Provisionally titled “DanceMasters”, Konami are aiming to get people dancing using the Kinect instead of their own Dance Dance Revolution mats. It involves full body dancing, lessons, routine savings as backing dancers, Xbox Live play, leaderboards and other related stuff.

The press release with more details follows.

Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH has announced an all-new dance title for use with “Kinect” for Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft. Provisionally entitled DanceMasters, the new game responds to real dancing, with “Kinect” for Xbox 360 hardware demanding players move their body to the beat and position their bodies against a variety of on screen markers.

DanceMasters (working title) will offer users the ultimate dance club vibe, and boasts the most realistic and exhilarating dancing experience to date. “Kinect” for Xbox 360 allows players to watch their actions in real time and also save two of their original routines for use as back-up dancers in the game, no controllers required. As players dance in tune to the game’s music, they can also take snapshots of their favorite dance poses, save to local albums and share the fun with friends. Utilising XboxLIVE^® for the Xbox 360^® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, players can also challenge up to four friends around the world and enhance their experience with dance sequences, theme packs and more.

Featuring 30 tracks spanning club music classics, Hip Hop, R&B, Pop, and Techno, DanceMasters dancers can groove to their favorite songs, creating non-stop set lists and can also download new songs via Xbox LIVE. The game also offers three gameplay modes for the ultimate dance experience: Dance, Lesson, and Status. In Dance Mode, users compete to become the ‘Dance Master’ as they play and unlock their favorite songs and dance along with a friend. Lesson Mode offers a tutorial service, and Status Mode allows players to check their play records and review the titles they have earned. Players can also compete to determine the ultimate dancer with multiple difficulty levels including Light, Standard, Extreme and Stealth.

“As an expert in the rhythm-based genre with games such as the highly-successful DanceDanceRevolution franchise, it was a natural fit for Konami to utilize the new capabilities of “Kinect” and create the next generation of dancing video games,” said Martin Schneider, European Marketing and PR Director for Konami Digital Entertainment GmbH. “DanceMasters is truly an interactive, full body dance game, providing gamers of all ages a heart-pumping experience, filled with today’s hottest dance songs.”

…And the fact sheet with further details:

Publisher: Konami Digital Entertainment, Inc.
Developer: GCP1
Release Date: Holiday 2010
Platform(s): Xbox 360 Natal
ESRB: RP (T Anticipated)
Genre: Music/Dance
Multiplayer: 1 to 2 players (4 Online)
Website: www.Konami.com

Game Description:

Being the pioneer of the franchise that started the dance game craze Konami introduces a brand new way to experience music and rhythm. The next generation in full body dancing is finally here! DanceMasters utilizes Microsoft Natal to give gamers the ultimate dance club right in their living rooms, with no peripherals required!

Key Features:

• Dance freely, no peripherals to tie you down!
• Choose from different modes to give yourself the ultimate Dance experience:
  • Dance Mode
    • Play your favorite songs
    • Unlock the songs by clearing the music set lists
    • Play simultaneously with 2 players
    • Claim the title for Dance Master
  • Lesson Mode (Tutorial)
  • Status Mode
    • Earn and collect titles
  • Xbox Live
    • Communicate with other Dancers around the world!
• Expand your dance experience with Downloadable Content
  • Additional Dance Sequences
  • Theme Packs
  • Icon Pack
• Challenge yourself and your friends multiple difficulty levels:
  • LIGHT
    • 1 or 2 markers per 1 bar
    • STEP RIPPLES and POSING, and occasional STREAMS
  • STANDARD
    • 1 or 2 marker per 1 bar
    • Basically STEP RIPPLES and POSING, with moderate NORMAL RIPPLES, FRONT RIPPLES, ROCK RIPPLES and STREAMS
  • EXTREME
    • 2 or more markers per bar
    • Markers in eighth will appear
    • Entire variation of the RIPPLES will appear
  • STEALTH
    • Hardest of all!
  • EXTREME mode with the markers OFF screen
    • Just follow the MODEL’s movement!
• Dance yourself to the music that will make your move with a wide variety of dance music including Hip Hop, R&B, Pop and Techno
  • 30 Tracks
  • Play NON-STOP set lists assorted by the Genre
• Keep up your moves, by monitoring how good you are dancing:
  • Save your dance moves and watch them as a back-up dancer
  • Take a snapshot doing your favorite dance pose and save to your local album and share with your friends!
  • Watch yourself dance on screen, and learn how to improve your moves
• Challenge up to 4 of your friends online to the ultimate Dance Off

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