EA duets with SingShot

Electronic Arts may be heavy players in sports, action, first-person shooters, and just about every other game genre under the sun, but one category they've been relatively in the dark in is music-related games (except for this one). But like a wedding guest who has had one too many, it appears as though EA now has mustered the confidence and is getting ready to take the mic.

The company today announced that it has acquired SingShot, a San Francisco-based online karaoke community. SingShot allows users to upload their own renditions of karaoke classics like "Caribbean Queen," "At Last," and "Do You Think I'm Sexy?" all in a community-driven site akin to MySpace.

EA has not announced any specific plans for the five-man SingShot team, saying only that "The acquisition will help accelerate EA's efforts in community-building and promoting user-generated content through a unique music platform." However, it was disclosed that the team would work with the Sims division.

Game companies appear eager to get into the American Idol craze that has spawned millions of Clay Aiken wannabes across the country. In addition to EA's announcement today, late last week Sony president of worldwide studios Phil Harrison showed off the newest features of the upcoming PlayStation 3 karaoke game, Sing Star. The game will feature an online community for songbirds to strut their stuff and watch videos of their friends' performances.