Singstar Getting Reboot Later this Year

Following Singstar’s transition to free-to-play last year, the hit Karaoke game will receive a massive reboot this year. This will include a brand new design and newly thought out free-to-play integration. Exactly what either of those things entail has yet to be announced, although we’re likely to find out more over the coming weeks.

It seems the biggest focus is on stopping the free-to-play feeling tacked on, and instead to make Singstar seem like something that has always have that capability. The design itself will be a huge part of that, but it’d be also nice to think that they might manage to ditch the high prices and go for something a little more wallet-friendly. Of course, many of the songs come with the original video, which likely contributes to the current high price.

This was all revealed in a press release concerning the F2P Summit, a one-day conference based in London and to which you can attend in October for £190. Sony London director Dave Ranyard will be giving a speech about the transition from disk to digital, with a focus on Singstar’s jump to free-to-play, and on its future.

From the press release:

 “Many of the best F2P experiences are built and designed from the ground up with F2P in mind from the start. Game and app stores are littered with the ghosts of games where f2p is a bolt-on. But what do you do if you have a strong game experience which you truly believe could become a great F2P game?

“In my session at the F2P Summit, I’m going to talk about what we have done to move SingStar from a traditional disc based game to a digital F2P game on PS3. Phase 1 was to launch SingStar as an app pinned to the PS3’s cross media bar last October. Phase 2 is a complete redesign and overhaul of the whole game structure and UI for the digital and F2P age, which is due for release later this year.”

No specific mention of a PlayStation 4 version of the app was mentioned, but it’s fairly obvious from the new focus that a big part of this reboot will involve bringing things to next-gen system. An easier micro-transaction system and more social integration will make Singstar something else on PS4, and there’s no doubt whatsoever that this is the way that Sony London will be heading in the future. How soon that’ll be and if it’s something that will be announced at the F2P Summit has yet to be seen.