Expanding upon a concept introduced in a minigame for Rayman Raving Rabbids: TV Party, players mimic the motions of an on-screen dancer's choreography for a selected song, using the Wii Remote to judge the player's motions and accuracy (eschewing accessories such as physical dance pads).

It was criticized for its simplistic gameplay, poor motion detection, and a lack of progression or additional content beyond what was included on-disc.

After selecting a song and either a short or full version of it, players are presented with an on-screen dancer, as well as an occasional display of scrolling pictograms/silhouettes representing specific poses.

[1] While holding a Wii Remote in their right hand, players follow the moves of the on-screen dancer and their choreographed routine.

Players are judged by their animated score icons on a ranking scale for the accuracy of each of their moves in comparison to that of the on-screen dancer, and receive points.

Ubisoft France's managing director Xavier Poix and his team felt the Wii Remote and Nunchuk would work well for music games;[3] Rayman Raving Rabbids 2 featured a music minigame that IGN compared to Guitar Hero—where players shook the Wii Remote or Nunchuk when prompted to play an instrument.

[3][6] Just Dance was developed by a small team of around 20 at Ubisoft Paris and was only officially pitched six months prior to its eventual release.

[3] The lack of dedicated peripheral also contrasted with other music games that utilized increasingly intricate and expensive controllers.

[2] While Poix felt that his team had developed a game that could potentially become successful, his colleagues at Ubisoft Paris doubted Just Dance.

"[1] Sam Bishop of IGN felt that Just Dance was "an experience so devoid of depth or even basic game concepts that it would be considered a rip-off even if it was one of those Chinese knock-off systems masquerading as an existing console", further criticizing the game for its basic gameplay mechanics, "sloppy" motion detection, lack of variation or unlockable content, and excluding the Lady Gaga song of the same name.

Sales of Just Dance 2 surpassed that of the original; with over 5 million copies as of January 2011, it was the best-selling third-party title for the Wii.

[12] Laurent Detoc, CEO of Ubisoft's North American operations, stated that this achievement "[solidified] the Just Dance brand as a pop culture phenomenon.