Konami plans new karaoke titles on PS2 and Xbox

Konami is bringing its Karaoke Revolution series to Xbox, and is also planning another PS2 version of the popular sing-'em-up series. Both titles will be released in North America this November.

Although Karaoke Revolution has yet to launch in Europe (Konami is planning to introduce the first PS2 version, released in the States in autumn 2003, under the Karaoke Stage banner later this year), the series has already enjoyed critical and commercial success in the US and Japan.

Karaoke Revolution for the Xbox will focus largely on the content of the original PS2 title, featuring the same modes and licensed songs, with the addition of 10 new Motown tunes from original artists for a total of some 45 songs. Konami is also pledging to release more tunes as downloads via Xbox Live - in much the same way Microsoft did with its Xbox Music Mixer karaoke/media centre package.

Speaking of which, Xbox Karaoke Revolution will also support the microphone that shipped with Music Mixer, as well as the Xbox Live communicator headset for audio input. Furthermore, Logitech is working on a new microphone peripheral for Konami, which will be released at the same time.

Meanwhile, PS2 owners in the States (and importers) can look forward to Karaoke Revolution Volume 3, which introduces dual-microphone support ala Sony's SingStar title. A new Sing-off mode will have players alternating from phrase to phrase and combining on the chorus of a song, while Knock-out will have two players trying to out-sing one another on the same tune at the same time. Karaoke Revolution Vol.3 will also feature support for duets.

The full song line-up has yet to be revealed, but you can expect to see the likes of Careless Whisper, I Got You Babe, In The Midnight Hour, Killing Me Softly, Love Shack, My Immortal, Take My Breath Away, Unchained Melody and Under Pressure amongst the other tunes in the line-up.