SingStar
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SingStar Queen song packs coming to the EU SingStore tomorrow
Sony has announced that the first two SingStar SongPacks will be released onto the SingStore tomorrow. We would've liked to have seen SongPacks appear a little sooner, considering the game's been out almost a year, but considering the content of the first batch, we're not going to complain too much. The first two packs will contain classic Queen tunes, with each pack costing £4.49 (sorry, no € price yet) and containing 5 songs. Check out the track lists for each SongPack after the breakIt seems these SongPacks will be a regular occurrence, as the press release states that more will be appearing every two weeks. We're not sure whether this means they'll replace the fortnightly update, or arrive alongside it. There's also no word on whether these tunes will be coming to America. Hopefully we'll get back to you when we know.
The Daily Grind: Cutting the combat
Combat in MMORPGs, along with loot, stats, levels, experience points and powers are all what used to be counted as 'wargame mechanics' in the early days of RPGs (though, paradoxically, these days the industry refers to the same elements as RPG mechanics). Driven by numbers -- the one thing a computer does really well -- numbers are easy to automate and adjudicate, requiring no understanding or judgment. An ideal task for a computer. But strip away the combat from many modern MMOGs and there's still potentially a lot left. Despite the barriers, there are still role-players. There's socializing and crafting mechanics, games with musical performances and mini-games. Some say EVE Online could be handled without combat -- and some of us talk fondly about the idea of a Rock Band MMOG or a Singstar MMOG. Star Trek has been put forward as a setting where combat could be marginalized or nearly eliminated as a character activity, and of course there's the successful Egyptian MMOG, A Tale in the Desert -- now in its third incarnation, and entirely focused on non-combat activities. Would you consider an MMOG without combat? Can you even imagine one being popular -- or is combat the core mechanic around which all big-time MMOGs must inevitably revolve?
SingStar patch enables PS3 disc-swapping (but not PS2 yet)
A patch went out for SingStar a few hours ago which allows users of the popular music game to swap discs to access the content from other SingStar titles. However, this patch will only enable PS3 game discs to be swapped -- not PS2 games. (We're assuming that PS2 functionality will come at a later point.) For Americans that doesn't mean much, as SingStar Volume 2 won't be available until next month.We tested the new functionality with an early preview version of SingStar Vol. 2 and it works just as you'd expect. When you're in the song carousel, hit SELECT and you'll be able to insert a new disc. Placing SingStar in the drive brings back ye old song list. Placing a PS2 disc in the drive will simply result in an error message.We're eagerly awaiting the eventual patch will allow PS2 games to be used in the PS3 SingStar games. That's exactly how we'd like to enjoy games like the PS2-exclusive SingStar Country.[Thanks, Joe B.!]
SingStar's DRM is broken and needs to be fixed
So says Infinite Bits. While it may sound unlikely, this Infinite Bits writer (who long-time readers of PS3 Fanboy might recognise), had his PS3 sadly croak and had to redownload all his content again on his backup PS3. Not a huge deal, the PSN allows you to download content on up to five PS3s, right? Right. Except for SingStar. In fact, the DRM on that game is so restrictive that, short of opening another master account and rebuying the songs, there's no way of getting them back. Ever. SingStar songs can only be grabbed once. If you lose it because your PS3 dies, or accidentally delete the file, you're pretty much screwed. The SingStore will think you already have it and won't allow any more downloads, or even purchases (should you be willing to pay again for the priviledge). You don't need us to tell you that this is flawed and broken and definitely needs fixing. SingStar's DLC is great, in terms of both quality and quantity, but suffers majorly from this single flaw. Make enough noise and hopefully this can be changed by the time SingStar Volume 3 comes out.
Sony hears our prayers: ABBA SingStar 'super troupers' in this holiday
When SingStar Bollywood was released last year, we were quite serious about expressing our desire for ABBA SingStar. Now, our dreams have come true. MCV reports the iconic Swedish pop super group's Singstar will be available in Europe and the US, for the PS2 and PS3, this holiday.Sony's David Reeves says the company has a "window of exclusivity for ABBA disc-based titles on PlayStation until 2009." Hey now, if Jimmy Buffet is in Rock Band, why can't ABBA be? Come to think of it, we asked for ABBA there too. Mamma Mia!
ABBA coming to PS3 via SingStar
So Guitar Hero gets Aerosmith, Rock Band gets The Who and SingStar gets ... ABBA? Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has just revealed SingStar ABBA. We don't know if we have to write any more to generate comments out of you."We are thrilled to be collaborating with ABBA to bring their tracks to SingStar this Christmas," said David Reeves, President, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. "The popularity of this iconic band continues year after year, and we know SingStar fans will be delighted to add this selection of classics tracks to their SingStar collection."Hopefully, fans that currently own SingStar will also be able to simply download tracks off the SingStore, instead of having to buy this retail disc. Y'know ... the SingStore? Sony, will you ever update it again?[Thanks, Kspraydad!]
SingStar Country coming to PS2 October 28
When we see country singers Gretchen Wilson, Alan Jackson or (West Virginia's own) Brad Paisley on the packaging of something, we typically assume that it's a batter-dipped snack of some sort, like chicken fries or "Gretchen Wilson's Fried Crunch-sicles." But this fall, it might just be the new karaoke offering Singstar Country, coming to PS2s on October 28.The game also lets you live out your fantasy of being Keith Urban, one of Montgomery Gentry or even America's Most Beloved Dullard, Kellie Pickler, who said, "I grew up wanting to be a country music singer and would sing other artists' songs, and now people are going to be singing my song in SingStar Country? That's cool!" Great job, Kelly! You nailed it.
SingStar executive producer heads to Atari
SingStar executive producer Paulina Bozek is the latest suit taking a job with the new Atari. Bozek was the producer on the SingStar series for the last six years, helping it sell 15 million units and reaching $500 million in revenue.Although we certainly don't see megabucks coming from its current product lineup, Atari has turned itself around and, shockingly, made some profit last quarter. Infogrames' CEO David Gardner and Phil Harrison, as Directeur Général Délégué, have been collecting executives like Pokémon for months. Now we're just waiting to have the Atari "master plan" revealed.
Another Sony star jumps to Atari: SingStar's Paulina Bozek
Looks like the French games company is targeting proven Sony stars. Their high-profile acquisition of former Worldwide Studios giant Phil Harrison took the industry by surprise. Many of us were shocked to see such a successful reign at Sony Computer Entertainment move to a company with a track record like Atari.The exodus may be far from over, though. Today, it's been revealed that the gorgeous Paulina Bozek, creative director of Sony's popular SingStar franchise, is also finding a new home at Atari. She will head a new studio, based in Hammersmith, London, that will focus on developing other mass-market games for "online-enabled devices," including PCs and consoles. "I am very excited to be joining Atari at this pivotal time for both the company and the industry," said Bozek.Phil Harrison, Bozek's former boss at Sony, added: "This is a significant step in expanding Atari's online game development capability. Paulina is one of the industry's most respected creative leaders with an outstanding track-record of commercial and creative success and I'm delighted that she will bring her unique vision, consumer insight and proven ability for creating amazing entertainment experiences to Atari."
SingStar Volume 2 heading to North America in October
Recently released in Europe and Australia, SingStar Vol. 2 will take the stage in North America sometime in October, no doubt letting armchair harmonizers looking for the next in Sony's karaoke series breathe a sigh of relief -- preferably not directly into the mic. This latest expansion will add 30 new sing-along tracks, as well as support for Trophies, presumably used to club off-tune rockers over the head for butchering radio favorites. However, given the advent of the SingStore, the need for regular discs seems trivial, especially once our arms tire from all that disc swapping. Plus, we'd rather cherry pick songs we know we'll like rather than buy in bulk and hope for the best. That's just how we roll. [Via PS3 Fanboy]
SingStar Volume 2 coming to America, features Trophies
Just like Europe, SingStar will be getting an expansion disc here in the States. The disc offers the same SingStar experience as the original, but offers a different track list featuring 30 new songs. For newcomers to the series, this is a different way of getting the full PS3 SingStar experience. However, series regulars will have to swap discs if they want to have all the songs from Volume 1 and Volume 2: there's no way of ripping content from one disc to another, a la Rock Band.SingStar is meant to be a constantly evolving platform, and we're assuming any new features added to America's Volume 2 disc will be applied via patch across all other SingStar games. For example, the US version of SingStar received a patch that contained all the new features added to the European Volume 2 game. One of the most exciting features for the upcoming expansion is the addition of Trophies -- exactly how that will work in conjunction with the SingStore is anyone's guess.For this week's SingStore update, and the full track listing for Volume 2, visit IGN.[Thanks, Kspraydad!]
GC 2008: Over 2.2m SingStar downloads, Disney version coming to PS2
Sony announced today at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008 that over 2.2 million SingStar songs have been downloaded via the aptly titled SingStore, which launched less than a year ago. Additionally, the company also unveiled SingStar Singalong with Disney for PlayStation 2, which as you might have guessed is a collection of Disney songs you can sing along to. Singalong with Disney is coming this Fall "exclusively for PAL territories." And hey, don't forget it'll be compatible with SingStar PS3.Source – SingStar Singalong With Disney on PlayStation 2Source – Over 2.2m songs downloaded via SingStore
SingStar firmware upgrade will allow PS2 disc swapping [Update]
Update: Slight change of plans; according to MTV Multiplayer, Sony isn't allowing you to export the music. Rather, there is an option to swap discs -- by pressing select during a session of SingStar on the PS3 and exchanging the disc for any PS2 SingStar game, you will be allowed to choose the songs from the PS2 disc. This is not permanent and you will need to have the PS2 disc in the drive in order to sing these songs. Moreover, as one of our readers asked, there were those of you who were concerned that PS3s without backwards compatibility would lack this feature. No need to worry; Sony has stated a free patch is coming for current SingStar game and this new disc-swapping feature will now be standard on all future incarnations of the title.
GC 2008: New firmware to allow PS2 disc-swapping in PS3 SingStar [update]
Update: We just got word from MTV Multiplayer that makes this news decidedly less cool. Turns out there will be no song exporting; rather, you can pop in your PS2 disc into your PS3 while playing the new-gen version of SingStar and play the songs on that disc. It only works while the disc remains in the console, although disc-swapping works on any PS3, regardless of its current state of backwards-compatibility.Tearing a page straight out of the Rock Band 2 playbook, Sony announced a new service – to be made available through a firmware update – that will allow folks to essentially rip the tracks from PS2 versions of SingStar onto the PS3. IGN gives us a play-by-play of the service: "Just throw in the PS2 disc and you can grab the tracks!" Epic! We're curious about the details: What's to prevent you from borrowing or renting games? Will this work on all PS2 versions of SingStar? Will this work on all PS3s (even those without PS2 backwards compatibility)? Is this enough to compete with Lips' play-your-own-music functionality? More as we know it.
SingStar Disney brings magical glee to PS2 [Update]
Update: Looks like we got the platform wrong. SingStar: Singalong with Disney is a PS2 game. What's the next generation of SingStar? You guessed it: SingStar: Singalong with Disney will bring karaoke lovers the classic Disney songs we've all known and loved, with classic Disney movie footage in the background. The enthusiasm in the audience is quite noticeable, looking at Jem's Twitter entry.Other additions to the SingStar franchise were also revealed in Europe. SingStar Vol.3 Party Edition will add classic pop hits from Barry Manilow, Lionel Ritchie and Kate Bush sit alongside recent chart hits from The Ting Tings, Timbaland, Sara Bareilles and Coldplay.Two download packs from classic rock group Queen will also be added to the SingStore.
Sony nails down music peripheral compatibility with upcoming titles
With all the incompatibility out there among Guitar Hero / Rock Band instruments, it's a real treat to see something like this. The Director of Publisher Relations at SCEA has posted an update that promises compatibility between instruments and software for upcoming titles; for instance, Guitar Hero: World Tour's guitars and drums will work with Rock Band 2 and Konami's Rock Revolution software, and Rock Band 2's guitar and drum set will work with Guitar Hero: World Tour and with Rock Revolution. Furthermore, the team is still "working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market," though we are told that an announcement on that could surface "shortly." Rock 'n roll harmony, baby.[Image courtesy of BeSportier]
Rumor: SingStar finally releasing Musical edition
Money makes the world go 'round, so Hexus.gaming has a rumor that Sony is looking to pay the rent with a musical edition of its popular SingStar karaoke series. SingStar Hits from the Musicals is expected in 2009 and will allegedly be announced later this year. Some numbers rumored to be included are: "Bad Guys" - Bugsy Malone "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" - The Lion King "If I Were a Rich Man" - Fiddler on the Roof "Over the Rainbow "- Wizard of Oz. If the disc gets Trophy support we're certainly going to derive some sick pleasure from achievement junkies trying to sing songs like "Tomorrow" from Annie perfectly. If the above picture makes absolutely no sense to you (and yes, that's Kristin Chenoweth from Pushing Daisies) check out the video after the break.
The 'next generation of SingStar' will debut in Leipzig
Does Microsoft's upcoming Lips (pictured above) scare the SingStar team? Doesn't seem to phase them a bit, it seems. Speaking at a E3 cocktail, SCEE rep David Reeves promised we'd see a "the next generation of SingStar" at the Leipzig Games Convention later this year.What could that possibly mean? Are we seeing a brand new game in the SingStar franchise, or are we going to see a game-expanding patch? For those of us that have spent quite a bit of money in the SingStore, we'd like to see the latter.
Worldwide SingStore update for June 13th
Sorry this post is a bit late but SingStar has been, quite frankly, the last thing on our mind over the last day or say. Regardless, the SingStore has been updated with another eclectic collection of songs -- most of which we've never heard of. Business as usual, then. Again, Europe has bragging rights over the number of new tracks when compared to America. That's 25 versus 16 this week, for those keeping score at home. From the looks of things, Americans aren't missing out on much this week except, sadly, another Queen song. Check after the break for the full release list; tracks are available in Europe only, unless stated otherwise.
SingStore update loses a few songs during its transatlantic voyage
Plenty of new songs for you Singaholics today in the latest SingStar SingStore update. We're happy to finally see Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now" on the list, not to mention our surprise at the inclusion of The Dandy Warhol's "We Used To Be Friends." There's plenty more to see after the break in the full list of releases. Unfortunately, it seems that the American SingStore has fewer new songs than are available in Europe. Unless stated otherwise all songs in the following list are on the European SingStore only. Which ones will you be buying today?
