In a sit down discussion with developer iNiS's Keiichi Yano, the chief creative officer for karaoke game Lips, Joystiq learned quite the factual load of Lips information. Informative highlights including mention that Lips will support both the Zune and iPod but will not use DRM'ed music, the microphone is in fact dongle'less, every song included will be a master track and feature the original music video and game scoring will be enabled with all custom tracks. You can jump towards the break to view Joystiq's compiled Lips information fact sheet. Lips'tastic!The microphone
- The wireless microphone will bind with the Xbox 360, no dongle required.
- It's unclear if it will work with other music games. When asked about Rock Band or Guitar Hero World Tour, Keiichi Yano told us, "That's a great idea. We would love to do that." Alas, it's up to those third-party devs to implement support for this peripheral.
- A second player can shake the microphone to instantly "jump in" to the song, no menus needed.
- They use 2 AA batteries, just like the Xbox 360 controller. Yanno said that, despite the motion-sensitivity and the lights, the battery life is pretty impressive already, on prototype hardware.
- Lips will be bundled with a black and a white controller
- Though they were only showing off the streaming functionality through a Zune, they assured us it would work just as simply through an iPod. When asked why they couldn't use one now, Yano responded, "Trust me. It works." We then crossed our arms and fell backwards into his waiting arms ...
- DRM'd songs can't be used, regardless of the DRM scheme used. So no Zune or iTunes songs.
- Lips will perform "vocal reduction" on your own songs, though they weren't showing the functionality off.
- You can be scored on your own songs.
- Audio from a Zune or iPod is streamed only, not downloaded, so you'll need to keep it nearby
- After telling us that they "actually don't know" if Lips will be able to read directly from your streaming media library (think iTunes) the way the Xbox 360 can, Yano said they'd like to implement the feature, which he followed up by saying "hint hint, wink wink, say no more." We asked him to repeat that in a British accent and he was all too happy to oblige.
- When asked if you would see your Avatar singing on the screen in the absence of a music video, they said they weren't talking about Avatars now.
- No word on how they'll implement lyrics or a beat chart for the songs, though Yanno promised it would be "very, very compelling."
- There are only three confirmed songs: "Mercy" by Duffy; "Young Folk" by Peter, Bjorn & John; and "Bust a Move" by Young MC
- All songs will be master tracks and will include the original music videos
- Rap songs work a little differently, it's not just about rhythm.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
7-19-2008 @ 6:36PM
Anticrawl said...
That image is terrible, first thing I thought was that she had some sort of disease or something. Nasty.
Reply
7-19-2008 @ 6:55PM
Philip said...
I saw the salt from mini pretzels
7-19-2008 @ 7:06PM
Tess said...
I see the salt from a margarita glass....... In my near future.
7-19-2008 @ 7:20PM
Pyrobi said...
Haha, not if I beat you to it =D
7-19-2008 @ 8:35PM
dylan said...
It made me worry about chafing...
7-19-2008 @ 9:04PM
Bauer22 said...
It made me think about what would happen if I ever got the "20 dollar" service from her...... OUCH!
7-19-2008 @ 9:50PM
Mr.ESC said...
I must say I thought the same then I realized it was sugar or Salt.
7-20-2008 @ 12:49AM
Xepherys said...
It is pretty nasty... but the game might not be. I guess we shall see...
http://www.xepherys.net/wordpress/?p=10
7-20-2008 @ 1:46AM
007craft said...
heres a much better deliscious picture to use for lips.
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/4560/sprinklelipsiq8.jpg
7-21-2008 @ 12:33AM
BananaBoat said...
Unless the "20 dollar service" is something a little more involved than a service involving lips, you are paying too much.
Speaking of which, where did I put that Onna Cup...
7-19-2008 @ 6:42PM
Bennyishere said...
Does it only work with iPods and Zunes, or other devices as well? I have all my music on my Sony Ericsson, which streams nicely to the 360, but will it work with Lips?
Reply
7-19-2008 @ 7:19PM
Pyrobi said...
If it works through the guide on the 360 as is now, I can't imagine a scenario where it wouldn't work with Lips.
7-19-2008 @ 6:49PM
CharleyTony said...
Im wondering how "differently" rap song will be implemented ...
gesturing with the mic maybe ?
Reply
7-20-2008 @ 12:03AM
Zoot Suit Jedi said...
You will be required to drop the microphone after each performance.
7-20-2008 @ 12:04AM
cranium said...
the microphone will emit a small electric shock that intensifies if you continue rapping. thus, Lips will make the world a better place
7-19-2008 @ 6:52PM
Tony said...
A lot of Zune Marketplace MP3s don't have DRM. I think you can pay extra for DRM-free songs on iTunes too. I'd imagine those would work fine?
Reply
7-19-2008 @ 7:16PM
kdubbb said...
Actually sounds kinda cool now. I wonder how you'll sing to your own songs (will the game automatically detect lyrics)?
If it works well, it will be a very compelling game. You'll never have to buy their songs, just use your own library. Unless you want the accompanying music video playing in the background I suppose.
Reply
7-19-2008 @ 7:17PM
zach said...
..wtf so all my 1600 purchased songs are basically useless with this game cause of that DRM crap..way to go lips your basically forcing me to pirate music.
Reply
7-19-2008 @ 7:21PM
Pyrobi said...
Or, burn all your DRM'd iTunes (I'm assuming iTunes) songs to CD and import them again ;)
7-19-2008 @ 10:34PM
MrMuggs said...
You sir, are an absolute idiot for purchasing 1600 DRM'd songs. What did you think would happen when you depend on something as stupid as DRM to allow you to listen to music that you paid for and you own?