Just Dance 2017 is a 2016 dance-based rhythm game developed and published by Ubisoft. It was unveiled on June 13, 2016, during its E3 press conference as the eighth main installment of the series, and was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Wii, Wii U, and Windows; and on March 3, 2017, for Nintendo Switch. The game was the only title of the series to be released on Windows, and was released as a launch title for Nintendo Switch.
Gameplay
As in previous installments, players must mimic the routine of an on-screen dancer to a chosen song, scoring points based on their accuracy. For input, the game supports either the respective motion controller system for a particular console platform (Wii Remotes on Wii and Wii U, PlayStation Move on PlayStation 3, PlayStation Camera on PlayStation 4, Kinect on Xbox 360 and One and Joy-Con on Nintendo Switch), or a smartphone with the game's companion mobile app. For the PC version, a gamepad and a keyboard can also be used for menu navigation. The Chinese version of the game removes online features, such as Just Dance Unlimited and the World Dance Floor.
The "Dance Party" mode has been renamed to the "Just Dance" mode, players can now have the ability to search for a song using the menu. The "Superstar" rank has been added, in which it's achievable at 11,000 points. A new "Just Dance Machine" mode was added on current-generation console and PC versions, in which players must dance through routines of different styles to help recharge an alien spaceship, using a unique scoring mechanic which shows green if successfully or red if messing up. Each session contains five routines, with "Cosmic Rounds" popping up randomly. The story of this mode follows two aliens that are dancing on their ship. All of a sudden, their battery is running low. To recharge its battery, the aliens travelled to Earth and abduct human dancers known as "coaches" to recharge its battery by dancing. In the ending, the battery was charged and the aliens leave Earth as they keep dancing. But unfortunately, their battery is running low once again.
The game modes include Dance Quests, Sweat (workout and playlist modes), Just Dance TV, World Dance Floor, Beat the Boss, Spotlight Players, Happy Hours, and Tournaments.
In Beat the Boss, players would need to get a target amount of stars across one to three song(s) to defeat the boss. In Spotlight Players, players would try to beat a player from the "World Video Challenge" mode to earn a share of the pot of Mojo coins. Happy Hours now appear daily instead of weekly, and feature songs from the Just Dance Unlimited service. In Tournaments, players compete with each other for the top combined score across three songs in daily tournaments and eight songs in weekly tournaments.
World Dance Floor mode has been revamped in the Wii U, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One versions of the game, with new features, such as cross-platform between all versions of the game besides PC. Since the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions are based on Just Dance 2015, all of the features from the game are retained, with the "Community Remix" feature now in a full screen format as akin to the Wii U, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC versions, as well as the Just Dance Unlimited subscription service for versions of the game on current-generation consoles and PC, with additional content and playlist features. The game's companion app was also updated to become "a hub for players' activities", with photo editing features and Just Dance TV content alongside the app's main purpose as a motion controller. The Wii U exclusive "Party Master" mode was removed. Furthermore, the Wii U version does not have the ability to apply effects for "Autodance" videos, just like in previous entries.
All online services of the game were discontinued for the Wii, PS3, and Xbox 360 versions on November 19, 2018, followed by all other platforms on July 3, 2023.