Michael Jackson: The Experience Hits 2 Million Units
The Wii, DS and PSP title based on Michael has sold through 2 million units altogether on the Wii platform alone, in North American, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
The 2 million figure comes prior to the game’s Japan launch “later this year”; Japan, says Ubisoft, “has one of the largest and most passionate concentrations of Michael Jackson fans anywhere.”
Ubisoft will launch Kinect and Move versions of the music and dance game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on April 12 in North America and on the 14 in other territories save for Japan, where the launch will come later. The company says it’s made some new additions to the Kinect and Move versions, such as the songs “Blood on the Dance Floor” and “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” among other Michael Jackson hits soon to be revealed.
The Kinect version will make use of the same proprietary body-tracking projection technology Ubisoft implemented in Your Shape: Fitness Evolved, applied here with the aim of making players feel more like the environments of Michael Jackson’s videos. It’ll also add co-op and battle modes for up to four players.
The Move edition will feature exclusive Facebook integration, so that players can auto-update their pages on the social network with progress, pictures and other achievements from their playtime. Players will have some options with the available hardware, selecting from Move controller only, microphone only, or both. The “Michael Jackson School” mode can use the PlayStation Eye camera so that players can see themselves on the screen while learning dance moves.
“Our teams have worked enthusiastically to build an experience that recreates the magic worlds of Michael Jackson’s videos and performances,” says Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot.
The Estate of Michael Jackson is also apparently pleased with the game; executors John Branca and John McClain say they’re “extremely thrilled” with the response to the game. “The passion they are showing for learning and performing Michael’s signature dance moves to the songs they have loved for years is a tribute to his amazing legacy,” they said in a statement.