Dance Central Spotlight
Developer	Harmonix
Publisher	Microsoft Studios
Series	Dance Central
Platform	Xbox One
Release	September 2, 2014
Genre	Rhythm
Modes	Single-player,multiplayer

Dance Central Spotlight is a 2014rhythm game developed byHarmonix and published byMicrosoft Studios for theXbox OneKinect. It is the sequel toDance Central 3 (2012) and the fourth installment in theDance Central series. The game provides a stripped-down experience in comparison to previousDance Central titles, maintaining the core gameplay of the series, but with a focus on providing more routines per-song, the regular release of recent songs asdownloadable content, and leverage of improvements to the motion detection capabilities of the Kinect for Xbox One. It was released on September 2, 2014.

Similarly to previous installments in the franchise, players must mirror the dance routine of an on-screen dancer,^[1] as instructed by "flash cards" indicating specific moves in the routine. Players are judged and scored on the accuracy of their performance.^[2] Each song includes up to eight routines, including four difficulty levels of the standard routine, along with two fitness-oriented routines and two "alternate" routines.^[3] Additional routines and difficulty levels are unlocked for songs by collecting flash cards by getting "Flawless" ratings on individual moves.^[4]

Spotlight includes songs from artists likeRihanna,Lorde andPharrell Williams.^[5] It focuses primarily on the core gameplay of the franchise, with a simplified offering of standard and fitness modes, and no story mode or otherminigames like past versions. The practice mode was overhauled to use a dynamic, "on-demand" approach, rather than the "regimented" approach used by previousDance Central games: players can now jump to training mode in-game by using a voice or controller command. Once activated, the player can practice the relevant portion, slow down the routine, and go to different parts of the song. When the player exits practice, the song continues from where it was left off.^[2][6]

The following ten songs are bundled with the game:^[7]

Dance Central Spotlight was unveiled atE3 2014.^[8] The overall gameplay of theDance Central franchise was enhanced by the increased capabilities of the Xbox OneKinect sensor, which has a higher resolution camera and better gesture recognition than the Xbox 360 iteration. In total, the game can recognize 7,000 different dance moves.^[8][9] Harmonix director Matthew Nordhaus also teased the presence of tougher alternate routines for individual songs, aimed particularly at expert players.^[9] Harmonix co-founderAlex Rigopulos felt that Microsoft's introduction of lower-cost Xbox One bundles excluding Kinect wasn't a "shock" and the bundling of Kinect with Xbox One on launch did not influence the development ofSpotlight in any way.^[8]

Unlike previous installments in the franchise,Spotlight places a heavy emphasis ondownloadable content and the ability for players to purchase songs on anÀ la carte basis; Nordhaus noted that due to improvements inmotion capture technology and the need to perform fewerQA tests because of the improved Kinect accuracy (specifically noting the need to do large levels of tuning for hand detection on the Xbox 360 version), Harmonix staff could produce new routines for the game in just "days" rather than months. Emphasizing that players wanted to have quicker in-game access tocurrent hit music, Nordhaus stated that Harmonix would now be able to release new songs as DLC while they are stillcharting.^[8][9]

Dance Central Spotlight was officially released on September 2, 2014; unlike other installments in the series, the game is only available viadigital means. The base game includes 10 songs; new songs for the game were released on a near-weekly basis for a "substantial" period of time.^[8][9][7] A pre-paid code to downloadSpotlight is also included with standalone Kinect for Xbox One units, which were released on October 7, 2014.^[10]

On March 8, 2015, Nisha andClaptrap (despite his lack of legs and using a wheel) from theBorderlands franchise were added as bonus characters viacheat codes; Harmonix had partnered with2K in animating a titular sequence of the "moon dance break" trailer forBorderlands: The Pre-Sequel!, (which was being re-released for Xbox One later that month alongside a port ofBorderlands 2, as part ofBorderlands: The Handsome Collection).^[11][12]

All DLC from previousDance Central games were ported toSpotlight—they were re-released progressively in batches following the game's release. The ported DLC include their standard routines from the original version (with additional moves not seen in the original version forDance Central 1 songs), along with four alternate routines, as withSpotlight-specific songs. Songs that were previously purchased on the Xbox 360 versions ofDance Central can be re-downloaded onSpotlight at no extra charge.^{[8][9][7][13][14]}

GameSpot gaveSpotlight an 8 out of 10, praising its cleaner interface and dropping of extraneous features for "[removing] the obstacles between you and just getting out there and dancing", and its new business model as a "tremendous value" for players. However, its minimalistic feedback for player performance was considered a double-edged sword due to the new unlock system's emphasis on rewarding the learning of individual moves.^[2]

• Official website

• 2014 video games
• Dance video games
• Harmonix games
• Kinect games
• Multiplayer and single-player video games
• Music video games
• Sequel video games
• Video games developed in the United States
• Xbox One games
• Xbox One-only games

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