SingStar producer talks customisation

By Oli Welsh Published 15 May, 2007

350 songs at launch.

Speaking in her keynote at this morning's Nordic Game conference, Sony's Paulina Bozek focused on "mass customisation" and how current trends have influenced the development of the PS3 instalment in the SingStar series, GamesIndustry.biz is reporting.

Bozek, executive producer and game director for the SingStar franchise, also revealed that no fewer than 350 songs will be available for the game at launch. Her speech focused on the importance of allowing huge amounts of choice to users.

"There have been some big media shifts recently and the landscape of entertainment has changed," she said. "MySpace is really the new MTV. TV is online, music is digital, products are tools and players are becoming creators.

"Clearly there is some kind of a big shift going on. It's a new era of consumer participation."

Bozek namechecked brands like Second Life, NikeiD and Facebook as well as PS3's other community-gaming stars, Home and LittleBigPlanet, before showing SingStar in action.

"Our major innovations for the next gen platform are SingStore, which is an online store that allows players to create their own playlist by downloading songs of their choice, and My SingStar Online," she said. "This is a community platform for SingStar fans to upload photos and video and audio to share with friends."

SingStore was shown working, while Bozek pointed out that many SingStar users are not traditional gamers - so her team was careful to make buying tunes from the service as easy as possible, with the user never having to leave the game.

PS3 Singtar will launch with 350 songs, with more than 100 expected to be added every month. Bozek showed Shut Up by the Black Eyed Peas and Atomic by Blondie running on SingStore, flicking through tracks by Cindy Lauper, Destiny's Child, KT Tunstall and Gwen Stefani.

The game is "nearly finished," said Bozek, and will ship this summer, but she fell short of discussing pricing for downloading tracks.

"We're going to be announcing our pricing quite soon, but I can't announce it today," she said.

Experience a thicker and fuller lather from just one squirt of industry news from GamesIndustry.biz.

Picture of Oli.

About Oli Welsh

Oli is Eurogamer's acting deputy editor and reviews editor and likes to take things one word at a time. He is among the best dressed people in South London.

Read more articles from Oli by visiting the Oli Welsh archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (36) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • MikkyX #1 5 years ago

    Question the first: Can I use my Singstar PS2 discs to unlock the songs for the PS3 or will I have to buy them again?

    Question the second: How many of the 350 launch songs will be the ones I already have on aforementioned PS2 versions?

  • coojam #2 5 years ago

    If you own the PS2 versions of the games, will this still allow you to download their online equivelents for free? That's something I've been really looking forward to.

  • quantumsheep #3 5 years ago

    "If you own the PS2 versions of the games, will this still allow you to download their online equivelents for free? That's something I've been really looking forward to."

    I'm guessing no.

    Mainly because you could rent/borrow the PS2 game and get shedloads of free songs you'd normally have to pay for =(

  • Steroyd #4 5 years ago

    Question the second: How many of the 350 launch songs will be the ones I already have on aforementioned PS2 versions?

    Depends on where you live really.

  • Cloudane #5 5 years ago

    This will be the PS3's first proper killer app.

    Everybody loves SingStar.

  • JediMasterMalik #6 5 years ago

    @coojam - I doubt it, but you could just play them on the PS2.

    Anyway, this sounds good if the pricing is right. (Unlike the GH2 packs)
    Edited by 1 at 15/05/07 @ 11:28

  • AcidSnake #7 5 years ago

    Was just thinking...This could be a very nice thing to put in a pub...
    Drunk people plus karaoke machine?...

    The owner just needs to buy a PS3 €600...350 songs at €3 a pop (I'd think)...
    That's € 1650 oh and 50€ for the mics...100€ for a nice antivomit/drink casing for the PS3...and 300€ for a nice big tv (no need for HD)...that's 2100€ in grand total...

    Say they'll charge €1 euro a song?...about 20€ a day they'll make, twice that on friday/saturday so 140€ a week...
    in 15 days they get their money back...

    Excellent I'd say...

  • keyboardmonkey #8 5 years ago

    How much of a raping is my bank account going to take for each song tell me now woman!

    Could this be the one and only singstar for the PS3 ? e.g. You don't need to buy new discs to get songs? New game modes could be downloaded ?

    my one fear is the pricing, if it was £1 a song that would be great but it's more likely going to be £3.50 minimum. So 10 songs £35 mmm and how much did the PS2 discs cost £20 for 15+ songs.

  • coojam #9 5 years ago

    Yeh, it's just a pain in the arse swapping discs and stuff all the time. I hate to admit it, but if I could have ALL the previous singstar songs on a PS3 hard disc to choose from instantly, that would sell the PS3 to me.

  • Steroyd #10 5 years ago

    Could this be the one and only singstar for the PS3 ? e.g. You don't need to buy new discs to get songs? New game modes could be downloaded ?

    I think there will be more Singstar games via disc, not everyone is online mind you.

    But I bet that they'll be pushing the online aspect because they'd probably stand to make the most money.

    If only Activision charged per song with Guitar Hero.

  • richardiox #11 5 years ago

    How many come with the game or is this not relevant in this age of micro-transactions?

    As it stands, if you have to pay for each download it's a bit long to say "Singstar PS3 has 350 songs". A more accurate description would be Singstar PS3 has 35 songs and the ability to download 300 more which would cost you around £300.

    I think something like SingStar will be the first true demo or what microtransactions will move towards., it's the perfect business model for it. Trouble is, Singstar is a popular as many homes already have a PS2 or can get one cheap. But having to pay £450 to play SS3 and then the costs of downloading tunes on top will be prohibative to the casual gamer.

  • richardiox #12 5 years ago

    1080P audio feed all over your lovely ears.

  • keyboardmonkey #13 5 years ago

    @Steroyd

    I think there will be more Singstar games via disc, not everyone is online mind you.

    Doh! yes you are right. I take it as a given that every one is connected these days. How did i ever manage without Live! And what did i used to do at work before i had access to the internet!

    I can see this definitely being one of Sony's cash cows. I wonder if they are going to have region specific songs (they do it with the discs) available to download as well.



  • tonynibbles #14 5 years ago

    I thought they said each track download includes the audio (transferrable to music players), the HD video and the game data.

    Im sure previously they said the pricing would be 'very competetive' to iTunes which to me means £1.

  • pervertron #15 5 years ago

    Hrm, why do they need a disc version, sounds like an ideal candidate for putting the whole thing on the Playstation Store? That way you wouldn't have to buy 30 songs - some of which you might find crap. Oh wait, microphones!

  • dog2_99 #16 5 years ago

    I bet the region specific songs are still there...its all probably due to copy-right issues with different record companies in different regions!?

    and i would wager that £1 a download is highly unlikely, remember you get the video as well unlike itunes...£2.5-3.5 more likely or packs for £10 etc!

  • Keso #17 5 years ago

    Paulina Bozek is foxy.

  • JediMasterMalik #18 5 years ago

    If they sell packs, it won't be limited to packs, thse are individual downloads first and foremost. It will definitely be more than iTunes, but nothing extortionate, I reckon 1.50 to 2.00.

  • kangarootoo #19 5 years ago

    @MikkyX

    "Question the first: Can I use my Singstar PS2 discs to unlock the songs for the PS3 or will I have to buy them again?"

    I have heard this true from very reliable sources.

  • kangarootoo #20 5 years ago

    @disc

    "The Singstar disc will come with 30 HD resolution videos."

    I don't think that is true.

  • SeesThroughAll #21 5 years ago

    If they sell packs, it won't be limited to packs, thse are individual downloads first and foremost. It will definitely be more than iTunes, but nothing extortionate, I reckon 1.50 to 2.00.

    Refer to Guitar Hero II 360.

  • spongebob #22 5 years ago

    350 launch songs and 100 more a month? Seriously, this could make PS3 a big seller just as a karaoke machine if nothing else.

  • JediMasterMalik #23 5 years ago

    @STA already addressed that ;)

  • reality_cheque #24 5 years ago

    I would have thought it was YouTube that was the new MTV, rather than a social networking site for emo children.

  • mkreku #25 5 years ago

    This is one of the few games that could win me back to Sony.. I loved all my Singstar's on the Playstation 2 (I own them all except Anthems and the last one) and the sound of the SingStore is just awesome! I'd probably be broke within a month, but I'd have a huge library of my favourite songs to starve to death in front of.

  • zuljin #26 5 years ago

    "I can see this definitely being one of Sony's cash cows. I wonder if they are going to have region specific songs (they do it with the discs) available to download as well."

    Hey! Thats what the regionalised PS store is there for!

    @Kanga
    There you go again quoting Wikipedia as reliable sources :)

  • TripSkyway #27 5 years ago

    Wowsers, this should be great. Can't wait.

  • Tomo #28 5 years ago

    It better work out at the same price as buying them together in a collection or I'll be peeved.

  • MGG #29 5 years ago

    If they are going to price this to be competitive with iTunes, then they better have their lawyers ready - the EU is already investigating the over-pricing of iTunes in the UK compared to other countries, such as Germany. iirc, there is a difference of 20-30p per song, that is just inexcusable and profiteering.

    Not that we could ever say Sony have done that before.

  • stampax #30 5 years ago

    I really want this. So much so in fact that if the d/l content is at a decent price - ie no more than pound a song - i will buy a PS3 just for it.
    Singstar on the PS2 really is the most fun i've had on a console for a long time.

  • kangarootoo #31 5 years ago

    @disc

    Hehe, handbags.

    Things have changed since I last heard about it then. Source (assuming you can say)?

    @zuljin

    When did I quote wiki?

    @MGG

    I'm not sure the two things are connected. iTunes is in bother for mismatched pricing between European countries, and specifically the restriction on your buying from outside your territory. Whether SingStar pricing is competetive with iTunes is not really the same thing.

    Besides which, they aren't even selling the same product. Songs for SingStar are not just mp3s. If all you want to do is listen to music, I doubt SingStar is really the right product for that.

  • zuljin #32 5 years ago

    @kanga
    ""Question the first: Can I use my Singstar PS2 discs to unlock the songs for the PS3 or will I have to buy them again?"

    I have heard this true from very reliable sources. "

    Thats mentioned almost verbatum on the PS3 section of Singstar... :)

  • Sid-Nice #33 5 years ago

    Never mind 350 songs I want a 360 version.

  • Steroyd #34 5 years ago

    Never mind 350 songs I want a 360 version.

    Hahahahaha

    Bwuahahahahah

    MWUAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA

  • kangarootoo #35 5 years ago

    @zuljin

    Ah ok, that isn't where I heard it.

  • Les #36 5 years ago

    I want this, now.