Can Michael Jackson bring music games back from the dead?

After taking off like a rocket in 2005 with Guitar Hero, music games have been disappointing lately. But Ubisoft is betting its upcoming Michael Jackson The Experience game will bring the genre back from the dead.

The French video game company is launching the first Michael Jackson dance video game for the Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS, and Sony PlayStation Portable on Nov. 23. Versions for the Microsoft Kinect and Sony PlayStation Move (the new motion-sensing systems for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3) will be available in early 2011. To stoke sales, Ubisoft promises a special-edition white glove for anyone who pre-orders the Wii version or buys it on the first day. In the game, you learn a bunch of dance moves set to Michael Jackson’s biggest dance tunes.

The thinking is that there is a lot of pent-up demand for a game based on the King of Pop, who died in June, 2009. There was never a game made when the singer was alive. From 2007 to 2009, music titles such as Guitar Hero created a multibillion-dollar genre in video games.

But the titles ran out of gas due to lack of innovation and crashed in the past couple of years. Music games generated $152 million so far this year in the U.S., down 50 percent from a year ago, according to Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. In 2009, music games generated $875 million in sales, but this year the category will be lucky to generate $500 million, Pachter believes. That weakness is one of the reasons the overall video game business is down 8 percent year to date in the U.S., according to market researcher NPD.

“We think the dance genre is a big part of the market and that music is due for a comeback,” said Tony Key, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Ubisoft in North America, in an interview. “We also think that Michael Jackson’s legacy is strong” thanks to the rebirth of his music after the singer’s death as well as the hit “This is It” Jackson film from last fall.

Fifteen of the game’s Michael Jackson songs have already been announced, ranging from “Bad” to “Thriller”, and more are being announced each week. Key says that any Michael Jackson song that makes you want to get up and dance will be included.

Key is optimistic because the company has shipped more than 4 million of its Just Dance games for the Wii, despite a slowing down of sales on that platform. Earlier this fall, it released Just Dance 2 on the Wii. Early next year, Ubisoft will also be shipping Child of Eden, a music game from Q Entertainment for the Kinect on the Xbox 360.

Other big companies are also betting heavily on music games. MTV is releasing Dance Central for the Kinect on Nov. 4. New versions of DJ Hero and Guitar Hero are also on the market. Def Jam Rapstar and PowerGig: Rise of the SixString were released this month. Sonic Boom announced today its Rhythm Zone downloadable music game on the PC. Instant Action also recently released its InstantJam Flash-based social music game for the PC.

And Rock Band 3 has gotten a makeover with its new release that could appeal to non-musicians who want to learn how to play musical instruments.

With all that activity, the King of Pop will be leading the charge for music games. Jackson sold more than 800 million albums worldwide, including 13 No. 1 singles, but he never authorized video games based on his likeness. Michael Jackson may not be coming back from the dead, but music games just might.

Do you believe music video games will make a comeback?Market Research