[PS3] Singstar

[Shifty Geezer]

Do you maybe use a surround system?

It is on a surround system but I don't know if the audio is surround or not. It all just sounds loud up front.

 

[Carl B]

Luckily my own PS3 is fully B/C, but it's good to know in advance before going over to a friends house for a party with SingStar in mind (happening imminently).

Anyway - no real surprise, it is a PS2 game afterall, and how is it going to render the frames without a GS? It would have been a nice touch though if they had included title-specific PS2 emulation that loaded into RAM when playing PS3 Singstar, specifically with this in mind.

 

[Arwin]

It is on a surround system but I don't know if the audio is surround or not. It all just sounds loud up front.

Then I think you may have found your problem.

And now you tell me about the discswapping! I already feel stupid I dug up my two SingStar discs from the shed only to find that as soon as I even eject my PS3 disc, the game exists to the XMB.

My PS3 is still one of the (European) backwards compatible ones so it's no issue to me, but then I think just about all the songs I had are already available on SingStore, and the SingStore has way more songs than I've ever had on a disc. I think it won't take too long for the US SingStore to catch up. I have 329 songs available right now for download on the EU SingStore ...

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I have 329 songs available right now for download on the EU SingStore ...

It's not the number that's the issue, but the range. I'd rather have 100 varied songs rather than 300 guitar-strumming pop-wailers, just as I'd rather have 100 varied games across all genres rather than 300 shooters, no matter how good those shooters are. A look at the Singstar store highlighters the imbalance - almost half are rock and almost the other half are pop. There's virtually nothing in soundtrack. And within those rock and pop selections the range isn't incredible IMO. Just as the game catalogue for Sony's platforms tried to encompass something-for-everyone, so too should their content libraries. The notion of Singstar is great, the appeal universal, yet it's constricting itself. If the Abba tracks don't make it on (not that I'm personally after Abba, but they are quintessential singalong tunes), I'll give up on Sony altogether!

 

[Arwin]

Well, I'm not saying that the selection couldn't be better - I was just arguing against the need for the PS2 discs. Or are there still many great songs on those discs that aren't available on the SingStore?

One of the impressive things for me is that you can get songs in almost all European languages now too, by the way.

 

[Arwin]

Update (I presume for the EU SingStore though, no idea how this will work on the U.S. singstore) again this Friday:

English
Toni Braxton - "Un-break My Heart"
Maria Mena - "Just Hold Me"
Aleksander With - "The Other Side"
Margaret Berger - "Samantha"
Turbonegro - "High On The Crime"
The Proclaimers - "Letter From America"
Sandi Thom - "I Wish I Was A Punk Rocker (With Flowers In My Hair)"
OutKast - "Idlewild Blue (Don'tchu Worry 'Bout Me)"
Weird Al Yankovich - "Like A Surgeon"
Shakin' Stevens - "This Ole House"
Elvira Nikolaisen - "Love I Can't Defend"
The Offspring - "All I Want"
Santogold - "L.E.S Artistes"
Beth Orton - "Stolen Car"
HIM - "Killing Loneliness"
Foreigner - "I Want To Know What Love Is"
Leonard Cohen - "Famous Blue Raincoat"
New Kids On The Block - "Step By Step"
Surferosa - "Saturday Night"

French
Christophe Willem - "Jacques A Dit"
Mademoiselle K - "Ça Me Vexe"
Fatal Bazooka - "Fous ta cagoule"

Norwegian
Vamp - "Tir Na Noir"
Erik Og Kriss - "Det e’kke meg det er deg"
Erik og Kriss - "Den Låta"
Erik Og Kriss - "Dra Tilbake"
Anne Grete Preus - "Manens Elev"
Vamp - "Månemannen"

Spanish
Melendi - "Kisiera yo saber"
Danza Invisible - "Sabor de amor"
Duncan Dhu - "En Algún Lugar"

Swedish
Arja Saijonmaa - "Högt Över Havet"
Lasse Holm & Monica Törnell - "È Dé Det Här Du Kallar Kärlek"

EDIT: http://www.singstargame.com/en-gb/Browse-Songs-Home/ seems to allow you to browse and even preview the various songs. Note that French songs are only available if you choose French and so on, so that the total number of songs available varies per country.

 

[Arwin]

Another update coming this week:

Update 21st August:

In English:

• Daniel Powter - "Bad Day"
• Billy Joel - "River of Dreams"
• Britney Spears - "Overprotected"
• Cheap Trick - "I Want You To Want Me"
• David Bowie - "Jean Genie"
• Evermore - "It's too late"
• Five Star - "System Addict"
• HIM - "And Love Said No"
• Jamiroquai - "Alright"
• Jesus Jones - "Right Here, Right Now"
• Levellers - "What A Beautiful Day"
• Panic! At The Disco - "I Write Sins Not Tragedies"
• Sister Sledge - "He's The Greatest Dancer"
• Tina Turner - "What's Love Got To Do With It?"

In French:

• Amel Bent - "Tu N'es Plus Là"
• Bebé Lilly - "Les Cowboys"
• Neïman - "Viens"
• Soha - "Tourbillon"
• Soprano - "Ferme Les Yeux Et Imagine Toi"

In German:

• Jennifer Rostock - "Kopf Oder Zahl"
• Luka Neuser - "Zeit Für Helden"

In Italian:

• 883 - "Sei Un Mito"
• Max Pezzali - "Lo Strano Percorso"
• Vasco Rossi - "Siamo Soli"

In Spanish:

• Aerolíneas Federales - "No Me Beses En Los Labios"
• El Arrebato - "Duele"
• Jarabe de Palo - "Depende"
• Los Nikis - "El Imperio Contraataca"
• Melendi - "Caminando Por La Vida"
• Melendi - "Con La Luna Llena"

Also, the game was used on TV apparently, as I read this on the Eurogamer forum:

Last night (that should be 10 August I think - Arwin), on the Charlotte Church show, she sang 'Total Eclipse of the Heart' with Jimmy Carr. They had it set up so that they were singing different parts of the song.

EDIT: of course it's on youtube. How could I doubt? Somewhere five minutes in:

 

[patsu]

Over 2.2m songs downloaded via SingStore

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/over-2-2m-songs-downloaded-via-singstore

I myself have not bought any extra songs yet. Gave the game to a friend (since I obviously can't sing out loud in my office ;-) ). I go to his place to play sometimes, since he lives close by.

Sony president David Reeves also revealed that a new firmware update will allow users to play SingStar PS2 tracks on the PlayStation 3.

 

[obonicus]

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/over-2-2m-songs-downloaded-via-singstore

I myself have not bought any extra songs yet. Gave the game to a friend (since I obviously can't sing out loud in my office ;-) ). I go to his place to play sometimes, since he lives close by.

The BC thing is the best thing for the title, period. That way they can release the Disney stuff on PS2 and have it work in the PS3 version, if the PS2ers every decide they need to upgrade.

Also Disney Singstar seems HUGELY important. Maybe it'll finally catch on in the US, even if just the PS2 version?

 

[patsu]

The BC thing is the best thing for the title, period. That way they can release the Disney stuff on PS2 and have it work in the PS3 version, if the PS2ers every decide they need to upgrade.

Also Disney Singstar seems HUGELY important. Maybe it'll finally catch on in the US, even if just the PS2 version?

I don't know Have to wait for the sales number to see how the PS2 folks respond.

EDIT: of course it's on youtube. How could I doubt? Somewhere five minutes in:

Oh god, I missed this last time. I'd rather crack my skull against the wall then listen to that guy sing again.

 

[obonicus]

I don't know Have to wait for the sales number to see how the PS2 folks respond.

Let's hope SCEA lets people know that this is out there. And here's hoping that they didn't release it only on the PS3 (though they definitely need something to make Singstar PS3 attractive).

 

[Shifty Geezer]

SingStar is gaining two important and demanded expansions this year - Disney and Abba. They must have been listening!

 

[patsu]

They have ABBA ? Which one and when ? Mama Mia, I didn't get the memo.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Abba's coming out for PS2 in November, supposedly. Though I can't find an official statement. I hope this isn't a Rumour Gone Wild!

 

[patsu]

Oh yes... so the firmware upgrade David Reeve talks about is to improve backward compatibility with PS2 titles ?

 

[obonicus]

Disney is limited to PAL, for some reason.

 

[patsu]

I am all for PS3 playing PS2 SingStar songs: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=219907

What he meant was that by pressing Select on the carousel you'll be able to insert a PS2 SingStar disc and use those songs without exiting the software.

Most importantly, you won't need one of the increasingly rare backwards-compatible PS3s, either, because the firmware Reeves referred to will solve the problem of how to get the PS3 to talk to the old discs.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Oh yes... so the firmware upgrade David Reeve talks about is to improve backward compatibility with PS2 titles ?

It sounds like something to do with reading disks, though I don't see what it'd be. SingStar works on BC capable PS3s.

 

[patsu]

Ha ha, I was talking about BC and non-BC PS3 in general. Anyway, the article I linked to above has clarified the approach.

 

[Arwin]

Another update today (at least for PAL):

English
Chumbawamba, Tubthumping
Fine Young Cannibals, She Drives Me Crazy
Jamiroquai, Virtual Insanity
Natalia, Fragile Not Broken
Natalia, I Survived You
Natalia, I Want You Back
Natalia, I’ve Only Begun To Fight
Natalia, Shelter
One Love Family, Reggae Music
Savage Garden, To The Moon And Back
Simple Plan, Shut Up!
Sister Sledge, Lost In Music
Starship, We Built This City
The Flaming Lips, Race For The Prize
X-wife, Ping Pong
You Am I, Berlin Chair
You Am I, Purple Sneakers

French
Alizée, Mademoiselle Juliette
Anggun, Etre Une Femme
NZH, Princess
Sinclair, Supernova Superstar
Tina Arena, Entends Tu Le Monde

Italian
Giorgia, Gocce Di Memoria

Portuguese
Mind Da Gap, Dedicatória

Spanish
Duncan Dhu, Cien Gaviotas
Gabinete Caligari, El Calor Del Amor En Un Bar