SEGA details the process of picking the right songs for Samba de Amigo: Party Central

In the past, Samba did not originally start with the intention of selling to a global audience, so we used Western music (non-Japanese music) that Japanese people knew, such as music used in commercials in Japan. We also chose songs that were easy to get into the groove of. However, with Samba becoming a big hit, some people wanted to play with Japanese songs, and others wanted to dance to genres other than only Latin music. In considering what songs to include in the new game, we carefully handpicked the tracklist with these thoughts in mind, along with the hope that people around the world can enjoy their favorite genres.

In our mind, the criteria for the song selection is that the songs should be fun and enjoyable. This “enjoyable” part may sound simple, but the key point is that there must be dynamic changes within the rhythm of the music. Without that, it’s impossible to create intensity in the placement of the notes, for example, and players will get bored with it.

We also selected songs from an international perspective, so we combined the opinions of various people, including development members, overseas staff, and overseas advisors, in selecting the first 40 songs. In addition to that, nowadays there is this diversity of taste in music and what each of us likes. We are trying to respond to this ongoing trend by creating future DLC content that’ll be pulled from a variety of genres so that people can enjoy various types of grooves.