Karaoke Stage sequel announced

Although we're still waiting to get our hands on the original over here, Konami of America has announced a sequel to Karaoke Revolution (or Karaoke Stage as it will be called here), featuring a bunch of new songs and a new medley mode, which lets players create a sort of montage of up to five song clips and compete for the audience's approval against their friends.

Karaoke Revolution Volume 2 is due out on PS2 in the States this summer, and like the original will feature a vocal analyser that rates the player's singing ability, and provides feedback via a simulated audience's boos and cheers. Also like the original, there will be training, arcade and normal karaoke modes in addition to a sort of singing career option, and the game will be compatible with just about any recording device that works with the PS2 - be that a headset or an actual microphone.

Although Konami has already announced a J-Pop themed Karaoke Revolution title for the Japanese PS2 market this year, the upcoming US version will feature 35 English tracks, most of which we've all sung along to at one point or another. Every Breath You Take by The Police, for example, Friends In Low Places, and of course I Will Survive are amongst the tracks on offer.

Karaoke Stage seems to be due out next month (Konami is a bit coy about it actually), but if it is then it'll be going up against Sony's not altogether different Singstar product, which - despite claiming not to be a karaoke title - is definitely along the same lines. Who will triumph? Well, the developer behind Karaoke Revolution/Stage is none other than Harmonix, of Frequency and Amplitude fame, so it'll be a tough fight for the Sony upstart. We'll be sure to give you an idea when both games pitch up for review, naturally, because we're all brilliant singers here. Oh yes.