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The SingStar servers were recently brought down to allow a smooth transition for the game's next big update. Try not to get to frazzled by the downtime -- according to a recent post on Playstation.Blog, this update includes the long-awaited fix for the rhythm title's unfortunate knack for erasing the user's purchased tracks. A handful of other changes to the SingStore and the game's online community will also be introduced in the patch. The full list of these additions can be found after the jump.

The blog post also announced that the franchise recently hit a fairly brag-worthy milestone: SingStar games have sold over 20 million units worldwide. That's right -- at least 20 million shrill karaoke covers of "Careless Whisper" have pierced the night around the globe. That kind of noise pollution is just unthinkable.

Dave Ranyard, the Game Director for SingStar, recently announced a fairly huge patch for the karaoke-infused rhythm title on the European PlayStation Blog. See, it would have to pretty large in order to completely encompass the game's previous patch, which apparently broke a lot of things.

The game's last patch, software update 4.20, is apparently capable of deleting purchased songs off the system's hard drive, crashing the game in the middle of those songs or generally corrupting your media files. Fortunately, SingStar v4.30 is currently undergoing QA testing, and is targeted for a December 1 release. Just in time for the holidays, SingStar owners will receive the gift of not having their stuff deleted any more. Or, as we like to call it, the gift that keeps on giving.

British artist Dizzee Rascal will headline the European launch of the new SingStar VIP space during an online PlayStation Home event on September 24 at 20:00 BST (UK time)/ 21:00 CEST (Mainland Europe). The Mercury Award-winning rapper will be on hand to promote his upcoming fourth album Tongue N' Cheek and answer fan questions, but not before taking the stage to perform some of his chart topping jams and his upcoming single.

If you need more incentive to connect, Home users who join the artist's launch party can get their hands on a free Dizzee Rascal mask (as terrifyingly seen above) for 48 hours. With an accessory as crazy as that, we hope to see a quick Quincy resurgence.

First, we heard that The Beatles: Rock Band would be released as a SingStar PS3 game with all the non-singing gameplay removed. Then Harmonix told Joystiq that it was just a potential microphone bundle for Rock Band, marketed at the SingStar-loving PAL audience.

The real bundle, as revealed by Australian retailer JB Hi-Fi, is somewhere in between, though the corrected Harmonix story was way more accurate. It's a regular copy of The Beatles: Rock Band and two SingStar mics, in a big SingStar package. JB Hi-Fi states that it will be out September 24 for $99 AUD ($86.61 US), and we have yet to see it pop up on any other retailer sites, so we don't know if it's PALexclusive or Australia exclusive, or where it'll be out. We'll check with Sony.

[Via Kotaku]

There's a time and a place for dancing -- even within the virtual confines of PlayStation Home. Fortunately, Sony is attempting to prevent the spread of inappropriate move busting by introducing an interactive dance floor-equipped SingStar space on September 24. Said dance arena doesn't just cast pretty lights onto its inhabitants -- it actually changes the current song based on which dance the majority of players are doing. Check out a video of the dance floor in action after the jump.

In addition, the SingStar space will include a music video jukebox, an interactive music quiz, and even a few "fetching" rewards for visitors. We're excited for said prizes -- provided they lend themselves to our favorite pastime.

Sony has been working on distributing a number of new technologies, already available in some PS3 programs. The first is voice recognition software, employed by SingStar, that allows the PS3 to quickly recognize up to 20 different languages. In SingStar, players are able to quickly go through the song library by simply calling out various commands or speaking the names of artists and songs. While the technology is currently exclusive to Sony, a report by Dig Info reveals that the company plans on making it available to all PS3 developers in future iterations of the console's software development kit.

Another tech developed by Sony allows the PS3 and PSP to quickly zoom in on massive images. Already used in a Japanese release calendar program (available for free from the Japanese PlayStation Store), this technology streams massive amounts of visual data -- including video -- quickly and scales it appropriately. Like the SingStar voice recognition tools, this tech will be available for developers in an upcoming SDK update. We're not exactly sure how games will be able to take advantage of this, but it certainly looks impressive.

Check out videos after the break.

[Via Engadget]

Source - High-Resolution Enlargement Technology
Source - PS3 Voice Recognition

Looks like Sony is expanding its SingStar library once again with SingStar Latino, an upcoming Spanish-language karaoke collection for PS2 and PS3. The ESRB description reads like a Harlequin novel at times, referencing "tight pants, bikini tops, bra-like tops, shirts/dresses that expose deep cleavage" and even more scandalous -- "touching breasts and crotch, grinding and gyrating hips." Is it getting warm in here?

The ESRB also highlights some lyrics that are simply bizarre when taken out of context. One song seemingly encourages unprotected sex, according to the ESRB's translations: "Y no me hables de sexo seguro" [And don't talk to me about safe sex.] The full song -- Chenoa's "Cuando tu vas" -- is about love over sex.

As for this lyric? "Mi agüita amarilla...Mo ja las ca lles...Y la empie zo a mear." [My little yellow water...It wets the streets...And I start to pee.] We can't even fathom how to explain that one. Watch both music videos after the break.

Brace your faces, karaoke fans -- SingStar's US store has added even more content to help you sing the night away. This week the US SingStore has added a Blondie song pack comprised of five hits from the 70s-80s phenom as well as individual Coldplay tracks, originally released together as a package a few months ago.

The store is also adding a few international flavors with tracks from (the awesome) Los Delinquentes with fellow Spanish star Bebe and Portugal's ironically named (because he's totally not a giant) Sir Giant. Full track listing can be found after the break.

Update: The comments have been closed and the winners will be chosen in the next 48 hours. Check those inboxes!

Do you know how much we love you, dearest readers? So much so, that while we're giving away a sore throat-inducing pack of SingStar and SingStar Queen this week to one lucky reader, we're not giving you any of those nasty plastic peripherals that we know you hate so much. That's right -- two singing games, none of those ridiculous microphones!

Lunacy you say? How about this? We'll throw in a complimentary Joystiq sticker along with the fantastic SingStar Swag Saturday Spectacular! All you have to do is leave a comment below telling us how many plastic peripherals you already own. A winner will be chosen at random after the contest ends tomorrow evening and emailed shortly thereafter. You can thank us later, don't worry about it.

• Leave a comment telling us how many plastic peripherals you already own (for any console).
  
• You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada, excluding Quebec.(Nous sommes désolés, Québecois!)
  
• Limit 1 entry per person.
• This entry period ends at 7:01 pm ET on Sunday, August 30. We'll randomly select one at that time to receive: one copy of SingStar and SingStar Queen (ARV $30 and $37, respectively).
• For a list of complete rules, click here

Harmonix's Sean Baptiste has repeatedly denied the baffling rumor of a The Beatles: Rock Band-based SingStar Beatles game on the Rock Band forums. One of his denials indicated that there was some element of truth buried deep within the rumor. "This isn't true, just a misheard rumor," he said. "I'll have more details later in the day about whatever it is they misheard."

A Harmonix/MTV Games spokesperson gave us the real info: it isn't SingStar, it's a The Beatles: Rock Band microphone bundle -- and even that is in the realm of hypotheticals. The spokesperson told us that the companies "have been working very closely with all of our partners to create various retail promotional opportunities in Europe to support the existing installed base of existing music video game hardware with potential offerings such as "The Beatles Microphone Bundles."

Someone must have heard discussion about a pack that was like SingStar: Beatles, and mistakenly believed it was SingStar: Beatles. The full statement is after the break.

If you're one of the few that love to bust a groove in PlayStation Home, then you'll love the upcoming SingStar Home Space. The Home expansion features a virtual dance floor, complete with a SingStar-themed jukebox that lets visitors choose the tunes. You'll be able to Quincy to the tunes of Britney Spears -- and who doesn't want to do that?

MCV reports that a PlayStation 3-exclusive Beatles version of SingStar will be released this fall, published by The Beatles: Rock Band publisher MTV Games and distributed by EA. Why MTV Games and not regular SingStar publisher Sony? Well, "MCV understands that SingStar: The Beatles will effectively be an instrument-free port of The Beatles: Rock Band."

We'll now have a brief intermission for the collective "what?"

The title will supposedly be released "within days" of The Beatles: Rock Band and will include SingStar mics. While it remains to be seen if this (possibly nonexistent) spinoff game also has the potential to make people cry, its mere existence almost certainly will.

Music from Universal's catalog is headed to the SingStar's European SingStore. According to Eurogamer, Sony has signed a deal with Universal (UMG), which will release its first content on August 8. As an early reward, Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" was released yesterday due to "popular demand" from fans of the karaoke game. A listing of tracks for wannabe European pop stars can be found after the break -- and yes, to quell any fears, Tiffany is on the list.

Some of you people must have some strong vocal cords -- or just wish you did -- as Evanescence's "My Immortal" and "Bring Me To Life" were the top SingStar downloads for June. Good for you if you can hit some of those notes ... or at least find the pitch. Rounding out the top five were Ray Charles' "Hit The Road Jack," Roxette Ballads, and "So What" by Pink.

Actually, there are some respectable post-pub choices in the full list. Check it out after the break.

UK's aptly named Official Chart Company has a fairly progressive idea for how to more accurately tabulate the sales success of musical artists on its Official Download Chart -- by including the sales statistics for tracks offered as downloadable content for rhythm titles such as Rock Band, Guitar Hero: World Tour and SingStar.

To compile and include this data, it would take a great deal of negotiation between the record companies, the Official Chart Company and the game's developers, but we think it's definitely worth the trouble -- if only so we could try to get Stephen and the Colberts on the UK Weekly Top 40.