Karaoke Revolution coming to Japan

According to the latest issue of Famitsu magazine, Konami has announced Karaoke Revolution for the PlayStation 2 in Japan, which is a different game from the Karaoke Revolution that will be released in North America. Unlike previous music game releases from Konami, Karaoke Revolution is being developed exclusively for the home-console market. In Karaoke Revolution, the player can sing along with his or her favorite songs using a special USB microphone that will be sold separately by Konami. The game will feature four modes: karaoke, revolution, team battle, and audition. In karaoke mode, the game will score the player's singing, and the score can then be sent to the online score rankings using the PlayStation 2 broadband adaptor. In revolution mode, the player can go through a BeatMania-like game consisting of stages that need to be cleared without making mistakes, such as singing out of tune. The survival mode is a multiplayer game where two to eight players break into two teams and challenge each other. The audition mode is a story mode with multiple endings that is played by singing through events.

Karaoke Revolution is scheduled for release on September 25 in Japan at the price of 3,980 yen ($33). Additional song discs are scheduled for release in December and March. Songs can also be downloaded via the PlayStation 2 broadband adaptor for a nominal monthly fee. In addition, the Japanese version of the game will contain a largely J-Pop soundtrack. The microphone will be released on the same day as the game, at a retail price of 5,800 yen ($48).