Call it a Karaoke Revolution ripoff, a crass money-machine or a very expensive karaoke machine, but Sony’s SingStar karaoke game series is nothing if not persistent. Made available for both the PS2 and PS3, SingStar takes music videos, pops the words on the screen and encourages gamers to sing along. There are both strengths and weaknesses to the series, and since they are as few in number as the number of diet pills in Oprah’s dressing room, let us concentrate on the strengths of SingStar Abba first.
First, a word about the microphones; they are hefty, sturdy and substantial. Considering my wife has pursued musical aspirations most of her life, I’m a karaoke junkie, and we’ve both sang in churches over the years as well, I’ve had ample opportunities to be around audio equipment and distinguish junk from items.
While I don’t know ultimately who made the SingStar microphones – perhaps Sony themselves – I can say they have a very similar weight, feel and sensitivity to a high-quality Shure mic. Considering the cost is lower than most Shure mics, that’s a complimentary comparison.
Yet there is a downside to the SingStar microphones: they are only compatible with SingStar games, and no other audio input devices work with SingStar. That means even if you laid out a cool $50 for a Sony Bluetooth headset, it’s useless when it comes to SingStar; if you already have mics from Karaoke Revolution, they will have new storage space buddies because KR mics don’t work with SingStar, and vice-versa. Oh well.
Mics aside, I also have to say that I was impressed with the vocal performance analysis technology underlying the SingStar system. Whenever I would sing intentionally tone-deaf to test the system, my score in the game suffered; the higher the skill level I played at, the worse my score became. So, good news: you can’t sing like a tone-deaf Black Angus steer and do well in SingStar. Unless you’re a tone-deaf Black Angus steer who was hoping to do well in the game, that is; then it’s probably not-so-great that you have to know how to sing to do well in the game.
Still, the system isn’t perfect. While you must stay in-tune to do well in the game, it doesn’t necessarily measure the quality of the in-tune note you’re holding. So, your voice could be ragged and breathy and you could still score decently in the game, as long as you hold the note in tune. Still some room to grow here.
Now let’s consider song variety; while all other SingStar releases thus far have included a mix of artists, SingStar Abba is one of the first releases to feature a library of work by the same artist. Abba was selected, quite likely, due to the well-timed Blu-Ray release of the cinematic adaptation of Mamma Mia!, the musical based on the song catalog of Abba. For a 1970s band best known for the hit Dancing Queen, Abba’s done pretty well of late garnering post-career attention.
I never knew before exploring SingStar Abba that the Swedish supergroup had even made 30 music videos for their songs, considering they were largely out of the spotlight by the advent of MTV and music videos. Yet this game includes 30 of Abba’s biggest hits and I’d be hard-pressed to even remember a single the group ever released that’s not included in this collection. It really is an ideal companion to the Mamma Mia! Blu-Ray.
That said, there are several drawbacks to SingStar Abba, and most of them have to do with the general SingStar system, rather than being peculiar to SingStar Abba, and the biggest drawback is the karaoke system itself. In most karaoke systems, the real artists’ vocals are removed to make way for the karaoke performer; at worst, one is offered a learning track where they can sing along with the real vocals, as well as a performance track with the lead vocals removed.
Not in the SingStar system; instead, the original artists vocals remain in the song and at full volume at all times. The problem with this should be obvious; even an accomplished vocalist can come off sounding second-rate next to the original artist, especially if one needs to sing an octave lower or higher than the original artist. At best, the player’s overlaid vocals sound like a poor attempt and a duet; at worst, well, it’s best not to listen at all.
Another black mark against the series so far is that the SingStar series, including SingStar Abba, does not possess a real online play element. Sure, each player can create an online profile, have their best scores posted competitively against players worldwide and even upload their favorite performances for the world to listen to; but that’s as far as it goes.
What the series truly needs is an online competition mode, as well as an online duet mode. While such things can be done in your living room, the inability to do the same thing with other players online really cripples the game from reaching its full potential and appeal. If there were a genuine competitive aspect to such on online mode, in the vein of Karaoke Revolution’s recent American Idol license, would help tremendously. Instead, SingStar feels like a PS3 title stuck in a PS2 era of limited online features.
The pricing structure for adding new songs to one’s holster is also problematic; SingStar games always carry only 30 songs per title. While that size is perfect to encapsulate the greatest hits of a band like Abba, it’s actually quite limited when you calculate in the fact that in most SingStar collections, there is likely to be only 2-5 “favorites” that appeal to any one player, and it’s not like one can select a custom play-list at the time of purchase.
That’s where the Sony Store comes in, of course; right within the SingStar game, you can access a library of songs that you can purchase, download and play within any SingStar game, via the Sony Store. The problem here is the pricing model Sony is following; each song is $1.49, and while that may seem low and Sony apologists will protest that SingStar tracks have a video and game programming included in that download, the fact of the matter is that SingStar is in competition with general MP3 music services like iTunes, which charges fifty percent less at 99 cents per tune.
Also, the pricing structure has to be compared to other music games like Guitar Hero and Rock Back, which often include far deeper libraries in each game, and make expansion music packs available at a far lower cost-per-track when bought in packages. To compete over the long haul, SingStar will need to price itself more competitively. Song some individual songs on Guitar Hero and Rock Band exceed $1.49 per track, the average cost is usually lower.
Cost aside, the additional tracks available in the Sony Store are not very deep at this point; a mere 500-plus tracks in all, with the bulk of the catalog coming from the 1980s. While a gamer like myself may find 1980s music appealing, it’s a bit limiting when it comes to younger gamers and music fans.
For example, it is possible to find plenty six tracks of Billy Joel songs, four or so tracks of David Bowie, and even some Blondie; however, there is no Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus, only two Britney Spears tracks, no Kelly Clarkson and very little rap/hip-hop. The most accessible pop tracks I could find post 1990s were a handful of Avril LaVigne and one or two tracks by Pink, yet no Evenescence, no Gwen Stefani, no… well, you get the idea.
Another disappointment is the severe lack of musical variety at this point; there is virtually no country music selection, no Elvis, no Beatles, no R&B, and very little in the way of metal. Most of the selections are highly commercial pop artists or little-known underground bands willing to license their music inexpensively for exposure through the game.
Compare that to iTunes, which boasts a library of nearly every kind of music consisting over millions of singles, and one can begin to see the deficit at which the 80s-pop-music-dominated SingStar is operating.
On the whole, SingStar Abba is decent for what it is: a narrowly focused release specializing in one band, with only 30 songs included, whose appeal will ride on whether the songs of Abba are of interest or not. The lack of online duets or online competitive play is severely disappointing, and the relatively narrow, expensive library of additional songs available is also a barrier. While Sony seems committed to making SingStar work, there is a long journey between SingStar Abba and anything approaching an intriguing and viable karaoke franchise.
