The message of the trailer is that before all the private ugliness and his untimely death, the King of Pop brought smiles to the faces of millions and inspired more than a few to moonwalk.

With the wild success of Just Dance, there’s a chance that Michael Jackson: The Experience could be another smash hit for Ubisoft.

The major stumbling block in my mind is convincing today’s kids to try listening to music that isn’t made by Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber. There’s a good reason that Harmonix’s Dance Central draws, mostly, from the last 10 years of pop: Kids don’t always go for old tunes.

And if you rely on crusty folks who remember the old days to drive sales of your game, you risk a mediocre showing. So-so numbers won’t cut it when you’re licensing expensive music from rights-holders with lots of caveats about how their likenesses can be used.

The Beatles: Rock Band was an expensive game to make and it floundered in late 2009, selling a disappointing 1.7 million units worldwide in its first four months. The poor showing can be partly chalked up to the bad economy and plastic peripheral fatigue, but I think the age of the material had a little to do with it. Young people have different definitions of “timeless.”

Only time will tell if “Bad,” “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” will connect with today’s youth and drive them to dance.

Michael Jackson: The Experience will be released Nov. 23 for Wii, and in early 2011 for Move and Kinect.

Chris Kohler adds: I watched people play Michael Jackson: The Experience at Tokyo Game Show. If you’ve played Just Dance, you know exactly what to expect. Also, the Nintendo DS version of the game is will-somebody-get-sued-over-this? exactly like Elite Beat Agents, right down to the spinners.

Image courtesy Ubisoft

See Also:

• Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop,' Dies at 50
• Remembering Michael Jackson in Videogames

Authors: Gus Mastrapa

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