''Karaoke Joysound Wii'' (カラオケJOYSOUND Wii) is a

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Hudson Soft was a Japanese video game company that released numerous games for video game consoles, home computers and mobile phones, mainly from the 1980s to the 2000s. It was headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo ...

for

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

. It licenses the ''Joysound'' online song library from Japanese karaoke service provider Xing, who also helped co-develop the game with Hudson. The game was originally released in a retail package with an included USB microphone on December 18, 2008 in Japan, and was later released there as a downloadable

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

game on July 28, 2009. In January 2012,

Konami , is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company, video game and entertainment company headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, it also produces and distributes trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, pachinko machin ...

(which acquired Hudson Soft and all its original

IPs IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to: Science and technology Biology and medicine * ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle * Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells * Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique * Intraparietal sulcus, ...

in 2011) announced they would release the title for the first time in North America under the simplified title ''Karaoke Joysound'', which connected to a much different music library of well-known English songs. It was originally expected for a March 2012 release, but was delayed until October 30, 2012, and was made available as both a standard disc and a microphone bundle. On July 17, 2014, the software was re-released as a downloadable WiiWare title, without any prior announcements, for the North American

Wii Shop Channel The Wii Shop Channel is a former digital distribution service for the Wii video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded WiiWare), and game ...

, courtesy of publishers Brother International Corp. It was originally announced for a July 3 release, but it was delayed for unknown reasons. The software is spiritually succeeded by the Joysound-licensed ''Wii Karaoke U'' app for the

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

in 2012, and it is only available in Japan and Europe. On May 18, 2015, Konami announced the termination of the online Joysound service. Last date to purchase songs was July 21, 2015 and the service was shut down on October 29, 2015. A successor for the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

named ''Karaoke Joysound Switch'' was developed by Xing (who worked on the original games) and published by

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

. It was released only in Japan in 2017.

Overview

''Karaoke Joysound Wii'' is a game "designed to provide a karaoke-club experience at home". The game requires an internet connection for players to access new songs to download. Buying tickets for songs with

Nintendo Points The Wii Shop Channel is a former digital distribution service for the Wii video game console. The service allowed users to purchase and play additional software for the Wii (called Channels), including exclusive games (branded WiiWare), and gam ...

, players rent the songs they want to sing for a limited period (from 24 hours to up to 90 days) from Xing's song library. Choosing a stage to perform on, players are able to select from a previously created avatar or use their own

Mii A Mii ( ) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices. Miis c ...

s to represent themselves. Players are also able to adjust options such as echo, key and speed of the song, and other players can use their

Wii Remote The Wii Remote, also known colloquially as the Wiimote, is the primary game controller for Nintendo's Wii home video game console. An essential capability of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with ...

s to accompany the singer by playing instruments such as cymbals and maracas.Hudson details Karaoke Joysound Wii ahead of release
In addition to the included microphone, the retail version includes 70 songs on disc as well as a lesson mode which trains and quizzes players on tone and rhythm, and a party mode with five

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

s. Along with omitting the included songs and extra modes, the WiiWare version features a number of cosmetic changes.

Reception

In the six months after release, the retail version of ''Karaoke Joysound Wii'' sold over 250,000 copies in Japan.

Joysound Yearly Chart

Joysound published Top10 songs in

Heisei The is the period of Japanese history corresponding to the reign of Emperor Emeritus Akihito from 8 January 1989 until his abdication on 30 April 2019. The Heisei era started on 8 January 1989, the day after the death of the Emperor Hirohito, ...

(1989-2019).

References

External links

*{{Official website, http://kjw.joysound.com/
Official website
(in Japanese)
The complete history of Karaoke
2008 video games Karaoke video games Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games Video games developed in Japan WiiWare games Wii-only games Wii games Wii Wi-Fi games Karaoke Products and services discontinued in 2015 Defunct games Multiplayer and single-player video games

Overview

Reception

Joysound Yearly Chart

See also

References

External links