Wii and the Kinect sports game for XBox. I like dance games too and I want to get a Zumba game next.
posted by kat518 at 10:33 AM on May 2, 2011

Kinect definitely skews more "easy to play" than standard XBox games, given its nature as a more social/party type system.

Kinect Adventures and other minigame/party games are comparable to Wii Sports and such, the various dance games are similar but both have more extended controls due to the vast differences between the Wii sensor (just the controller you're holding) and Kinect (which can see your whole body).

Dance Central (for Kinect) is pretty awesome.

That said, yes a 360 + Kinect + games will definitely run you more. I've seen Kinect setups in Best Buy, see if you can go try one out.
posted by wildcrdj at 12:09 PM on May 2, 2011