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Lips mic doesn't sing with Rock Band, Guitar Hero
Keiichi Yano, head of Lips developer iNiS, told us that making the mic from his game work with titles like Rock Band and Guitar Hero: World Tour was a great idea and that he'd love to do it. Sadly, Yano recently told Multiplayer that the mic wouldn't work with those games out of the box, though the functionality could later be patched in.No, not a huge deal, but keeping you informed as to how cluttered your living room will be is one of our primary duties.
Lips microphone won't work with other games
Talking to MTV Multiplayer, Lips creator and Inis developer Keiichi Yano mentioned that the Lips accelerometer microphone will not work with any other music games at launch, but is optimistic that it'll be compatible with other titles in the future. "It's not something we can do, obviously [the games would require a patch]. I mean, I hope so for Rock Band, Guitar Hero. It won't work out of the box but it's relatively easy to kind of get it going."So, the light up Lips microphone and its compatibility with other musical titles lies in both Harmonix and Activision's hands. They'd have to release patches for their games which we think they totally should. Everyone pretty much agrees that the wireless Lips microphones are teh sexy and teh awesomez.
Lips coming to Xbox 360 this November, song list revealed
Why Microsoft went silent about its upcoming karaoke game, Lips, is beyond us. But thankfully, the curtain has been pushed aside, and MGS is ready to start hyping the Xbox 360's answer to SingStar. With developer iNiS at the helm (Elite Beat Agents, Gitaroo-Man), we knew to expect something more than just a karaoke game. By integrating a few new ideas and Wii-styled gyroscopic microphones into the mix, iNiS hopes to create a fun party experience that anyone can enjoy -- no singing required.Accessibility is at the heart of this brand new music game. Not everyone in a party is confident (or drunk) enough to show off their singing prowess. Not a problem in Lips. Developer iNiS has added a number of other things for anyone to do while a song is playing. Instead of grabbing the mic, you can grab a controller and start pressing buttons to activate a variety of "noisemakers." Four controllers can be used, in addition to the two wireless microphones. If you're is feeling a bit more theatrical, you can grab the microphone and shake it like a tambourine. You can move your body and perform the gestures that appear on screen. And finally, if you're ready to sing, you can start belting it out.Continuing the theme of accessibility, there's only one difficulty to be found in Lips. The vocal engine that's in place is supposedly much more forgiving than competing singing games. That means even those that aren't the strongest of singers can feel encouraged to play. Players can also jump into duets at any time: a simple shake of the wireless microphone will activate two-player mode instantly -- no need to pause the game or exit to a menu.
Lips song list revealed, Nov. release confirmed
Today, Microsoft pulled back the karaoke curtain on the E3 announced Lips, revealing all of the game's licensed tracks, confirming the game's release month and detailing some game specifics. According to today's Lips news reveal, we'll be seeing the game on retailer shelves sometime in mid-November with a retail price tag of $69.99 (including both microphones.) All original music videos will be included in the game and the list of music (viewable after the break) is varied, spanning different genres in hopes of catering to everyone's musical tastes. Mad props to MS for licensing Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" and Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire". Make the jump over to Joystiq to read about the game's unique features, how it stacks up against Sony's SingStar and learn about Lips' special pre-order offer. Our Lips interest is piqued, but can it deliver?
Lips gets all boxed up with two microphones
(click to embiggen) Searching through some new'ish Microsoft provided press assets, we came across the official box art, packaging, bundle thingy for upcoming karaoke game Lips. Complete with two stylish microphones (we're partial to the white one) flanking the retail disc and a convenient harrying handle, the Lips bundle is a pretty well designed package. Check it out for yourself by clicking the pic above to view an embiggened version.
Lips details, Lips facts and Lips love
In a sit down discussion with developer iNiS's Keiichi Yano, the chief creative officer for karaoke game Lips, Joystiq learned quite the factual load of Lips information. Informative highlights including mention that Lips will support both the Zune and iPod but will not use DRM'ed music, the microphone is in fact dongle'less, every song included will be a master track and feature the original music video and game scoring will be enabled with all custom tracks. You can jump towards the break to view Joystiq's compiled Lips information fact sheet. Lips'tastic!
Details on Lips: microphone, your songs, its songs
We got a chance to sit down with Keiichi Yano – chief creative officer of Lips developer iNiS – for a walkthrough of their upcoming Xbox 360 karaoke game. We'll get around to writing up some of our impressions later, but first we wanted to share some answers to our biggest questions about the game. The microphone The wireless microphone will bind with the Xbox 360, no dongle required. It's unclear if it will work with other music games. When asked about Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour, Keiichi Yano told us, "That's a great idea. We would love to do that." Alas, it's up to those third-party devs to implement support for this peripheral. A second player can shake the microphone to instantly "jump in" to the song, no menus needed. They use 2 AA batteries, just like the Xbox 360 controller. Yanno said that, despite the motion-sensitivity and the lights, the battery life is pretty impressive already, on prototype hardware. Lips will be bundled with a black and a white controller Your music Though they were only showing off the streaming functionality through a Zune, they assured us it would work just as simply through an iPod. When asked why they couldn't use one now, Yano responded, "Trust me. It works." We then crossed our arms and fell backwards into his waiting arms ... DRM'd songs can't be used, regardless of the DRM scheme used. So no Zune or iTunes songs. Lips will perform "vocal reduction" on your own songs, though they weren't showing the functionality off. You can be scored on your own songs. Audio from a Zune or iPod is streamed only, not downloaded, so you'll need to keep it nearby After telling us that they "actually don't know" if Lips will be able to read directly from your streaming media library (think iTunes) the way the Xbox 360 can, Yano said they'd like to implement the feature, which he followed up by saying "hint hint, wink wink, say no more." We asked him to repeat that in a British accent and he was all too happy to oblige. When asked if you would see your Avatar singing on the screen in the absence of a music video, they said they weren't talking about Avatars now. No word on how they'll implement lyrics or a beat chart for the songs, though Yanno promised it would be "very, very compelling." Its music There are only three confirmed songs: "Mercy" by Duffy; "Young Folk" by Peter, Bjorn & John; and "Bust a Move" by Young MC All songs will be master tracks and will include the original music videos Rap songs work a little differently, it's not just about rhythm.
E308: Lips and Scene It! Box Office Smash screens
You can't blame the day for progressing a little slowly on the news front considering the 'OMG' moments that we brought you yesterday. But there are a few things to discuss.Two of the titles announced yesterday have a strong focus on the casual market. Lips and Scene It! Box Office Smash may not be directed toward our audience but as party titles they both look interesting. Scene It! Lights, Camera, Action doesn't get enough love for how well made it was and with online play Scene It!2 should be a riot. Until you catch a glimpse of your friend checking IMDB.com through his Xbox Live Vision camera, that is. Lips is a singing game. Not much we can do with that on the 'funny' front. Here are the first official screenshots of each.%Gallery-27691%%Gallery-27692%
E308: Lips revealed, motion controlled mics [Update]
Update: Lips ships this holiday season with mics that light up and utilize motion control (an example used was shaking the controller as a tambourine) and lets players connect any of their music devices to play their own music.The rumors were true. According to the, now deleted, Gamerscore Blog video press release Microsoft will announce that the rumored Lips music game is a reality. The karaoke game, developed by Elite Beat Agents dev iNiS, will feature motion-sensitive wireless microphones. The "franchise" is expected to hit Xbox 360 this holiday season. Motion controlled mics? Yeah, we're confused too.
Microsoft announces Lips karaoke game with motion-sensitive mics
We pretty much knew it was coming, but Microsoft just officially announced the Lips karaoke game official. Just like we'd heard, the singalong title will come with a motion-sensitive mic that lights up in time to your voice. The game interface is somewhat similar to Rock Band or Singstar, where you have to hit various pitches accurately to rack up points -- but in addition to the game content, you'll be able to sing along to your own music off a Zune or iPod.
Microsoft's Lips supports motion-sensitive wireless mics
Microsoft's Lips has been "officially" unveiled at E3 -- a bit early courtesy of Gamerscore Blog. The karaoke game, developed by Elite Beat Agents dev iNiS, will feature motion-sensitive wireless microphones. (What does that mean?) The "franchise" is expected to hit Xbox 360 this holiday season.Update: "Lips breaks new ground by being the first game to let you sing from your own music collection," says Keiichi Yano. Wow.
Portal: Still Alive, Lips, Uno Rush, Galaga Legions to be announced at Microsoft Press Conference
Gamerscore Blog has leaked Microsoft's announcements in their video RSS feed -- below is a list of games we'll see at the press conference today: Fable 2 Gears of War 2 Guitar Hero World Tour Rockband 2 Lips Uno Rush Galaga Legions Portal: Still Alive So looks like a sequel/sidequel to Portal is in the works for Xbox 360, as is another Uno game, and a Galaga sequel. More news to come, including what we can get out of the video that accompanies the leaked post.Thanks, William D.!
E308: Microsoft Press Conference Preview
With the Microsoft press conference starting in less than half an hour, it seems that Gamerscore blog has updated via a Microsoft Media Alert in their Video Podcast that showcases the announcements that are going to be made during the conference. Two player local and Xbox LIVE co-op for Fable 2. (Coming Oct. 2008) Gears of War 2 campaign level unveiled and Horde mode (5 player co-op multiplayer) Guitar Hero: World Tour – eight player Battle of the Bands, redesigned guitar, drums, microphone, and studio music creator Rock Band 2 will play all your old music and exclusive on Xbox 360 – new online and instrument options Lips karaoke game with motion-sensitive microphones New avatar system Uno Rush – includes brand new avatar system New Xbox experience (dashboard?) Portal: Still Alive coming in 2008! And more (not announced in the video) We should have more details on all that and more as the press conference begins and continues on.
Xbox 360 "Lips" microphone makes a cameo appearance
We're not entirely sure what to make of this, but Gamekyo has some shots of an Xbox 360 wireless microphone rumored to be shipping alongside a Microsoft karaoke game called Lips. Yeah, Lips -- there's even box art, if you don't believe us. The wireless mic looks pretty much like any other wireless mic, except that it has glowing LEDs up the base that "pulse to the rhythm of your voice." Yeah, sure, but can it feel the beat of the rhythm of the night? Expect to see this one pop up next week at E3. Bonus Debarge video after the break.[Via Joystiq]
Rumor: Xbox 360's 'Lips' microphone, box art leaked
No sooner does Variety all-but-confirm that Microsoft's somewhat mysterious Lips karaoke project will be shown at E3 then Gamekyo gets their hands on some apparent promotional shots of the game's wireless microphones (above) and box art. No screenshots of the gameplay yet, but the photo dump does include two pictures of people standing around with microphones near their mouths (you know, in case you were wondering what karaoke looked like).Actually, these singing shots do show one interesting feature: the "lights on the shaft of the microphone that pulse to the rhythm of your voice," that were hinted at in last month's leaked Intellivoice Intellisponse survey. According to the pictures, this feature takes the form of two rings of light near the base and tip of the microphone, bathing the singers' hands in an ethereal blue or red glow. We'll let you know if the feature comes off as trippy or tacky when we inevitably get some hands-on time with the game next week.[Update: Corrected the name of the Intellisponse survey. Not to be confused with Intellivoice. Whoops!]
Variety: Microsoft to show 'singing game' at E3 (read: Lips)
We've got more rumors about next week's E3 announcements, but this one seems a bit more plausible. Variety reports that "somebody involved in promoting it" has revealed to the outlet that Microsoft will be showing off a brand new music/singing game. Our first instinct is to scream "Lips!" (naturally, using our lips in the process), the leaked karaoke game that Elite Beat Agents developer iNiS may or may not be working on.We've got our ears to ground and our noses to the grindstone between now and Microsoft's Monday press conference.
Rumor: First pics of "Lips"
They've become so common with Microsoft that pre-E3 rumors and leaks are often thought to be absolute fact. While most of the other rumors about Lips had some sort of thread tying them to Microsoft, this one seemed to just come out of left field. From over at Gamekyo come not only the pics, but also the confirmation that the developer of the game is iNiS, the devs behind Elite Beat Agents. But honestly, no matter the pedigree of the rumored developer, this looks so cheesy that we actually kinda don't want it to be real. The mics do look good, but if this is accurate they really need to change the art. Ugh.[Via NeoGAF]
Microsoft E3 2008 press conference: Let's play bingo!
#bingochart { border: 2px solid #111; border-collapse: collapse; } #bingochart td { padding: 1px 0px 1px 0px; border: 1px solid #ccc; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; margin: 0; font-size: 80%; line-height: 90%; } #bingochart th { padding: 0px; border: 0px; vertical-align: top; text-align: center; margin: 0; } #bingochart a{ filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(opacity=100); -moz-opacity: 1;} #bingochart a:hover { filter:progid:DXImageTransform.Microsoft.Alpha(opacity=80); -moz-opacity: 0.80;} XNA GamesLaunch Deets Fable 2Online Co-op Alan Wake Demoed SecretRare Game 60 GIGHard Drive Gears 24 player Co-op HaloChronicles Too HumanXBLM Demo Rock Band 2On Stage Bungie TalksNew Game DashboardReborn J AllardReturns FREE SPACEAvatars! Cliff AppearsWith Lancer Metal GearOnline Xbox 360Price-Cut 'LIPS'Revealed Halo WarsRelease Date EternalDarkness 2 Third PartyXbox 360 Xbox LiveGoes Free DishwasherReleased NewX360 SKU MotionController Top SecretXBLA Games var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/xbox/Microsoft_E3_2008_press_conference_Bingo'; In anticipation of next week's E3 Media and Business Summit, we've prepared bingo cards for each of the big press conferences, filled with some likely (and some not-so-likely) predictions for what each of the big three console makers intends to announce at arguably the biggest trade shows of the year.Today's card is for Microsoft (special thanks to X3F). We're going out on a limb and giving Avatars away as the free space. Click on each of the slides above for more information about our predictions. Microsoft's E3 press conference is scheduled for next Monday at 10:30 am PT (that's 1:30 pm Joystiq Time / ET). As always, we'll be liveblogging the event, so you can play along in real-time with us.Stay tuned for more press conference bingo cards in the days leading up to the conference. (Also: check out our bingo card for Sony's press conference.)Download a copy (PNG file) and play along!Update: Only hours after we post this ... N2, you hit my battleship!
LiPS and LiMo mobile Linux groups join forces, acronyms
Looks like there's only room for one mobile Linux standards body in these here parts, and LiMo's recent momentum and partnership deals have apparently swept up the members of the Linux Phone Standards (LiPS) -- the two groups just announced that as of July, LiPS will be folded into LiMo. That'll give the Foundation even more ammunition as it gears up to do open-source battle with Android and that fruit-flavored mobile whose name we keep forgetting. There's no word on what's going to happen to LiPS's 1.0 specs, but we'd guess they'll be folded into the LiMo platform -- now all we need are some actual phones.
Rumor: MS to announce third party Xboxes, new games at E3
Geekpulp reports that some interesting things have come up during their attempts to schedule Microsoft appointments for E3 (note to self: schedule Microsoft appointments for E3). According to Geekpulp, Microsoft's appointment list is headed up by two slots for "Surprise Games" and a third slot listed simply as "Surprise Thing." We have to admit, we're really not sure what these surprise games are. We'd like to thing one could be Alan Wake -- it certainly would be a surprise to see it come out of hiding -- but we get the feeling they will be unannounced titles (Lips perhaps?). As for the surprise thing, that could be Avatars, Microsoft's answer to Nintendo's Miis. The article also mentions an EGM rumor that Microsoft will soon begin allowing third parties to manufacture 360 hardware. In other words, companies other than Microsoft could cram 360 hardware into their products. Similar rumors were swirling around late last year, saying that a new "standard chassis system" had been created that would allow 360 hardware to be added to HDTVs. Could Microsoft be shooting for the Trojan Horse strategy of the PS3, getting consumers to buy their game console because it's built into another piece of desirable hardware (in the PS3's case, a Blu-Ray player)? Gasp! is that where the Blu-Ray 360 rumors keep coming from, a Blu-Ray player that just happens to play 360 games, too? The head reels at all the possibilities. Whatever Microsoft's new "thing" is, we're definitely intrigued.Source - Geekpulp: Two New Microsoft Titles (and more) to be Announced at E3Source - 1UP: Will Microsoft allow other companies to make 360s?
