karaoke-revolution
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Karaoke Revolution: Glee Volume 3 sings out on Xbox 360, Wii Nov. 22
We get it: you love music. You hum along to your favorite tunes on the train and punish your car more often than not by yelling your head off. Wednesday night Karaoke isn't a vehicle for gathering your friends; it's your weekly mass. And, honestly, we don't know why we assumed you wouldn't already know about Karaoke Revolution: Glee Volume 3. Konami announced today the third entry in the series is slated to launch on November 22, for both the Wii and Xbox 360. Expect 35 different ditties from the show's second season, and multiplayer support for up to six singers.
Hitman, UFC, American Idol added to Games on Demand
Three new games have landed on Xbox Live Games on Demand this week. The games offer some vastly different experiences, so there should be something for everyone. For those who enjoy watching sweaty dudes pummel each other, UFC 2009: Undisputed is the game for you. If you prefer more discreet (perhaps even sneaky) violence, Hitman: Blood Money might be more up your alley. If, on the other hand, you'd rather have your singing talents mocked by a virtual Simon Cowell -- and who wouldn't -- it's Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol Encore 2 all the way. Each game runs $29.99 in North America. As usual, pricing and availability will vary in other regions. Shortcut: Add UFC 2009: Undisputed to your download queue [via Xbox.com] Shortcut: Add Hitman: Blood Money to your download queue [via Xbox.com] Shortcut: Add American Idol Encore 2 to your download queue [via Xbox.com] [Via Major Nelson]
Karaoke Revolution gets a tune-up for PS3, 360, Wii
click to enlarge Are you ready to put your lips to work and sing like a star? Are you ready to kill us for that horrible introduction? We only ask that you read the rest of this post first. It may (or may not) satisfy your urge to commit murder. Plus, if you killed us, the only singing you'd be doing would be as a jailbird.Developed by Blitz Games and simply titled Karaoke Revolution, the new PS3, 360 and Wii entry in the series is proof Konami has been paying attention to its competition. The game will launch with 50 master recordings on-disc, a deeper character creator than series vets are used to, customizable venues and the inclusion of original music videos for each song. Song and customization item DLC is planned (any doubt it wouldn't be?) but specifics aren't being discussed just yet -- apart from the fact that Wii won't be getting any of it.A party-centric playlist and drop-in/drop-out duet mode reminiscent of Lips are also planned to compliment PS3- and 360-only online play. All three versions will likely benefit from promised improvements in pitch and rhythm detection; hopefully it doesn't turn out to be like Lips in its pre-patch state. Look for this series reboot to hit this fall.%Gallery-50004%
MTV Games finds Konami's Rock Band lawsuit 'surprising'
Here at Joystiq, we weren't too surprised when Konami decided to jump on the legal bandwagon by bringing a lawsuit against the makers of Rock Band for patent infringement. After all, the rhythm game has made roughly a gazillion dollars and has component parts that bear at least a passing resemblance to Konami games like Guitar Freaks and DrumMania (not to mention Karaoke Revolution, which Harmonix helped develop, and the upcoming Rock Revolution). That said, we're not the ones being sued, so our relative shock at the suit doesn't really matter. That said ..."Konami's actions are extremely surprising," an MTV Games spokesperson told MTV News regarding the suit. "Unfortunately, successful products such as Rock Band can often become targets for baseless litigation. We have substantial defenses to this claim and intend to vigorously defend it."The full interview includes more details about the lawsuit and information on the actual patents that Konami claims are being violated. Any budding legal eagles out there want to check them out and give an informed opinion on the merits of the suit?
Latest Rock Band and Americian Idol DLC recap
It's a new music DLC Tuesday and this week Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore joins Rock Band in the new downloadable content funnery. Joy! As we mentioned last Friday, the Grateful Dead finally makes its Rock Band debut with a six track blowout allowing DLC purchasers to buy each of the six master tracks individually for 160 Microsoft points or as a pack for 800 points. Then we have the somewhat forgotten KR:AIE who is offering a massive twenty-one song DLC blowout today with various tracks ranging from Michael Jackson's "Beat It" to the B-52s' "Love Shack" all for 120 points apiece. Not too bad. We listed and conveniently broke down the new musical DLC for both Rock Band and KR:AIE after the break. Rock it fellow Deadheads!
Shipping this week: Nero sans fiddle edition
Golly gee willickers there's a lot of games out this week. First of all, we should mention that Turok is officially out this week (though it was released early in some areas; we saw it at Blockbuster yesterday). The star of the show this week is probably Devil May Cry 4 though, what with its demon slaying antics and longstanding pedigree. But wait, what's this? There's more? Yes, it seems the post-holiday dearth has finally ended (for the moment anyway), as this week sees three more titles as well. All told we have: Devil May Cry 4 Turok Culdcept Saga The Spiderwick Chronicles Karaoke Revolution: American Idol Encore See, there's something for everybody (even gamers dying for a CCG / Monopoly hybrid). Not bad. Not bad at all.[Via Joystiq]
Karaoke Revolution vs. SingStar: Which is tougher?
The surface differences between SingStar and Karaoke Revolution are obvious. One uses the official versions of songs, the other uses covers. One has full music videos in the background, the other has animated 3D singers and environments. One has remained blessedly license-free, the other gave us the image of an uncanny-valleyified Simon Cowell that can never be erased from our minds.But the surface differences don't really matter in the end. What really matters is how well each game judges your vocal performances. After all, this judging is what separates the karaoke video game from the weekly "talentless hack night" at your local bar. When we noticed that SingStar Pop and Karaoke Revolution Vol. 2 both shared the Britney Spears hit "...Baby one more time," we knew we had a definitive test on our hands.That's right: two systems, two games, two microphones, one performance. Which game would be more lenient on our awful singing? Continue reading to find out.Previously: Joystiq Video: Karaoke Revolution Country
Disney's High School Musical for Wii, PS2 and DS
If you have a pre-teen or know anybody into musicals, than by this point you are well versed in High School Musical, the Disney channel made-for-TV stealth phenomenon. In August, Disney will unleash the game as a Karaoke Revolution-style title on the Wii and PS2. For the DS version the release says, "Fans will dance and play along with the movie's songs and create their own dance videos in order to win the national title." We have no idea what that means and Disney Interactive isn't returning our calls to explain -- is there some DS camera we don't know about?The launch of the games is expected to coincide with the release of High School Musical 2. There will also be bonus tracks from other popular Disney Channel artists -- that's so Raven! We apologize for the interruption and now return you to our regularly scheduled chest-beating and macho programming.[Via GoNintendo]
Karaoke Revolution contest
In another contest, gamers can compete across the U.S. to become the next (virtual) American Idol. Using Konami's Karaoke Revolution Presents: American Idol, players will sing a favorite song, and videos of top scorers will be posted for internet humiliation voting. The most internet-famous singer will then be flown to a real "American Idol" taping to stare longingly at the actual singers.The contest begins today at the DigitalLife expo in New York and reaches 10 cities through mid-November. Players can register on-site.The full schedule follows: New York: Jacob J. Javits Convention Center, October 13-14 Philadelphia: King of Prussia Mall, October 21 Dallas: The Parks at Arlington, October 22 Washington D.C.: St. Charles Towne Center, October 28 Houston: Willowbrook Mall, October 28 Atlanta: Lenox Square, November 4 San Francisco: Stonestown Galleria, November 4 Boston: Northshore Mall, November 11 Los Angeles: Glendale Galleria, November 11 Chicago: Woodfield Shopping Center, November 18 Keep an eye on the Karaoke Revolution site for more information. The site hadn't been updated when this post went online. Seacrest out.
MTV snaps up Guitar Hero developer [update 1]
How much is a franchise like Guitar Hero worth? Roughly $275 million. That's what you get when you add the nearly $100 million that Activision paid for publisher RedOctane and the $175 million in cash that MTV is set to pay for developer Harmonix.True, RedOctane also has a modest game rental business and Harmonix is also the developer behind the successful Karaoke Revolution series, but there's no question that Guitar Hero was the game that sent these two companies fortunes into the stratosphere.The MTV deal, as reported by the New York Times, will utilize Harmonix's experience with music-based games to design play-and-remix-and-sing-along experiences for MTV's web, mobile and VMTV virtual world services. That's all well and good, but we'd like to see what this partnership can do with the console-based MTV Music Generator series, which has lagged a bit since CodeMasters took the publishing rights over from... Activision. Hmm...[Update 1: Harmonix has issued a press release with more details about the buyout][Thanks Ben]
Sega acquires Secret Level & Sports Interactive
Sega moved one step closer to gaining further ground in the Western market by acquiring San Francisco developer Secret Level through an undisclosed deal. Last July, Sega put Secret Level to work, tasking the developer with reviving a classic franchise - rumored to be After Burner - for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Apparently, pleased with the studio's work, Sega decided to acquire Secret Level, rather than build an internal team from scratch. Sega has also announced the acquisition of UK studio Sports Interactive, developers of the Football Manager series. [Thanks, The1]
