Says Michael Hayes, Codemasters' Group Marketing Director:
"To add a specific Game Boy Advance edition of Pop Idol to the line-up is perfect for the market. It's bang on the TV show's and the format's demographics. With Game Boy Advance joining PlayStation 2 and PC as the launch formats, Pop Idol - The Official Video Game's set to be the dominant mass-market game this winter."
Pop Idol – The Official Video Game is a brilliant music-based rhythm-action game where you become one of the hopefuls and compete as a singer through the auditions, the heats and on to the finals. Players have to face comments on their performance from a computer-generated Simon Cowell – making him the ultimate end-of-level game boss.
Gameplay is all about rhythm and timing as players control the voice of their Pop Idol contestant by matching the song's lyrics and beats with well-timed button-press combos. On Game Boy Advance, the title features a track list of 20 top-ten songs to master, including "Baby One More Time", "Suspicious Minds", "Like a Virgin" and "Let Me Entertain You".
Timing and accuracy is key, match the button-presses to those displayed on-screen and your Pop Idol wannabe sings a sweet harmony and dances to the rhythm. Put on a good performance and you'll receive praise from the judges and progress onto the next round. However, lose the beat and your singer's voice fades and quivers off key, prompting unrest in the audience and a tongue-lashing from Mr Cowell.
Complete with Pop Idol studio sets, audience atmosphere, cool and stylish cel-shaded visuals, players create and style their own Pop Idol contestant with variations in skin and hair colour, clothing, footwear and even make up.
Pop Idol will be targeted at an audience of 7 – 17-year olds. Pop Idol audience research indicates that over 70% of all 4-15-year olds watching television at the time saw the final, and of those 70% play video games (Source: TGI).
Codemasters will launch Pop Idol – The Official Video Game, under licence from FremantleMedia and 19 Entertainment the owners of the Idols format, in the UK this November for Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2 and PC.