Lips (video game)

Lips is a 2008 karaoke video game for the Xbox 360. Lips was developed by iNiS and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The game features the use of motion sensitive wireless microphones and supports the use of songs already owned through a Zune or iPod.^[1][2][3] Lips has spawned three sequels: Lips, Lips, and Lips. Localized versions of the game and sequels have been released in several countries, including Lips (Lips: Sing in Spanish), and Deutsche Partyknaller (Lips: German Party Hits).

The Lips' microphones are compatible with Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero due to a patch that was released in summer 2009.

The gameplay in Lips is similar to the gameplay of SingStar and Karaoke Revolution. In addition to supporting single-player, the game allows two players to sing duets or play competitively in various multiplayer modes including "Time Bomb", "Kiss", and "Vocal Fighters". Unlike most other music games, players cannot fail out of a song if they sing badly (or even if they don't sing at all).^[4] The game does not have a difficulty setting but rewards players for their singing in six categories including rhythm, pitch, and vibrato.^[5]

Players can connect a digital music player (such as an iPod or Zune), or use a USB flash drive, to sing along to their own music. The game will perform vocal reduction and score player like the included songs, except that the game will not display song lyrics.^[3] Players can also connect their Xbox 360 to a computer running a compatible media sharing service, such as Windows Media Connect 2.0, Windows Media Center, Zune PC software with sharing, or PVConnect to access their own music from a network share within the game.

Lips is bundled with two motion-sensitive wireless microphones (one white, one black). A second player can seamlessly join in the currently playing song by picking up the microphone and shaking it.^[3] The microphones can also be used to perform gestures dictated by the game, plus the standard game controllers can also be used to add overlays such as hand-claps and crowd noise.

In February 2009, Microsoft released a title update for Lips. This patch addressed most of the issues with the game, namely, it introduced a new algorithm for voice recognition and vibrato pick-up, claiming that the game was 'too easy' before, and the ability to synchronise the microphone timing, a cause of regular negative feedback. This update also introduced the use of global leaderboards to track high scores. Minor tweaks were also made to the user interface.

Additionally, following the April 2009 title update, song packs were also introduced for purchase, offering bundles of songs for a discounted price.

As of October 2014, the store and server for Lips had been shut down.

The games listed below support the Xbox 360 Wireless Microphones.

• Lips series:
  • Lips
  • Lips: Number One Hits
  • Lips: Canta en Español (Lips: Sing in Spanish)
  • Lips: Deutsche Partyknaller (Lips: German Party Songs)
  • Lips: Party Classics
  • Lips: I Love the 80's
• Guitar Hero series:
  • Guitar Hero (with title update)
  • Guitar Hero Smash Hits
  • Guitar Hero 5 (up to four wired/wireless microphones supported at one time - a standard Xbox 360 controller is required for every microphone connected to use in-game)
  • Band Hero (up to four wired/wireless microphones supported at one time - a standard Xbox 360 controller is required for every microphone connected to use in-game)
  • Guitar Hero
  • Guitar Hero
• Rock Band series:
  • Rock Band 2 (with title update)
  • The Beatles (up to three microphones supported at one time - only one standard Xbox 360 controller allowed)
  • Lego Rock Band
  • Green Day (up to three microphones supported at one time - only one standard Xbox 360 controller allowed)
  • Rock Band 3 (up to three microphones can be connected at one time - only one standard Xbox 360 controller allowed)
• DJ Hero series:
  • DJ Hero
  • DJ Hero 2
• Other:
  • Def Jam Rapstar
  • Michael Jackson

Reception
Aggregate score Aggregator Score Metacritic 71/100[6] Review scores Publication Score 1Up.com B+[7] Edge 6/10[8] Eurogamer 5/10[9] Game Informer 7.5/10[10] GameSpot 6.5/10[5] GameSpy [11] GameZone 7/10[12] Giant Bomb [13] IGN 6.8/10[4] OXM (US) 7.5/10[14] The A.V. Club B+[15] Variety (mixed)[16]

Lips received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.^[6] Reviewers praised the wireless microphones and multiplayer experience but criticized the single-player modes and the song import feature which many people had issues with. In addition, the import feature does not support lyric downloads but the game does make an attempt to reduce the real singer's voice volume while playing in this mode.

The A.V. Club gave the game a B+ and called it "a self-esteem booster for your tone-deaf friend, though the introduction of more content should help make it stay fun for everyone else".^[15] 411Mania gave it a score of seven out of ten, saying that it was "a mixed bag, but by far it is not a bad game. It's a decent game that is missing some of the key components that other games in this genre have".^[17] In contrast, Variety gave it a mixed review, saying that "though it will quickly bore vocalists acclimated to the challenge of Rock Band, Lips excels as home karaoke, bringing style and pizzazz to a crowded genre. However, Lips is also exceedingly shallow, with a small number of songs and a broken system for importing new ones, meaning living room crooners will likely stick with Sony's deeper SingStar franchise for the time being".^[16]

• Guitar Hero series (starting with the 2008 release of Guitar Hero World Tour)
• Karaoke Revolution series
• Rock Band series
• SingStar
• UltraStar - An open source clone of the SingStar engine

• Official website
• MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.^[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".^[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.^[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.^[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.^[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.^[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.^[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.^[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.^[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.^[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).^[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,^[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.^[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.^[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.^[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.^[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.^[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.^[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.^[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.^[18]

• IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

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