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You'll need an Oculus Touch to play 'Rock Band' in VR
We already knew Rock Band VR was coming to the Oculus Rift, but now we have a bit more information about the project. In a gameplay demo at an Oculus Game Day event recently, we learned that the game will essentially require that you attach an Oculus Touch to a guitar controller via a clip adhesive (seen above), which confirms what we saw in the promo video that Oculus and Harmonix released a few months ago. That's essentially how the game will communicate your movements and controls to the computer. We also learned that all Bluetooth controllers should work with the VR version of the game, as would Xbox, PS3 and PS4 controllers.
'Rock Band 4' is coming to the PC with your help
If you wailed when you heard that Rock Band 4 wasn't coming to the PC, it's time to wipe those tears away -- you now have a chance to make it happen. Harmonix has kicked off a crowdfunding campaign to bring its latest music game to Windows systems through Steam. So long as the company reaches its $1.5 million goal by April 5th, you'll get a version of RB4 that transcends what you can do on consoles. You'll get to directly sell your own songs through Steam Workshop, for example, recreating Rock Band Network without all the overhead. It'll support a mouse and keyboard outside of songs, too, so you won't have to fiddle with your plastic guitar just to change settings.
MadCatz cutting a third of staff after 'Rock Band 4' flop
Peripheral maker Mad Catz has posted yet another disappointing financial report, sparking executive resignations and major layoffs. The filing is the first full quarter since Rock Band 4 was released last year, and the game helped sales increase to $65 million, 114 percent higher than the year before.
Play 'Amplitude' on PS4 in the dark with giant speakers
Amplitude is a quiet kind of phenomenon. Not that the game itself is silent -- depending on how high you crank your speakers, it can be soul-pounding and skin-tingling -- but there's a surprisingly deep pool of reverence for this music-driven, space-racing series. Against all odds, the PlayStation 4 version that launched this week raised $844,000 from 14,000 backers on Kickstarter in mid-2014, its campaign riding the nostalgic, neon waves of its 2002 PS2 predecessor. Those aren't the only waves that players might ride while playing Amplitude, creative lead Ryan Lesser told Engadget. The game is dark and bright at the same time, shooting you down winding, floating platforms littered with orbs that create a soundtrack as you shoot them. In the right environment, the latest version of Amplitude sparks an intimate connection with music and movement. With this experience in mind, we asked Lesser to divulge the best way to play Amplitude, whether with friends, alone, while drinking alcohol or maybe even consuming other mind-altering substances. He laughed before answering. "I sort of hope that the game has the same effect on people that some mind-altering substances do," he said. "Personally, I am a big fan of solo play on a gigantic TV (with no AV lag), huge speakers and in total darkness."
Make sweet, sci-fi music with 'Amplitude' on PS4 in January
Amplitude blends rhythm gaming with sci-fi spaceship action, and it's heading to PlayStation 4 on January 5th, for $20 via the PlayStation Store. This is the new, Kickstarted version of Harmonix's beloved 2002 PlayStation 2 franchise -- Amplitude raised $844,127 on Kickstarter in 2014, partially because the crowdfunding cards were stacked in its favor.
Harmonix caught posting five-star 'Rock Band 4' reviews on Amazon
When is it a good idea for employees to post reviews of their own company's game? Most people would probably say "never," but that didn't stop Harmonix employees working on Rock Band 4 from doing it. A suspicious Reddit user found at least seven 5-star reviews by Harmonix employees, including from one user who said she was a "new fan," but is actually the company's "legal and music coordinator." Others including a project manager, consultant and senior designer also gave it top marks. Amazon ratings are crucial for such a family-oriented game, given that the online retailer may be the only place casual buyers will look for them.
Confessions of a 'Rock Band 4' drum queen
"Drums are hard." That was the verdict from my boyfriend after a raucous night playing Rock Band 4 with a group of friends. He's a guitarist, in both the physical and digital realms, and to him, Rock Band 4's drums are an anomaly. The rhythms are somehow tricky and repetitive at the same time; landing the bass pedal takes nearly perfect timing; it's a big rig that requires big motions; and the entire instrument takes a ridiculous amount of coordination. This is why my boyfriend doesn't enjoy playing the drums in Rock Band 4 -- and it's precisely why I love it.
'Rock Band 4' final setlist boasts REM, Mumford, Skynyrd, more
Rock Band 4 guitar gods, songstresses and drum demons, here are your weapons in the coming music-game war. Rock Band 4's complete setlist includes legendary and modern artists and songs, including Cake's Short Skirt/Long Jacket, Brad Paisley's Start A Band, Gin Blossoms' Follow You Down, Fleetwood Mac's You Make Loving Fun, REM's The One I Love, Mumford & Sons' The Wolf, The Mighty Mighty Bosstones' The Impression That I Get, Lynyrd Skynyrd's That Smell, Rush's A Passage to Bangkok and Van Halen's Panama.
The new 'Guitar Hero,' 'Crossy Road' multiplayer head to Apple TV
The latest version of Apple TV offers a bunch of new apps and Siri functionalities -- and it also has games. Today during its 2015 iPhone event, Apple showed off some new gaming experiences, including Rayman Adventures, Disney Infinity 3.0, Shadowmatic, Crossy Road and the new Guitar Hero Live. Hipster Whale, the developer behind Crossy Road, took the stage to show how the game works in the living room, using the Siri Remote's new touchpad function to control the crossing character. Crossy Road is also getting a multiplayer mode on Apple TV, where players can join in with an iPhone or iPod Touch as a controller. Additionally, Apple TV will support third-party, MFi-based gamepads.
Harmonix demos a music visualizer for Project Morpheus VR
Harmonix, the creators of the Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central franchises, is working on a new title for Sony's Project Morpheus VR headset and... it's odd. The company has basically created the VR equivalent of those gnarly music visualizers that people used to love in Winamp and Windows Media Player. Harmonix Music VR can take any song and generate a unique visualization. By choosing between a number of different "worlds," you will have some control over what type of visualisation you see, but the idea is still for each track to look as different as they sound. "Sometimes fireflies show up to compliment a relaxing melody, and sometimes stars descend to engulf you in synthetic spirals of color," explains creative lead Jon Carter. There's no release date for Music VR just yet, but the Morpheus headset itself is set to launch in the first quarter of 2016.
Why 'Rock Band 4' got the gang back together
Walking onto the roof of the Shangri La Hotel in Santa Monica, California, I was nervous and curious to see Rock Band 4. After all it had been five years since Rock Band 3. Would it still feel good? Is this really the right time to bring back Harmonix's brilliant karaoke video game, with its comfy plastic instruments and catalog of songs? After playing it and then talking with Greg LoPiccolo, one of the creators of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band, my fears were laid to rest. Under a thick smear of sweet rock and roll, of course.
'Rock Band 4' will be co-published by hardware company Mad Catz
Rock Band creator Harmonix is bringing a roadie along for this year's release of Rock Band 4 -- Mad Catz, the peripheral manufacturer, will co-publish the game on Xbox One and PlayStation 4. Mad Catz is in charge of making all of the wireless instruments in Rock Band 4, but as a co-publisher the company will also lead global sales, promotions and distribution, Global PR Director Alex Verrey says. Harmonix and Mad Catz intend to release Rock Band 4 simultaneously in the US and European territories, Harmonix PR Lead Nick Chester tweeted to a curious fan today.
Sony's PlayStation video magazine returns on YouTube
Remember the Sony-published video magazine PlayStation Underground? Well, it's back after a 14-year hiatus, and like so much of the video world, it's gone digital and now exists as a YouTube show. A post on the PlayStation Blog says that new episodes should publish twice a month, with a plan to change that to once a week in the future. The first show is all about developer Harmonix's Amplitude revamp, with the PS Blog crew playing and talking about the game with studio publicist Nick Chester. In its initial run, Underground snagged interviews with David Jaffe (Twisted Metal) and father of the PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, so expecting to see some pretty big names grace the new show's couch doesn't seem too far fetched. And unless Amplitude appears on the PlayStation Store tonight, the original release window was this March, Underground's 21-minute clip below is probably your best chance at peeping new game-play for now.
'Rock Band' is back with 'Rock Band 4': headed to Xbox One and PS4 in 2015
Remember way back in 2009? Times were simpler then: Pittsburgh's Steelers were Super Bowl champions; Tiger Woods was caught having an affair; and I was playing a lot of Rock Band. You probably were too. Many millions of you were, anyway, and the plastic peripheral market was booming. In a few short years, the world went from zero to dozens of plastic guitars, keyboards, mics and drums per household, all in the name of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. House parties quickly turned into Rock Band parties with surprising frequency. It was only another few short years before those games, and the peripherals they required, fell off a cliff. That was 2010, when Rock Band 3 launched. It's been five years, and the world is apparently ready for more Rock Band. The folks behind the original Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises are back in the development seat and bringing Rock Band 4 to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year.
The triumphant return of 'Rock Band'?
After several years on hiatus, an official announcement and the shockingly rapid decline of the music game market, Rock Band suddenly leapt back to life this month. Harmonix Music Systems -- the studio responsible for the music game craze, and the studio that created Guitar Hero, Rock Band and Dance Central -- announced new tracks heading to the Rock Band online store, which works with both Rock Band 3 and Rock Band Blitz. Why in the world is Harmonix releasing new tracks as paid, downloadable content for games that only exist on previous generation consoles? The official word is full of public relations obfuscation: "We had an exciting opportunity to add new content to the already-massive Rock Band library with a song from Arctic Monkeys – a band that's never been in a Rock Band title before! – as well as new music from fan favorites Avenged Sevenfold and Foo Fighters. We couldn't pass it up. Also, we wanted to see if we could still do it. Turns out we can. It's sort of like riding a bike." Great. That out of the way, what's really happening? Companies don't just casually release new content for years old games. That's not a thing that happens. I'd call it "testing the waters."
Amplitude revival now estimated for summer arrival
Amplitude's multi-instrument path to revival is a little longer than was initially anticipated, developer Harmonix has announced via Kickstarter update. The rhythm game's estimated arrival has been pushed from its initially-planned window of March, with Harmonix "currently targeting" a summer release. Harmonix explained the delay is partially due to Amplitude being the team's first project on PS4, adding that extensive work is being put into Amplitude's proprietary engine. Unlike traditional development setups where content or quality could be sacrificed in order to meet a publisher's deadline however, Harmonix stated that Amplitude's success on Kickstarter has allowed the team to "create the game we want to make and, more importantly, make the game that you want." Once Amplitude starts blasting notes on PS3 and PS4, fans will have a chance at jamming to original tracks from Freezepop, Anamanguchi and Super Meat Boy composer Danny Baranowsky, among others. [Image: Harmonix]
Rock Band survey hints at modern console sequel
Following the recent release of the series' first new DLC in nearly two years, it appears that Harmonix might be gearing up for a new entry in its Rock Band series, if an online survey is anything to go by. "Hello friends! You should fill out this important Rock Band survey," reads a tweet from the official Rock Band Twitter account. "Sharing the link is encouraged. DO IT NOW!" The link attached to that message leads to a three-page survey regarding your history with the Rock Band series to date. It's pretty typical stuff - What Rock Band game did you play most?, Which console do you use to play Rock Band?, etc. - but the third page is where things get interesting.
Best of the Rest: Danny's picks of 2014
ATTENTION: The year 2014 has concluded its temporal self-destruct sequence. If you are among the escapees, please join us in salvaging and preserving the best games from the irradiated chrono-debris. Fantasy Life Sometimes, you just wanna sidequest. For those times, there's Fantasy Life. Fantasy Life is fun in the way that checking off items on a checklist is fun. There's a solid action-RPG here from Professor Layton series creator Level-5, sure, but much of my time in Fantasy Life was spent completing sidequests, crafting equipment, and hunting down component items so that I could craft more equipment and complete more sidequests. You don't even have to kill anything to complete the game - you can smith, cook, sew, and alchemize your way to victory if that's the way you want to play it. Fantasy Life is an endless grind that remains compelling even after I've completed hundreds of its quests. If you don't fit into its niche, you'll be bored immediately. If you're a specific breed of completionist, Fantasy Life is impossible to put down. In either case, beware.
Skrillex, Coldplay headline Fantasia: Music Evolved DLC
Harmonix revealed a slate of DLC tracks it has in store for its Kinect-powered Xbox One rhythm game Fantasia: Music Evolved, with Skrillex & Alvin Risk's "Try It Out," Soundgarden's "Spoonman," and Coldplay's "Paradise" premiering via Xbox Live today. 18 downloadable tracks will join Fantasia's catalog by the end of January, mixing classics like The Cure's "Just Like Heaven" and Talking Heads' "Burning Down the House" with newer fare like Justin Beiber's "As Long As You Love Me" and Maroon 5's "Lucky Strike." Add-on tracks are priced at $1.99 apiece. A list of all current and upcoming DLC for Fantasia: Music Evolved is after the break below. [Image: Disney / Harmonix]
Playdate: We're livestreaming 'Fantasia: Music Evolved' on Xbox One! (update: game over!)
The developers at Harmonix Music Systems know a thing or two about music. And we'd hope so, it is in the company name, after all. The studio's latest Kinect game, Fantasia: Music Evolved, is quite a bit different than anything they've done previously, though: it puts players under Mickey's wizard cap from the classic animated movie of the same name and has them remixing pop songs and classical tracks from the likes of Beethoven and Dvorak with rhythmic gesture controls. Sounds pretty neat on paper, right? But, it's natural to be skeptical of the title considering the general hit-or-miss nature of Microsoft's motion sensor. Well, you can come back here at 7 p.m. Eastern / 4 p.m. Pacific and see for yourself as we broadcast live gameplay from the Xbox One. We even have a download code to give away during the stream, too!
