PAL Karaoke Stage due in May

Konami of Europe has announced it plans to release PS2 sing-'em-up Karaoke Stage this May, featuring a number of tracks which didn't make it into the critically acclaimed US version.

Using a USB compatible microphone, Karaoke Stage tasks players with singing along and maintaining correct rhythm and pitch as the lyrics to popular songs whirl along the screen beneath his or her on-screen avatar - who is in turn dancing and singing to a virtual crowd, who respond to your singing by going wild or drifting away from the stage depending on how badly you're slaughtering the memory of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun or Wind Beneath My Wings.

Fortunately there's a wide range of tracks to go for, including offerings from Avril Lavigne (yeah, try singing that shit!), REM and Barenaked Ladies amongst other rock, pop and r'n'b tunes and classic ballads. Konami is promising some new songs to spice up the PAL conversion, and we should know more about that closer to the game's release in May...

You can see how the game is shaping up thanks to a new batch of screenshots.