And that's in its digital shopfront. While Rock Band and Guitar Hero are stuck with antiquated stores, accessible only via crude in-game portals or a console's online store, Sony have today launched the "SingStar Viewer", a PS3 application that lets users browse online videos and purchase songs directly from the XMB, without having to access either the game or the PlayStation Store.

For SingStar users, it's mighty useful, both as a shopfront and as a community hub. For everyone else, it's useful too, if only so you can complain to Harmonix and Activision that their respective band games could do with something similar.

The first SingStar was released all the way back in 2004, for the PS2, and the series now spans over seventy releases across fourteen languages.

Not bad for a game that's essentially only been big in one market (Europe).

SingStar Holiday Update [PlayStation]

I say tacky because, sadly, when putting the list of Christmas songs together, they didn't go the preferred route and include some Rat Pack crooning. Instead, we get ten downloadable songs featuring Slade. Wings. And...Cliff Richard.

OK, so Wings is actually pretty great. Especially since "Mull Of Kintyre" made the cut, which should give anyone with Scottish relatives something to do once, come December 25, the sun sets and the lid comes off the whiskey bottle.

But Cliff Richard? Come on, Sony. My mum doesn't know how to access the SingStore.

The complete list of holiday songs is below:

Slade – Merry Xmas Everybody
Doris Day – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Cliff Richard – Saviour's Day
Johnny Mathis – When A Child Is Born
Nat King Cole – A Cradle in Bethlehem
Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder – Ebony & Ivory
Paul McCartney – Dance Tonight
Wings –Mull Of Kintyre
Wings – Band On The Run
Paul McCartney –Pipes of Peace

Meet The Beatles: Rock Band: SingStar, for the PS3. It's a mouthful, we know, but it's also real, and constitutes one of the strangest franchise couplings we've ever seen, what with the two franchises being competitors and all.

It includes a regular copy of The Beatles: Rock Band and a pair of wired microphones, all the while carrying the branding of both music franchises. You want extra instruments? You go get them yourself.

It's out later this month, is definitely targeted at the older crowd who are more likely to sing than hold a plastic guitar, and is most likely for PAL regions only.

Harmonix's Sean Baptiste has issued a short, blunt statement on the matter, saying "This isn't true, just a misheard rumor. I'll have more details later in the day about whatever it is they misheard."

The game was rumoured to be a "port" of The Beatles: Rock Band, but Baptiste's comment casts some serious doubt on that. Incidentally, no details were provided on just what it was MCV "misheard," so colour us intrigued on just what is going down here.

[Rock Band]

The game is quite a unique beast, as according to MCV it's not a competitor to Beatles: Rock Band. Rather, it's a "port" of sorts, and will be the same game as we're expecting with Beatles: Rock Band, only...without instruments.

It's still being published by MTV Games, and like Rock Band will still be distributed by EA. MCV say it'll be out "within days" the the September 9 release of The Beatles: Rock Band.

SingStar: Beatles on the way [MCV]

Why? Because it's Queen. As far as strutting, pour-your-heart-out rock goes, it doesn't get much bigger than Queen. Which means when your girlfriend/lady friend/wife/sister says "oh go on, have a go", your usual excuse of "nah, this is all girly tripe" just won't cut it. Why? Because it's Queen. You're just going to have to man up.

Loved
Variety: A big part of not just Queen's popularity, but also their longevity, is that the band's catalogue is so wildly eclectic. Pop, ballads, hard rock, most people's genre of choice will be covered, which for a party game is crucial. Indeed, in my humble opinion, the SingStar Queen tracklist is more varied – and more enjoyable – than the remainder of the SingStore itself can manage.

Princes of the Universe: The whole point of these music games is that they should make you feel big. Like a rock star. SingStar Queen nails this. Sure, that has more to do with the fact it's Queen than with the game itself, but if you don't break into a massive grin after singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" there's something inhuman about you.

Wireless Mics: My copy of the game arrived with some wireless microphones in tow, and they've been worth the wait. They're well-built, have a good weight to them, and there weren't any lag or feedback issues I could pick up. (Ed's note: The wireless microphones were released as a standalone in the UK on March 18.)

Greatest Hits: OK, yes, I am a massive Queen fan. Which is why I'm so happy with the tracklist for this game. Sure, as I said above, it's got a bit of everything, but Sony's London Studio went the extra mile and included some classics that are skewed more towards appeasing Queen fans than providing songs that would be good for SingStar's gameplay. Like "Who Wants To Live Forever", a teary train wreck of a song that not only has intolerable instrumental sections, but is from the Highlander soundtrack. Both of which make it awesome, and which also seem to have me standing to lose a gentleman's agreement...

Hated
Inequality: The game is available on both PS2 and PS3. The PS3 version contains 25 songs, but the PS2 version only has 20. This is no doubt down to size restrictions, as other SingStar titles available on both platforms have featured the same discrepancy, but still. It's a little unfair on PS2 owners, who are no doubt still the most numerous purchasers of the series.

Under Pressure: This one isn't really the game's fault either, but you can't help playing through SingStar Queen's tracklist and wishing it was Rock Band: Queen's tracklist instead.

Being the umpteenth release of a well-worn, successful franchise, there's really not much more to say. This is SingStar, only instead of corny pop songs, it's a collection of classic rock tracks. Your mileage on this will depend entirely on how comfortable you are singing in public, and how much you enjoy Queen.

SingStar Queen was released in the United States on August 4 for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3. Developed by London Studio, published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Retails for $40 on PlayStation 3 (UK version reviewed), $30 on PlayStation 2. Played every song in multiplayer mode, most songs - shamefully - in single player.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

If, on the other hand, you take a certain sociopathic pleasure in tough guys caught unawares, or you have serious Department of Navy/Air Force loyalties and want a laugh, have a gander at this Army guy crooning falsetto about loving dangerously. Best part, the YouTube caption says he was singing Pussycat Dolls before this. What is up with the guy in boxing gloves? Also.

I clock out after about 30 seconds of this. How long can you last? He gets busted at the end, but it's not much of a reaction.

Kryck Singing Toxic by Britney Spears on SingStar for PS3 [YouTube, via vgpop.com, blame reader Chris for this]

So every time a Briton downloaded a single in Rock Band, Guitar Hero, SingStar or the like, that sale would count towards the song's performance on the charts.

These figures would be included in the "Download" charts, lumped in with music picked up from iTunes, Amazon, etc.

Omar Maskatiya, chart director at the Official Chart Company, says:

We have been in discussion with record labels and the various games companies that host games which allow users to download master recording versions of artist tracks. In theory they could be eligible to be combined with downloads of the same tracks that take place from the wide range of digital retailing services that currently make up our chart panel.

All that's left is to nut out a deal with publishers and platform holders as to how the figures would be tallied.

Music charts to add games [MCV]

The figure comes courtesy of market research firm Interpret, who can also tell us some other fun facts about music game players, like:

- People who play music games buy 67% more CDs than the Average Joe

- They're twice as likely to legally download a song

- Music game players are more likely to watch music videos online than the Average Joe (29% vs 15%)

- They're also more likely to listen to music via a social network than Average Joe (45% vs 32%)

So, there you have it! Music game players like music.

25 million US gamers played music games in April [GI.biz]

I remember, in my previous life, working at EB Games the day the game first arrived in an unassuming crate from Sony. And thinking, "Man, this is stupid. Karaoke? On the PS2? Whatever".

And that, kids, is why I'm not in product management.

The series has already been released across a staggering 70 individual titles (you can thank European-language editions and variations between American, British and Australian versions for the inflated figure), and has in that time ammassed combined sales of over 16 million units.

Imagine how many it would have sold if it was even remotely popular outside of Europe and Australasia!

SingStar: The Stats [GI.biz]

It seemed rather silly to release a trophy patch one week and a functionality patch the next. Perhaps that's why the new global patch for SingStar got pushed back until today. Now players can win various trophies by singing their hearts out, sharing their videos, and not breaking all the glass in the house while trying to reach those high notes.

The patch also introduces a newly redesigned SingStore and My SingStar Online; quick song purchase functionality; and the promised voice control features that mean you never have to put your hands on that filthy controller that for some reason shipped with your $400 to $600 karaoke machine.

Check out the official post over at the PlayStation blog to see a teaser trailer for the upcoming SingStar Queen.

SingStar Global Patch Adds Voice Control, Trophies and More [PlayStation.Blog]

Tomorrow sees the release of the 3.01 patch for SingStar, an automatic free update to the title that adds PlayStation 3 trophies to the list of reasons to sprain your voice trying to sing along to "I Believe in a Thing Called Love."

You might want to take it easy on your pipes, however, as another new feature arrives on April 22nd - voice control. Now, rather than always needing to keep a controller handy, you'll be able to simply tell the game which song you'd like to sing, hoping it understands what you are saying.

I actually picked up SingStar for the PlayStation 3 this past weekend for some reason, and was wondering what motivation I was really being given to torture my cats with my voice. Trophies should fill that role nicely.

The list - which details the top 10-selling games from the British SingStore - is useful to you because it, more than any metaphor or even carefully-chosen picture, sums up best the kind of person that plays SingStar.

1. Total Eclipse Of The Heart - Bonnie Tyler
2. Final Countdown - Europe
3. Just Like A Pill - Pink
4. Suspicious Minds - Elvis Presley
5. Torn - Natalie Imbruglia
6. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
7. Eye Of The Tiger - Survivor
8. Take On Me - A-ha
9. Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
10. American Pie - Don McLean

Go on. Close your eyes. You can just see them now, can't you? And now you can, you can stop asking yourself "who the fuck plays this game?" every time you see news about SingStar.

Bonnie Tyler is UK's SingStar favourite [Casualgaming]

There'll be 25 tracks on the PS3 edition, while on PS2, there'll only be 20. Blame Blu-Ray. Anyway, SCE Australia tell us the game will be out in PAL territories in March, and with the PS3 being region-free and all, that means everywhere else can get it in March too.

As for the songs...nailing 25 of Queen's finest was always going to be a struggle, so eccentric and diverse is the band's fanbase, but I think they've done a pretty good job with these. And no, I'm not just saying that because they included one of the tracks from Highlander.

If I had one gripe - and this is real look-a-gift-horse-in-mouth territory here, I realise - it's that Princes of the Universe didn't make it. Then again, maybe that's being saved for Rock Band, where it would be twice as awesome.

That's mostly because PS2 owners who play SingStar still play SingStar on the PS2. Sony keep releasing PS2 versions of the game, so PS2 owners don't need to upgrade. Simple.

A smaller, though not insignificant reason is that the game, despite being for the all-singing, all-dancing PlayStation 3, shipped with the same rugged, ageing USB mics the PS2 version did. This despite promises the game would ship with fancy new wireless ones.

With Microsoft's Lips - which, for all the game's flaws, has excellent wireless mics - perhaps serving as a kick in the butt, Sony are now finally acting on the whole wireless mics thing.

A post on the game's MySpace page shows that the mics are finished and are going through public testing. They should be out "next year", and will surprisingly work on both PS2 and PS3 consoles.

Try out our new Wireless Microphones first! [SingStar MySpace]

First announced earlier this year, Sony Europe have announced that the title update allowing SingStar PS3 users to "hot swap" their PS2 SingStar discs is ready for download. In other words, even if you own a PS3 that doesn't support backwards-compatibility, you'll be able to use your PS2 SingStars on your PS3 provided you boot up the PS3 version first.

Great for PS2 owners with a big SingStar library looking to upgrade to a PS3, but what about the rest of us? We're intrigued by this patch. If Sony can come up with a patch that lets one PS2 game run (even in a limited capacity) on a PS3 that doesn't otherwise support backwards compatibility, why can't the same be done for more PS2 games?

Exciting news on SingStar backwards compatibility! [Three Speech] [Image]

It's yet another study on the subject, and it may not sound like an overwhelming number — 19 percent of youngsters now playing instruments or signing said a game inspired them to try it. But that amounts to 2.5 million Brit kids. And that's a pretty good figure for a phenomenon roughly three years old.

More than half of the 12 million UK children between the ages of 3 and 18 play musical games, the report found. Andrew Missingham, a music industry expert who carried out the study, said there is a direct line between that kind of gameplay and moving into more serious pursuits, helping to establish some "transferable musical skills, and even the development of performance confidence."

"This research for the first time shows conclusively that young people are being inspired to make their own music by games that first piqued their interest," he said.

As a social game, Rock Band and Guitar Hero and SingStar, where failing on notes is in a low-pressure, among-friends environment, I can see how it would help break down fear of failure or stage fright later on.

But left unsaid is how committed to musical pursuits these kids remain. There should be a name for the syndrome of playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band, getting all fired up and buying a real instrument, then realizing, no, in fact, it's much more complicated than pressing fret buttons or hitting drumpads.

Even so, music, or any kind of art, is a component of the well-rounded life many parents encourage their children to seek. (Mine paid for three years of piano lessons, and all I remember is Old McDonald on the black keys.) So any assistance getting them to at least try is a good thing.

Computer Games Inspire Children to Learn Musical Instruments [Telegraph, via Go Nintendo]

One could easily argue that the choices aren't ideal — no "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)?"; almost any version would do — but we'll take what we can get. Yes, we'll even take a little Celine Dion, just for the rum and eggnog coated cacophony of it all. Serious SingStar fans can download the following Xmas extravaganza "mid-December."

For just $6.99 USD, you'll get the following well-worn Christmas fodder.

• Toni Braxton – ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Xmas’
• Babyface – ‘Sleigh Ride’
• Shakin’ Stevens – ‘Merry Christmas’
• Paul McCartney – “Wonderful Christmastime’
• Celine Dion – ‘Christmas Eve’

In addition, it looks like some better choices will be hitting the SingStore soon, most notably Queen's ‘The Show Must Go On’ and most gratingly Starship's ‘We Built This City.’ Oi!

SingStar Updates [PlayStation.blog]

Sony Computer Entertainment is not responsible for any damage done to your PS3 console by Dion's powerful fore claws.

Get into the Christmas Spirit with a Festive Fun SongPack from SingStar! [ThreeSpeech]