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Introducing the Instrument Compatibility Matrix v3.0
var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/gaming_news/Guitar_Hero_Rock_Band_Instrument_Compatibility_Matrix_v3_0'; Do you like rhythm games? Heck, who doesn't?! We sure do, as do our cruel overlords at Joystiq, who've fashioned together the ultimate instrument compatibility guide. Wondering if that certain piece of Rock Band equipment will work with Guitar Hero: World Tour? Don't fret, it's answered here! So head on over and check it out. It'll even let those of you picking up Rock Revolution know if Konami's drum set will work with the other games!
Sony nails down music peripheral compatibility with upcoming titles
With all the incompatibility out there among Guitar Hero / Rock Band instruments, it's a real treat to see something like this. The Director of Publisher Relations at SCEA has posted an update that promises compatibility between instruments and software for upcoming titles; for instance, Guitar Hero: World Tour's guitars and drums will work with Rock Band 2 and Konami's Rock Revolution software, and Rock Band 2's guitar and drum set will work with Guitar Hero: World Tour and with Rock Revolution. Furthermore, the team is still "working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market," though we are told that an announcement on that could surface "shortly." Rock 'n roll harmony, baby.[Image courtesy of BeSportier]
Rhythm games grow industry by 32% in '08
Rhythm games have certainly been keeping the tempo up for financial growth in the industry. GameDaily notes UBS analyst Ben Schachter's report, showing "music-themed games" have made up 15% of software sales year-to-date and 32% year-over-year growth so far.The Guitar Hero franchise is already up 82% this year, with Guitar Hero: On Tour taking in $15 million in July alone. Meanwhile, Rock Band, across all platforms, took in $47 million in July ... and that doesn't even count any DLC sales. Unless the rhythm game bubble bursts in the next few months, GH: World Tour and Rock Band 2 sales -- along with their respective DLC sales -- could make up a significant portion of another record-breaking year for the industry.
Sony: Music peripherals to work across games on PS3
Remember back around Christmas, when we were promised a Rock Band patch which would allow people to use Guitar Hero III controllers? You know, the patch which was going to allow PS3 owners the same features as the Xbox 360 version? Sure, it never appeared, but it seems that Sony is making sure that such a thing never happens again. Michael Shorrock, director of 3rd party relations, has posted up some info on the PlayStation.Blog stating that Rock Revolution, Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour's instruments will all be compatible with each other. Not only that, but Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2 will support SingStar microphones. This is great for those of us who are interested in picking up all of these games, but are a little less interested in having our living rooms full of plastic drum sets and guitars. The good news doesn't end there, though. That patch we mentioned at the beginning of this post may still see the light of day. Shorrock says they're "still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."Thanks to Sony for pre-emptively solving what could have been a very messy Christmas. Universal peripheral compatability just makes so much sense. Now comes the hard decision. Which game's instruments look best?
SCEA: Universal compatibility for PS3 Rock Band 2, GH: World Tour and Rock Revolution instruments
It's about time someone stepped in and took an active role in fixing this nonsense. SCEA Director of Publisher Relations Michael Shorrock has announced on PlayStation.Blog that Sony has reached an agreement with Activision, Neversoft, Harmonix and Konami to ensure that all the instrument peripherals for Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Revolution will work across all games for PlayStation 3.In case you're too stunned to comprehend what should've been no-brainer functionality from the start, your PS3 Rock Band 2 drum set should now be guaranteed to work with GH:WT and RR, and likewise for every game's guitar and drum peripherals. Said Shorrock, "We're still working hard to ensure compatibility between the Guitar Hero and Rock Band titles currently on the market, and we hope to have an announcement on that shortly."We're excited, but at the same time, we're a bit dismayed it took this long to sort out. To be clear, instrument compatibility has not been confirmed for Xbox 360 (although we do know GH:WT instruments work with RB2) or Wii versions of the music games. Microsoft, Nintendo, we're looking to you to make this universal compatibility, erm, more universal.
Rock Revolution track list revealed?
There's nothing like anonymous tipsters when it comes to (what may be) the best new info. Someone forwarded a purported Konami e-mail to Kotaku that contains the track list for Rock Revolution, their upcoming bid at securing a place in the corner of living rooms all over the world. Both the good and bad news? If you've ever played any other music game, you've probably run into some of these songs -- and many of the bands -- before. Check after the break for the full list.
E308: DS Fanboy rocks out to Rock Revolution DS
Oh, poor Konami. You're a little too late to your own party. Actually, more like way too late. With the company finally trying to grab a slice of the delicious music game pie, they're not only pushing Rock Revolution on home consoles, but also on the DS. After having some play time with the title at E3, I feel safe in saying that the handheld game is pretty much going to be the best of the bunch.
Witness the on-stage Rock Revolution press conference failure
Embarrassing on-stage moments were at a minimum this E3 -- especially compared to last year's Disney and Activision debacles -- but there was one shining moment of facepalm during the Konami press conference. After rocking out on stage and playing real bass to The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop" with a cover band, Lauren Faccidomo – senior product manager on Konami's Rock Revolution – proceeded to fail out of the very same song in Rock Revolution. It very well may have been one of the worst compare/contrast press conference ideas ever conceived -- not to mention, Rock Revolution looks like it drunkenly stumbled in from 2003. Check out the oopsie after the break.
MTV Games finds Konami's Rock Band lawsuit 'surprising'
Here at Joystiq, we weren't too surprised when Konami decided to jump on the legal bandwagon by bringing a lawsuit against the makers of Rock Band for patent infringement. After all, the rhythm game has made roughly a gazillion dollars and has component parts that bear at least a passing resemblance to Konami games like Guitar Freaks and DrumMania (not to mention Karaoke Revolution, which Harmonix helped develop, and the upcoming Rock Revolution). That said, we're not the ones being sued, so our relative shock at the suit doesn't really matter. That said ..."Konami's actions are extremely surprising," an MTV Games spokesperson told MTV News regarding the suit. "Unfortunately, successful products such as Rock Band can often become targets for baseless litigation. We have substantial defenses to this claim and intend to vigorously defend it."The full interview includes more details about the lawsuit and information on the actual patents that Konami claims are being violated. Any budding legal eagles out there want to check them out and give an informed opinion on the merits of the suit?
Wii Warm Up: I got rhythm
We already came to the conclusion that the lack of universal instrument compatibility holds us back from purchasing multiple rhythm games. Which peripheral-based music games do you already own, though? For what system or systems? Which do you plan to buy in the future?Perhaps after hearing what you have and want, we'll have a better idea of where the faux-band game genre is heading in the future.
Konami wants music peripherals to be universally compatible
Rhythm game fans seem to be in a tough spot. It used to be that we could just buy whatever interested us, and that was that. Now, as new peripheral after new peripheral gets manufactured (of the same instruments), there's a problem: we're running out of space. Not all of us live in big, swanky mansions (or even small, cozy houses for that matter). Another problem? Money. Faux guitars and drum sets don't come cheap, so buying multiple game instruments isn't very economical.Konami feels our pain, which may end up being their pain if people start avoiding Rock Revolution. We think Konami might be in a lot of trouble, since Rock Band and Guitar Hero are already well-established in the gaming world. Rock Revolution is the new kid on the block, and if people already have closets full of peripherals and empty wallets, the game might suffer for it. Since Guitar Hero is currently the most owned of the bunch, Activision has no plans to make things any easier for its competitors. Harmonix, meanwhile, preaches universal instruments, but Rock Band's drum set might be too different from Rock Revolution's to even aim for compatibility. What do you think, though? Is there room for another multi-instrument rhythm game in today's market?[Via GamesIndustry.biz]
Producer talks Rock Revolution features, goals
When Konami revealed Rock Revolution and said it would be hitting every major console under the sun, there were some mixed emotions. For some, it was great to see Konami return to a genre they pretty much created with Guitar Freaks. For others, it seemed like this choice was just a hurried attempt to get in on some of the financial success the genre has been enjoying. For us here at Wii Fanboy, it was utter disappointment as we were hoping that Rock Revolution would instead be a new Guitar Freaks.Well, to help validate Rock Revolution, associate producer Keith Matejka spoke with GameTrailers. He tells why Konami decided not to go with singing in Rock Revolution, as well as why this is, he thinks, the ultimate drummer's game. It's an interesting interview, so give it a watch.
Joystiq goes hands-on with some upcoming titles
Our overlords at Joystiq recently got their hands on some titles Wii lovers care about, taking the time to write up their impressions as is their job. And, we'd be neglecting in our job if we didn't do our best to present you with anything and everything Wii-related out there on these great big internets. So, if you've yet to check out their coverage on these Wii titles, then be sure to hit up the links below. Sonic Unleashed impressions: all Sonic, no Unleashed Joystiq hands-on: Rock Revolution Platinum Games: MADWORLD eyes-on, first trailer and screens Joystiq hands-on: Skate It (Wii) %Gallery-22964%
Rock Revolution drums revealed [update]
Update: Keep in mind, folks, that the Wii version of the game hasn't been confirmed to use peripherals. The Wii port might utilize only the Wiimote and nunchuk for "air guitaring" and "air drumming." Nothing is set in stone yet, but we just wanted to make sure you were aware.Well now, those of you with a keen eye will undoubtedly do a double-take on this one. Don't those drums look an awful lot like the drum kit for another game? Still not jogging your memory? Well, try a convenient link.The Rock Revolution drum kit has six different face drums, of varying sizes, which tells us a lot about the demographic they're shooting for with this title: music-loving Octopi. Seriously, that's a lot of drums to be hitting on! We're scared of the 4 (and pedal) that comes with Rock Band, so the thought of using this kit absolutely paralyzes us with fear.[Via Joystiq]
Joystiq hands-on: Rock Revolution
click to enlarge biggie-size In the latest round of the great "our drum kit is better – or at least bigger – than your drum kit" conflict of ought eight, Konami definitely comes out the clear winner with Rock Revolution. However, we don't necessarily know if that's a good thing, based on our experience playing the title at its formal unveiling.Despite the fact that it will offer support for lead and bass guitars, Rock Revolution is very much a drum-centric game. The behemoth of a drum controller has six pads and a pedal, looking like something Darth Vader would have lying around in his hyperbaric chamber.%Gallery-22989%
Konami unveils Rock Revolution drums, forgets to try
Brilliant, just brilliant. As if Rock Band wasn't living room clutter enough, Activision is busting out a drumset for Guitar Hero IV, and now Konami is getting in on the "pretending to play music" meme with its very own Rock Revolution title. If the oversaturation of incompatible music peripherals wasn't enough to make you take pause, the janky-ass nature of Konami's kit certainly might. Granted, there are more things to hit on Konami's set, Rock Revolution allows you to improvise in between the proscribed hits, and doesn't require that pesky kick drum until midway through its five difficulty levels, but MTV Multiplayer's Patrick Klepek didn't have too easy of a time hitting on it, while his buddy did a lot of plastic smashing attempting to improvise -- not a promising start. Oh, what was that? We can play "Sk8er boi"? We take it all back, when can we buy?[Via Joystiq]
Konami whips up profits in last fiscal year
Konami's fiscal year ending March 31 enjoyed a good rotation around the sun with $175 million in profit, an increase of 13% over the prior year. GameDaily reports the publisher saw revenues of $2.8 billion, thanks to numerous titles in Japan, Dance Dance Revolution on the Wii in North America and Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 in Europe.The company gave guidance that it expects revenues of $3.15 billion this fiscal year; probably due to a game called Metal Gear something and continued strong sales of its numerous franchises. We're certainly curious to see how Rock Revolution -- and its drums o' doom -- will do this fall.
Konami announces revolutionary Rock Band competitor, Rock Revolution
As if the Rock Band copy-catting market wasn't getting saturated enough with Activision's Guitar Hero IV and it's peripheral additions, Konami thought it to be a good idea to get in on the musical fun by announcing their own clone of sorts called Rock Revolution. How revolutionary.As far as specifics go, we know that Rock Revolution is being developed by SingStar creators Zoe Mode and is planned for a Fall release on all major platforms. Details are light though, but we we can confirm the game will feature at least 40 tracks, the ability to record your own songs, online co-op, online versus, some money making DLC is planned and a behemoth of a drum set (which we're calling "the beast") will be included. Really, this drum peripheral has six pads, a pedal and looks like ... well, we aren't sure what it looks like but it looks daunting. Go ahead, check it out for yourself. Revolutionary, no?[Thanks, Matt H]
Konami's Rock Revolution drums revealed
If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Harmonix must be beside itself with this last week finding not one but two companies hopping on the developer's coat tails and revealing a pair of drum kits that bear more than a passing resemblance to those used in Rock Band. However, while Guitar Hero IV's kit still carries some basis in reality, the kit revealed by Konami for the company's newly announced Rock Revolution looks to be designed for players with extra appendages or other rhythm enthusiasts who are not quite human.With six face pads of three different sizes, as well as a kick pedal, Konami's kit is certainly the most complex of the three. However, according to MTV Multiplayer blogger Patrick Klepek, the drums carry what sounds like a much more forgiving difficulty curve than those in Rock Band, which while great are almost unapproachable by rhythm game newcomers even on the easiest setting. By contrast, and according to his admittedly brief time with Konami's offering, the game doesn't penalize players for improvising during a song, and also features five difficulty settings with the lower two removing the foot pedal entirely. Still, the question remains as to if there is room enough for another peripheral-heavy rhythm game, not so much in the genre but in our own living rooms.
Rock Revolution bringing the whole band to DS
In a bid to capture itself some of the lucrative Guitar Hero/Rock Band pie, Konami has announced Guitar Freaks Rock Revolution for the Nintendo DS and numerous home consoles. The game, currently in development at UK-based studio Zoë Mode, was revealed at the opening of Konami's 2008 Gamers Day, and is expected to hit stores this October.Understandably, the DS version differs somewhat from the home console editions, relying solely on stylus-based play for each instrument, and with vocals being handled by the handheld's built-in microphone. It also lacks the online play and track creation mode that appears in the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions, but does support local multiplayer battles and cooperative play, much like Guitar Hero: On Tour.We've heard nothing about the track listing yet, though a Gamers Day demonstration of the (PS3) title reportedly included covers of (note: Rock Revolution won't contain any master tracks) of "Blitzkrieg Bop" by the Ramones, "Chop Suey" by System of a Down, "Run to the Hills" by Iron Maiden, "Cum On Feel the Noize" by Quiet Riot, and Wolfmother's "Joker and the Thief."
