BeefJack writes: "It's not even December yet, but even Sony's pre-emptively getting into the festive spirit having announced a Paul McCartney and 'Festive – Fun 2' Track Pack will be hitting the SingStar Store soon. Included are classic Christmas tunes including Doris Day, Slade, Elton John and Cliff Richard.

Frankly, it wouldn't be Christmas if it didn't include the Slade number 'Merry Christmas Everybody' and sure, 'Ebony and Ivory' by Macca and Steve Wonder can't go amiss- but I'm sure putting on 'Saviour's Day' at your Christmas office party won't go down well."
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Playstation Blog writes: "Hey everyone!
Erin English here with this week's SingStore update.

The SingStore update this week features new tracks to expand your song libraries with, including "Cotton Eye Joe" by Rednex, "You're The Voice" by John Farnham and "You Were Right" by Badly Drawn Boy."
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Nextgamer posted up the full list of the SingStore update for 01 October 2009.
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PS3-Sense writes "Sony will soon include a voice recognition function in the PS3's Software Development Kit. The function will be demonstrated in the Singstar Menu's after the jump"
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Nextgamer writes: "Sony has published the SingStar statics at the GamesCom."
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411mania talks about this week's game releases. Highlights include MagnaCarta II, Tales of VS., SingStar Queen, and Hearts of Iron III.

On Magna Carta II, 411mania writes: "Even though the title indicates that this is the second MagnaCarta game, it is actually the third in the series, the first being for the PC and the second for the PS2. Unfortunately, Atlus' release of the PS2 sequel a few years ago wasn't very well received - some were impressed with the visuals and a lot of people liked the story, but many found the combat system off and most agreed that the voicework was bad. Luckily, MagnaCarta II features a whole new cast of characters, a new storyline, and a different fighting system, so knowledge of the previous games are not necessary."
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UPDATE: The new U.S. SingStore content is now live! Get on it!

PlayStation LifeStyle is pleased to bring you the full update list featuring 12 new videos, 4 songs previously only available in song packs, and 2 new SingStar Essentials song packs.
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From PS3 Attitude: "Speaking at the Develop Conference today, Dave Ranyard of SCEE has been outlining what the SingStar community has taught Sony through interaction with the game, and what developments we can expect in the future.

One of the big issues for Sony is balancing the features the existing users SingStar franchise.

So here's what they've come up with..."
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MCV: Singstar and Guitar Hero downloads wanted by Official Charts Company
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PS3Hype writes: 'Soon the SingStore will get a new update, and this time the update is a lot better than regualar. Songs from Krezip, and from Calvin Harris with 'I'm Not Alone' will make their way trought the SingStore.'
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EU PSBlog writes: 'Hi all! Some of you actually already asked for this so I hope you like it. Please allow me to introduce you to the official SingStoreTop 20 Download Chart. Tadaaa!'
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Erin English // Product Marketing Manager writes: "Good news for all you SingStar fans! Today we released a global patch featuring a number of new and enhanced gameplay and online features for SingStar PS3 users.

A new voice control menu will enable players to scroll through the song carousel and select the tracks they'd like to sing by simply speaking into the microphone. In addition to voice control, the new patch will include support for over 30 trophies including 'Super Singer Gold', 'Keep it Cool' and 'All Eyes on You', quick song purchase functionality and an enhanced redesign of the SingStore and MySingStarOnline. The new patch is free to users and will be compatible with all SingStar PS3 discs.

For all you Queen fans, late last week we announced the upcoming release of SingStar Queen for the PS3 and PS2. Available as a standalone disc on August 18, SingStar Queen features over 20 classic hits from the iconic pop-rock group including 'We Are The Champions,' 'Another One Bites The Dust,' 'We Will Rock You,' 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'Under Pressure'. For a sneak peak at SingStar Queen, check out the teaser trailer below:
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TheSixthAxis: "Whilst everyone got a press release yesterday claiming that the SingStar 3.01 patch would arrive today, including Trophies, the new SingStore look that we hinted at and voice control, we've just been told that the update is now due next week. "
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PlayStation LifeStyle found mention of the patch (v3.01) on a french gaming website. All indicators point to the April 16th release date. However, PSLS has more information about the separate, and later, release date of the voice-control patch.
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SingStar players have uploaded over 96,000 videos to the game's community pages using PlayStation Network, Sony told Eurogamer this week.

Altogether those videos have been viewed over 10.7 million times, and nearly 160,000 pieces of content, including photos, have been uploaded in total.
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SingStar Crystal Mics kicks off on March 25th 2009. SingStars across Europe will be invited to upload their most dazzling performances to My SingStar Online via PlayStation Network on your PLAYSTATION 3...
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LittleBigPlanetoid writes: "But it works both ways, and Sackboy is starting to find his way in to other games. A Little Big Planet PlayStation Home space is already in the works, Sackboy PSN avatars are coming soon and don't forget that last December it was rumoured that Sackboy will be coming to Hot Shots / Everybody's Golf 5.
The most recent appearance of Sackboy's friendly face is in SingStar (yes, we play SingStar and love it very much). It's been live for some weeks now, but you can buy a Little Big Planet wallpaper from the SingStore (99p in the UK).
The wallpaper theme allows you to play SingStar with Little Big Planet background music, an animated background of various stickers moving in and out, plus of course: Sackboy's smiling face…"
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Andrew Lloyd-Webber, composer of numerous hit musicals such as the Phantom of the Opera and Cats, may soon see his works adapted into SingStar-style singalong videogames.
Webber's company Really Useful Group is shopping the concept around to various publishers, including Electronic Arts.

The impetus behind the singalong idea is "the emergence of more female gamers in the traditionally male-dominated game consumer demographic, and the popularity of singing- and music-based titles like Playstation's Singstar and Xbox's Lips," according to Paidcontent
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MCV: Following on from reports of a pending arrival for the long-awaited wireless microphones for Sony's SingStar, SCEE has confirmed to MCV that an early 2009 arrival is indeed on the cards.

An SCEE spokesperson stated: "We are indeed currently testing wireless mics with our community. We haven't actually announced the launch date or price point yet."

The source went on to say that the release date was likely to fall "in the early part of the new year".
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NOTE: The update may not go live until 18 December 2008.

In addition to the patch (now live) to allow disc-swapping and audio/video recording of legacy PS2 SingStar titles, we'll be seeing a pretty significant update to the US SingStore this week. The update includes 10 songs from this week's European SingStore update, 10 songs from previous European SingStore updates, and the Festive Fun (Christmas) Song Pack.

Check the article to see the full list.
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