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Home Gaming Universal Music & Mindscape have their sights set on the #1 position in console karaoke games
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Universal Music & Mindscape have their sights set on the #1 position in console karaoke games

Sydney Australia, 22/9/09 –Taking on SingStar® in the console karaoke market is definitely no small feat, but that has not deterred the publishers of U-SING™ from setting their sights on owning that number one position. Universal Music Group, the world’s leading music company, has joined forces with Mindscape to develop one of the biggest titles ever to contest the console-karaoke genre. U-SING, (the “U” denotes Universal) will launch exclusively on the Nintendo Wii™ this Christmas. With a long term strategy and access to the world’s most extensive music catalogue of international and local artists, U-SING has all the attributes to achieve its’ goal.

From the biggest known classics to the latest trendy tunes the whole family can sing the hits from Universal Music and each country will have its’ own list of the most popular local and international artists. Users will be able to sing on their own or with others. U-SING has different game modes which blend fun with skill, thanks to the state of the art voice recognition technology that accurately evaluates rhythm and voice tonality.

Mindscape today announced further details for U-SING, including a preview of 10 of the final list of 30 songs and videos from Universal Music’s catalogue. U-SING will be available exclusively on Wii™ and will hit the shelves this November, right in time for Christmas.

The game will feature 30 hit songs and the first artists announced to date include:

BLACK KIDS
I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You

DUFFY
Mercy

GLORIA GAYNOR
I Will Survive

MIKA
Love Today

THE SATURDAYS
Issues

SNOW PATROL
Crack the Shutters

JUST JACK
The Day I Died

COLDPLAY
Viva la Vida

STEREOPHONICS
Have a Nice Day

LIONEL RICHIE
All Night Long

The official website www.u-sing-thegame.com is now live and packed with game information. It will be updated regularly with the names of additional artists and new game information. Subscribers to the U-SING newsletter will be kept informed of the updates.

Regular future releases will include an exclusive Australian collection featuring local artists that Australians know and love.

U-SING Key features

§ The only official karaoke game with Universal Music on Wii

§ The first karaoke title on Wii to include 2 microphones

§ 30 hit songs and their original video clips from top artists

§ 3 levels of difficulty from beginner to all out pop star

§ Playback your best performance to your friends and family

§ 7 exciting game modes including Training, Solo, Duo, Versus, Battle, Jukebox and Medley

§ Fully compatible with the Logitech® Wii™ Microphone and the official microphones from Guitar Hero, Rock Band, Sing It & Boogie (excluding PlayStation®2 versions)

About Mindscape (www.mindscape.com.au)

Mindscape develops, publishes and distributes kids and family games, productivity and reference software on the PC, Mac, DS, Wii and online platforms. The company’s rich portfolio of award-winning products includes Broderbund, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Endemol, Hoyle Games, IMSI, Legacy Interactive, Myhorseclub, Nancy Drew, Nuance, The Learning Company, Punch, Playfirst, PopCap, Thomas & Friends and Roxio. Mindscape is a publicly listed company on the Paris Stock Market – Alternext, since December 2007.

About Universal Music Group

Universal Music Group is the world’s leading music company with wholly owned record operations or licensees in 77 countries. Its’ businesses also include the Universal Music Publishing Group, the industry’s leading global music publishing operation.

Universal Music Group’s record labels include A&M/Octone, Decca, Deutsche Grammophon, Disa, Emarcy, Fonovisa, Interscope Geffen A&M Records, Island Def Jam Music Group, Lost Highway Records, Machete Music, MCA Nashville, Mercury Nashville, Mercury Records, Philips, Polydor Records, Universal Motown Republic Group, Universal Music Latino, Universal Records South and Verve Music Group as well as a multitude of record labels owned or distributed by its record company subsidiaries around the world. The Universal Music Group owns the most extensive catalog of music in the industry, which includes the last 100 years of the world’s most popular artists and their recordings. UMG’s catalog is marketed through two distinct divisions, Universal Music Enterprises (in the U.S.) and Universal Strategic Marketing (outside the U.S.). Universal Music Group also includes eLabs, its new media and technologies division; Bravado, its merchandising company; Twenty-First Artists, its full service management division; and Helter Skelter, its live music agency.

Universal Music Group is a unit of Vivendi, a global media and communications company.