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Tappahannock's Chris Brown is featured on a new video dance-game Date published: 10/16/2008
BY CATHY JETT One of the hottest gifts for this holiday season will set tweens' feet moving to the beat of an area native. U-DANCE, an innovative, wireless-video dance-game, features "Run It!" by Grammy-nominated pop artist Chris Brown of Tappahannock. He also helped unveil the game at Toy Fair in New York last February, and is part of its national TV ad campaign. "Chris Brown, one of today's hottest dancers and entertainers, was the perfect match to help us launch U-DANCE, a brand new game that is all about real dance moves," said Adam Biehl, Hasbro's senior director of global brand marketing. He noted that Ellen DeGeneres invited Brown on her show Oct. 9 to give her a lesson on U-Dance. The game should be on toy store shelves soon, and will retail for about $74.99. It combines dance with motion-control technology. Users plug the console into their TV, attach the wireless "motion tags" to their feet and literally step into the game, using their body as the game controller. They don't have to stay on a dance mat, as they do in some other games, which gives them more freedom to perform such dance moves as jumping, sliding and crossovers. To play, dancers follow footprint icons as they appear on the screen to the beat of a dozen hit tunes including Brown's "Run It!" and "ABC" by the Jackson 5. Their movements are mirrored by their virtual footprints on the TV screen. The pace and difficulty of the dance moves gradually increase, and dancers are scored on their accuracy. U-Dance also features a Lounge Lizards game that challenges users to escape from lounge-lizard characters, and a Treadmill game that tests their running ability while giving them a workout. Toy Wishes magazine has picked U-DANCE as one of its "Hot Dozen," the 12 toys predicted to be the most in demand this holiday season. "We think its going to be extremely hot, especially with the emphasis in the media on dancing, like "Dancing With the Stars," said Gareb Shamus, Toy Wishes publisher. He said he and his staff also like the fact that U-DANCE encourages kids to be physically active, something parents are looking for as a way to combat obesity. "The other thing that's really great about U-DANCE is that its socially interactive," Shamus said. "You want to do this with your friends." U-DANCE was created by Tiger Electronics, a division of Hasbro and one of the country's most prominent producers of electronic toys. Among its other creations was the Furby, a hot gift in 1998 and 1999. "We're thrilled to add this technology to our Hasbro portfolio," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's CEO, in a prepared statement, "and have great hopes for its integration into future product lines." Cathy Jett: 540/374-5407
Date published: 10/16/2008
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