Kotaku: London Studios

PS3 SingStore: 2.2 Million Served

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:30:00 MDT

Sony's PS3 SingStore hasn't exactly set our great balls on fire (yet!). It functions superbly, but the majority of updates are old songs we've already seen on PS2, and even then, are usually the crummy PS2 songs. But anyway. Maybe we're just mean, bitter old cynics, because Sony announced yesterday that for all its flaws, the PS3's SingStore has still sold 2.2 million tracks since it launched late last year. Which is nothing but money in the bank for SCEE.

Over 2.2m songs downloaded via SingStore [GI.biz]

SingStar: No Worldwide Exclusives, My SingStar Heads Online

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:30:00 MDT

SingStar news! First item: SingStar producer Paulina Bozek has told PS3F that unlike certain other music titles available at the moment, the SingStar team have "no interest" in locking certain songs to certain regions of the world. Good news, that comes with a catch: they won't do it on purpose; stuff like licensing issues can still split the stores. Second item: the ultra-cheesy "My SingStar" video repository, which displays 30-second vids of your SingStar performances, is about to move online. Presently, it's available only within the game, but you'll soon be able to view it via a browser, so anyone who does post on it, think twice: your chances of being seen by a friend/loved one are about to go up 100x.

'My SingStar Online will hit the web this year,' says Bozek [PS3 Fanboy]

SingStar: 12 Million Served

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:30:00 MDT

I post a lot about SingStar here. And when I do, I get a ton of Americans saying "who cares?" Here's the thing: a lot of people do. Just not necessarily Americans (and not necessarily that woman on the right up there). Take Europe, for example. Europe cares. SCEE have let us know this morning that since the first game launched on the PS2 in 2004, they've sold over 12 million copies of SingStar. Those are big numbers for any game, but for a game that's only really popular in PAL territories? They're very big numbers. Oh: SingStar PS3's out in the US on May 20, in case you're wondering.

London, 26 April 2008: With 12 million units sold across PAL to date - 5 million of them in the Fiscal Year of 2007 (April 07 - March 08) alone - and the brand now branching further into digital business via SingStore™ on PLAYSTATION®3　(PS3™), SingStar® is going from strength to strength.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) released the first SingStar title on PlayStation®2 in 2004, changing the way people interacted with the PlayStation brand. Audiences who hadn't been traditionally interested in gaming could use PlayStation as a source of entertainment. Since its launch, SingStar has turned singing into a competitive game and has amassed fans of all ages across the world.

December 2007 saw the franchise move onto the next-generation PS3 platform, breaking into a new business model of downloadable extra content in which players have the option of purchasing individual tracks by downloading from SingStore. SingStar PS3 is also supported by several online features within the game, notably My SingStar Online™, an arena where fans can share their recorded performances with the worldwide SingStar community.

The SingStar community has embraced the new online elements within the brand. In SingStore's first four months of trading, one million tracks were downloaded across the PAL region. My SingStar Online has also proved to be a popular place for SingStar fans, attracting 140,000 registered users who, combined with visitors to www.singstargame.com, have shared over 20,000 videos of their SingStar performances that have been watched a total of 2.5 million times.

Mark Hardy, Director of Product Marketing of SCEE said:

"The term 'social gaming' is widely recognised in 2008 - however, it was relatively new when we launched the first SingStar title in 2004. That game entered the charts at number one in many countries, allowing us to pioneer the social gaming category and a new market of consumers who might not have bought games before. We really are teaching the world to sing with SingStar - and business for 2008 is looking excellent."

Paulina Bozek, executive producer of SingStar said:

"SingStar's success is built upon simple and entertaining game play. Historically we have added new music tracks to keep the experience fresh but the arrival of PS3 has allowed us to think differently. We can now take advantage of the next-generation features to take the next step forward in the SingStar experience. The launch of SingStore and My SingStar Online is the realisation of this and the experience is now more user-focused, personalised and interactive."

SingStar was the catalyst for a new area of the gaming industry that's now attracting mainstream audiences and taking the social phenomena to new and exciting experiences. Over the past four years the titles added to the SingStar catalogue have included a mixture of genre and themes including: musical decades (SingStar '80s SingStar '90s), musical genres (SingStar Rocks, SingStar R&B, SingStar Pop, SingStar Pop Hits) and musical themes (SingStar Legends, SingStar Party SingStar Summer Party). All of these titles have continued to deliver sales as SingStar collectors seek out the entire back catalogue.

As well as the international titles above, country-specific titles have also been big sellers, with titles such as SingStar Deutsch Rock Pop (Available in Germany, Austria and Switzerland) and SingStar Latino (Available in Spain and Portugal) delivering strong sales locally. SingStar's commitment to localisation has been the key to its success - titles are available with localised tracklists for French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, Finnish, Polish and Croatian Speaking Countries.

Yet Another PS2 SingStar Game Announced

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 03:30:00 MDT

Who said we wanted more PS2 SingStar games? Europe, was it you? Thought so. Thanks a lot. You could at least have asked for one with a specific theme or genre (the world still needs SingStar Gregorian Chants), but no. You had to go asking for some crummy "SingStar Summer Party" compilation, which feels a lot less like summertime and a lot more like "pop music hell".

Adele - Chasing Pavements
Amy Winehouse - Tears Dry On Their Own
Blondie - The Tide is High
Blur - Girls & Boys
Booty - Luv Shine
Chesney Hawkes - The One & Only
David Bowie - Let's Dance
Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out
Dirty Pretty Things - Bang Bang You're Dead
Dodgy - Good Enough
Elton John - I'm Still Standing
Five Star - System Addict
Girls Aloud - Call The Shots
Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot
Klaxons - It's Not Over Yet
KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See
Lou Bega - Mambo No. 5 (A Little Bit Of...)
Madness - House of Fun
Mel & Kim - Respectable
Mika - Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)
Peter Andre - Mysterious Girl
Plain White Ts - Hey There Delilah
Pulp - Disco 2000
Razorlight - In The Morning
Rihanna - Umbrella
Sugababes - Red Dress
Texas - Summer Son
Toto - Hold The Line
Wham! - Club Tropicana
Yazz - The Only Way Is Up

SingStore Updated, PS2 Library Rehash Continues Unabated

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:20:00 MDT

The PS3's SingStore will be updated on Friday. With songs new to the game, that will inspire devoted fans of the series to actually buy songs they don't already own from a PS2 version? No. No, it's a 24-song update featuring 24 songs that have already appeared on PS2 SingStars. Look, Sony, we can understand a mix of the old and the new, for those who are new to the series. But just old stuff when most people who own the game at this stage are fans, and already own PS2 versions? Getting a little old. Even if it does include DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince and Faith No More. Full update list is after the jump.

Duran Duran: Union Of The Snake
A-ha: Hunting High & Low
Ash: Shining Light
Ash: Girl From Mars
Ash: Kung Fu
Bananarama: Venus
Billy Joel: We Didn't Start The Fire
Daniel Lindstrom: Coming True
Darin: Money For Nothing
Divinyls: I Touch Myself
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince: Summertime
Don Mclean: American Pie
Duran Duran: Is There Something I Should Know
Faith No More: Easy
Kine: In The Air Tonight
Maximo Park: The Coast Is Always Changing
Maximo Park: I Want You To Stay
Mel & Kim: Respectable
Mr Big: To Be With You
Placebo: Pure Morning
Robyn: Show Me Love
Scouting For Girls: She's So Lovely
Scounting For Girls: Elvis Ain't Dead
The Creeps: Ooh I Like It

New Batch Of SingStar Tunes Announced [Three Speech]

SingStore Updates Continue To Suck

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 02:30:00 MST

Oh, PS3 SingStar, how are you managing to blow such a sure thing? Since the game's launch late last year it's been a shell of an experience, with a crummy, limited tracklist making it a poor relation to the PS2's varied and expansive libraries. In an effort to remedy this, Sony have been trying a little harder to update the game's online SingStore recently, and will on March 7 continue this with a massive update, featuring 67 "new" songs. I say "new", though, because they're not new at all: most (might even be all) songs are already featured on the PS2 versions of the game.

Pity, that. Was really hoping for something new, and if not new, then at least varied. Ah well. Better luck next time, eh Sony?

Aha: The Sun Always Shines On TV
Alice Cooper: Poison
Big Brovaz: Nu-Flow
Billy Joel: Uptown Girl
Blu Cantrell: Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)
Blur: End of a Century
Britney Spears: Baby One More Time
Coldplay: Speed Of Sound
Crash Test Dummies: Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm
David Bowie: Heroes
Dragon: April Sun In Cuba
Elvira Nickolaisen: Egypt Song
End Of Fashion: Oh Yeah
Fairground Attraction: Perfect
Feeder: Buck Rogers
Five: Keep On Movin'
Jamelia: Superstar
Jamelia: Stop
Joy Division: Love Will Tear Us Apart
Lemar: It's Not That Easy
Lordi: Hard Rock Hallelujah
Maria Mena: My Lullaby
Maxïmo Park: Graffiti
Maxïmo Park: Going Missing
Natalie Imbruglia: Torn
opus X: loving you girl
Paddy Casey: Saints and Sinners
Paddy Casey: Whatever Gets You True
Reamonn: Supergirl
Roachford: Only To Be With You
Rooster: Come Get Some
Roxy Music: Love Is The Drug
Shannon Noll: What About Me
Spice Girls: Wannabe
Spice Girls: Who Do You Think You Are?
Steps: Deeper Shade of Blue
Stereophonics: Dakota
Stereophonics: The Bartender And The Thief
The Darkness: I Believe In A Thing Called Love
The Hoosiers: Goodbye Mr A
The Screaming Jets: Better
The Thrills: One Horse Town
The Thrills: Santa Cruz (You're Not That Far)
The Undertones: Teenage Kicks
Trio Rio: New York, Rio, Tokyo
Whitney Houston: I Want To Dance With Somebody
Clueso: Kein Bock Zu Geh'n
Die Fantastischen Vier: Geboren
Laith Al-Deen: Leb Den Tag
Laith Al-Deen: Bilder von Dir
MIA.: Tanz Der Moleküle
Pur: Abenteuerland
Revolverheld: Ich werd' die Welt verändern
Revolverheld: Mit Dir Chilln
Alexia: Egoista
Alexia: Da Grande
Daniele Silvestri: Salirò
Fiorello: Viviere A Color
Litfiba: El Diablo
Loredana Berte: Il Mare D'Inverno
Luca Di Risio: Calma e sanguefreddo
Paola & Chiara: Blu
Jan Eggum: På'an igjen
Kaptein Sabeltann: Vi seiler vår egen sjø
Philip and Sandra: Sommerflørt
Gloria Estefan: Hoy
Pereza: Pienso En Aquella Tarde

March 7th SingStore Update [Three Speech]