I pre-ordered SingStar PS3 from Amazon and was eager to get. The package came with the game disk, and two wired microphones (why they are not wireless is beyond me.) After getting it, I noticed that there were some descent songs on the disk but with few exceptions there wasn't much to write home about.
But I didn't really care being that there was supposed to be 200+ songs in the singstar store on the PSN. The songs are 1.49 per song and come with Standard definition music videos. (The videos on the game disk are of higher quality.) After browsing the songs on the disk, I immediately went online to see what was up there. Being the Sony is a music entertainment mega house, I figure the selection should be top-notch. With labels like Arista Records, Epic, Jive, LaFace, Columbia. And Artist like Chris Brown, Sean Kingston, Michael Jackson, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, etc. I figured the selection was going to be hot! NOT! Almost every song in the Singstore was dated and some were very dated. The selection was utter crap. So, why would a music house as big as Sony BMG have such a lousy selection of songs for a Sony exclusive karaoke style title. (I know, there will probably be more songs to choose from in the future, but they should be embarrased by the launch selection.) It's really a virtual middle finger to those that bought the game. Could it be greed? I hope not.
Anyway, The game interface is organized well, although it would be nice if the game allows you to sort by artist when looking at the long list. I also notice on the Singstar online store that there are some inconsistencies, where in one country a song is considered Pop while it is considered rap in others. Overall the interface is highly usable although this small option would have made a huge difference.
I uploaded a video using my PS3 to singstar online, then when I got to work the next day I wanted to show my friends, only to find out that the internet online and PSN online accounts are NOT linked. If they are, I could not find a way to use it. TERRIBLE MISTAKE!
Okay as far a game play, the modes were single player, duet, past the mic (up to 8 players), battle, and practice. All game modes are excellent, I really like the duet mode because it allows you and a friend to sing a song as a duet that is not necessarily a duet by design. (Simple by switch out who sings what.) Overall I had a BLAST playing this and so did the rest of my family. We were at it for hours. If you have the Playstation eye, you have the pleasure of recording video clips and taking random photos which are a blast to watch back or put online.
Don't want to be here all day so I'll summarize.
Good Game
This may come as a bit of a shock to Americans, since it never really took hold in the US, but Singstar was one of the most important series ever released on a Sony console. And in January 2020, after 15 years of PlayStation karaoke, it’s finally going to be shuffled off the stage.
This game could live on as a VR game. Karaoke as different created characters or franchise characters from other games. Sing as Kratos or Nathan Drake or Parappa the Rapper, etc and post to social media if you're into that internet thing. Would be funny. And interesting if you had individuals who could really sing. Alloy becomes a virtual singing idol.
Sounds crazy but it's creative for VR. And you could use Dreams to create your backgrounds and music videos. I don't really sing but don't think they should give up on Singstar.
I think your last point might be a big one. Who needs SingStar when Dreams is coming out?
So if you invested potentially hundreds of dollars in the game with DLC songs, will all of it continue to work or are you just SOL now?
It'll still work. You just won't have the online features. The game can be played locally either singing together, or competing against one another, and is generally considered a pretty good party game....if you go to parties where karaoke is a thing at least. It basically doubles as a karaoke machine.
I'm not into karaoke, and you'll just have to trust me that anyone would be happy that I don't try to sing publicly, or even privately among friends. But, I've been to parties where people are having fun with it, and it's about as hit or miss as going to a karaoke bar....without the one girl who wants to sing Shania twain songs, yet can't carry a tune, or hit a high note without your pet cat committing ritual suicide.....most of the time anyways.
I loved SingStar but it hasn't been supported most of this gen. It had a half-hearted revival with a couple of discs but very little of the PS3 library transitioned across. I will probably keep my PS3 just for SingStar when PS5 comes out.
SingStar was huge in the US. Where did the idea that it wasn't popular in the US come from? It wasn't a hardcore game, so the hardcore gaming community never really noticed it much, but the game was a huge money maker for Sony.
If you think you’ve got what it takes to be a singing superstar in your very own living room, you might want to consider downloading SingStar on your PlayStation console today!
Singstar has been for free for over a year.
There are no songs in it just demos.
You need to go to the singstore buy songs.
Songs you purchased in the PS3 SingStar from psn carry over. Just have to download them again onto your PS4.
are you sure about that?
i think songs are linked to the PS3 they have been downloaded on first time.
I remember i had to call customer service for help.
I'm sure, that's how I did it on my PS4. There were articles about this when SingStar first launched on PS4. All the songs I purchased on my PS3 via PSN I simply redownloaded.
PS Blog Writes: I’m delighted to be able to share some news with you about the latest updates to SingStar, which are now available through our most recent patch!
Hey, you can sort by artist, just click the L2 button on the controller. And when you are on the Singstar Store, clicking the L2 button will displace a pretty good options menu.
But overall I do agree with your review. The songs are okay, but the could have thrown in some alicia keys, chris brown, and beyonce..haha
Nice review
Had the UK version since December & it was a slow start with the store having very few songs, but its picked up recently.
It is a shame that all the songs are in standard deff though, guess it's easier, I've just always wanted to see Blur in HD