SingStar user numbers jump following free-to-play transition

Sony’s decision to make SingStar a free-to-play PS3 title has seen a dramatic increase in user numbers.

Gamasutra reports that SingStar London studio director Dave Ranyard today told an audience at the Develop Conference that the game has added 1.5m new users since becoming free-to-play in October of last year.

2m new users had been attracted in the five-year period before switching business models.

Around six per cent of users who download the app go on to buy premium songs downloads. Apparently a handful” of users have to date downloaded over 1,000 tracks.

"If free-to-play was relevant [nine years ago], this would have been our business to start with," Ranyard added.

The developer also stressed that the abolition of an upfront fee is not the only change that SingStar has undergone. Older versions of the game used to require six or seven menu selections before players could start singing. This has with the free-to-play game been reduced to two or three.

Support for a wider array of USB microphones has also been added, dropping the need for Sony’s official peripherals.