4mm Games Reveals Def Jam Rapstar

4mm Games, the recently-revealed studio formed in part by Rockstar Games co-founders, has announced Def Jam Rapstar, a hip-hop-based music game. While details and screenshots are still under wraps until E3 next week in Los Angeles, video appearing on consumer website IGN shows what appears to be a microphone peripheral-based karaoke-style game. 4mm CEO Nicholas Perrett, formerly of Image Metrics (he was not affiliated with Rockstar) explained in general, "What you'll see when you come to E3 is really a number of things that we think are new and innovative and will make the experience of rapping a song fun." He added that 4mm wants to make Rapstar more than just a karaoke game that you put down after singing a song. "This just goes right to the heart of 4mm and the types of games we want to make, games that live long beyond the box," he said. "That actually allows us to create a community that does go on for a very, very long period, almost MMO-esque, if you like. "That has a long tail of many, many years because we're going to give it features that encourage people to keep playing the game both on the console and keep interacting with a game-like experience on the web." The game was made possible through a partnership with Def Jam Interactive. Perrett said partnering with the iconic hip-hop brand would help 4mm get the game "right." He added that with the game, 4mm is targeting a "very broad audience," not just hardcore hip-hop fanatics. The game is slated for unspecified consoles, and will release on a date to be determined.