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Soulo karaoke mic for iPad coming to a thin partition wall near you
We've just seen First Act's wireless karaoke kit for the iPad passing through the FCC, suggesting it may be on track for a fall launch. The hardware will count for nothing if the accompanying app from sister company Seven45 Studios hits a dud note, but we guess it looks functional enough. The receiver makes up for its dock-hogging ways by providing a video output so you can check your lyrics on a bigger screen. It should also register your wails, screeches and caterwauls at a distance of up to 20 feet from the AA-powered mic. No word on pricing or availability just yet, but you can warble your interest at the second source link below.
Music game sales continue plunge down the charts
If this sounds like a familiar tune, it is: Music game sales have plummeted for a second-straight year. But this year, the tune is way more off key. According to analysis by Gamasutra, which looked at the period from January through October in each of the past three years, music game revenues in the U.S. have taken a phenomenal nose dive from an epic height of $1.6 billion in 2008 to where they've landed today: under $250 million for the year. "Short of a Christmas miracle," concludes analyst Matt Matthews, "music games won't break $400 million for all of 2010." Ohhh ... so that's why Viacom's hawking Harmonix.
Power Gig dev Seven45 confirms layoffs, part of 'natural cycle'
Power Gig: Rise of the SixString developer Seven45 confirmed to Joystiq that it had recently incurred staff layoffs. "With Power Gig already on store shelves, last week Seven45 Studios restructured the company both as a part of the natural cycle of game development and to focus on the development needs of its upcoming games projects," the company said in a statement. One unidentified Twitter account reporting on the so-called "major" layoffs, claimed Seven45 had been "decimated." A source informs us that approximately 20 to 30 people were let go, which included most of the QA team and a bunch of full-time staff. Power Gig didn't strike a chord with us or critics at large, averaging a Metacritic score in the mid-30s. Seven45 has yet to reveal specific details about its future projects. If you were affected by the layoffs or have more information to share on the matter, please feel free to contact us. Seven45's full statement can be found after the break.
Power Gig's full-size, handmade guitar / controller now on sale for $250
Ah, ha! There it is! Way back in March, we had a sit-down with folks from Seven45 Studios about their plans for Power Gig: Rise of the SixString (for PS3 and Xbox 360), focusing mainly on how they intended to rival the Rock Band and Guitar Hero franchises from a peripheral standpoint. The six string guitar accessory that ships with the game bundle today is already leaps and bounds better than what RB3 is packin' (pending Stratocaster launch plans), but an instrument we were keenly interested in at GDC was also one we couldn't photograph at the time. The company made clear that it was looking at releasing a real-deal, bona fide guitar in the future -- a full-size First Act axe that could be used with the game or with a legitimate amplifier. Now, that limited edition piece is on sale for both of the aforesaid consoles, boasting a single cutaway basswood body, humbucking pickup, and a maple neck with a rosewood fretboard. Each one is available for $249.99, but there's no telling how many will be produced. We'd also prefer to see these in larger music shops in order to give consumers an idea of the fit, finish, feel and sound, but those into taking chances can get one headed their way as we speak.%Gallery-105816%
80 percent of Power Gig setlist is new to music games
Here she is: the full Power Gig: Rise of the Six String setlist -- all 70 tracks of it. As promised, Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band and Kid Rock are all on board (for the first time ever in a music game, no less), along with John Mayer, Paramore and harder rocking from the likes of Mastodon and Incubus. 80 percent of the tracks have never appeared in a music game before at all -- pretty impressive for an original IP. Power Gig will have plenty of competition this fall, but it looks like the setlist won't be a weak spot. Take a look at the tunes after the break, then scroll back up and answer this question: What's the absolute best song on the list? If you said Bad Religion's "I Want to Conquer the World," you're exactly right.
Meet the members of Clan Rise in new Power Gig trailer
Power Gig: Rise of the Six String director Jack Davis is back to tell us more about the story of the real-life guitar driven music game. It's still not the most original thing we've ever seen -- building a revolution against an oppressive regime isn't new ground for video games by any means. But the new trailer tells us a bit more about the player characters in the game, two members of "Clan Rise" that each have their own personal reasons for strumming and fretting away on the guitar. Learning that C chord is great and all, but avenging your parents in the process is a nice bonus.
Power Gig: the story behind the music
This fall's two big music-performance games each offer an experience new to the genre. Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock adds a more involved storyline, while Rock Band 3 offers real instruments. Power Gig: Rise of the SixString actually combines these two aspects. We've seen its (real, functional) guitar and (less realistic) drum controllers, and now we can learn about that story. In the video after the break, design director Jack Davis introduces the world of Ohm, where music has a "real physical power" to affect the world and its people. The player must unite clans of "rockers" to defeat the oppressive "headliner" who has silenced them. And, of course, that is accomplished through the performance of licensed music. It's reminiscent of Brutal Legend, as is the in-game footage shown in the video.
Seven45 Studios may have a six-string guitar, but your bud'll be playing air drums (video)
You think you'll hit these colored pads? Think again, because while Seven45 Studios' Power Gig rhythm game has you shredding on the sweetest axe we've seen, it doesn't actually come with drums -- you'll be waving sticks in the air instead, while four colored sensors pick up your motions. That makes your drum kit nice and portable, sure, but removes all physical feedback -- and given the history of video game peripherals (look up Sega Activator, please) we kind of wonder what the company's designers were thinking. Or we did, at least, until we saw the video after the break. Seems they're just as confused as we are.
Hands-on: Power Gig's AirStrike Drum
Power Gig's AirStrike Drum is either a terrific idea with terrible execution ... or just a bad idea. Seven45's drum kit takes a very different approach from the game's defining pas-faux guitar. In fact, the team has done a complete 180, going as far away from a "realistic" approach as possible. The name does a good job of explaining how this peripheral works. Instead of hitting a toy-like facsimile of a drum, you are "hitting" air. The Simon-esque drum pad is equipped with sensors that detect when the specially-designed drum sticks are swung above. It's certainly a novel idea, one that has some immediate benefits: without the need for replica cymbals, this device is incredibly small. For those struggling with plastic instrument clutter, this is a rather clever solution. (Bonus: The AirStrike is also compatible with current Rock Band and Guitar Hero games.) Another perk of the device: it's quiet. Your roommates won't be bothered by the loud sounds of plastic tapping. While the AirStrike offers some improvements over previous drum peripherals, it's significantly more difficult to use. With a physical object to hit, it's easy to determine what's wrong. Here, as I kept on missing a string of notes, I couldn't help but wonder what was at fault: the game, the drums or me. %Gallery-87728%
Power Gig out this fall with music from Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and Kid Rock
Seven45's Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring, the guitar game controlled by an actual electric guitar, has been slated for an October launch, where it will compete against other fall 2010 music games like Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock and DJ Hero 2 (so far). The novelty of the guitar controller -- which has, like, real strings and everything -- is definitely one advantage Power Gig has over its peers. Seven45 revealed another today: agreements with Eric Clapton, Dave Matthews Band, and ... Kid Rock to provide songs for the game. "We think Power Gig is a much needed and much welcomed game because, unlike any others before it, it puts a real guitar into the hands of aspiring musicians, and we hope it inspires our fans and others to start playing even when they're not playing the game," the Dave Matthews Band is quoted as saying. The whole band? In unison? %Gallery-87728%
Get into a silly pose for this Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring trailer
Sure, you saw our impressions from GDC of Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring -- the first music/rhythm game to feature an actual, working electric guitar -- but have you seen the unbelievably silly first trailer for the game, apparently filmed during last week's developer convention? Now you can, as we've dropped it just a few inches up for your enjoyment. If you were hoping for a better look at the game itself, you're just gonna have to wait for the next trailer, because this one exclusively features people playing the game's peripheral while either jumping or rocking or ... well, you get the idea -- no gameplay. That said, the guitar solo that takes place about halfway through reminds us that this is absolutely a real guitar, so that's something, right? Right? Where are you going?! We brought punch!
Seven45 Studios talks Power Gig details, we go hands-on with its six string guitar peripheral
We'll just come right out and say it: Guitar Hero and Rock Band should watch their back, 'cause there's a better-than-decent chance that Power Gig will be all the rage this holiday season. Seven45 Studios is a heretofore unheard of upstart with roots in First Act, and unlike the vast majority of game developers, these guys actually have a direct hand in the production of the software and hardware associated with this package. They'll be designing the Power Gig video game series (Rise of the SixString is only the first installment) as well as the guitars, drums and microphones in-house, and given the First Act roots, you know you'll be getting instruments of higher quality than what's on the market today. Oh, and yes, we didn't misspeak when we pluralized "guitars" and mentioned those other two devices. We had a sit down with the team today at GDC, and besides coming away impressed with the alpha build of the game and the prototype axes we saw, we also learned quite a bit more about their plans than what was revealed in this morning's press release. Just to be exceptionally clear, Seven45 Studios will not only sell their upcoming title as a standalone product, but it will sell a "band bundle" that includes the game, a guitar (plus a strap, picks and an extra set of strings), a drum set and a microphone, the latter two of which are still very early in production and weren't available for us to test. The beat matching setup that gamers have grown used to in Rock Band and Guitar Hero is still there, but most everything else is new; a "chording" addition will allow users to strum actual power chords that match the chords used in the song, giving newbies the ability to actually learn songs as they play the game if they want to. In other words, if users strum the same chords required to succeed in the game but through an amp, they'll be playing the actual song; if you'd rather not learn, you need not have any clue how to play a guitar to enjoy the game. Speaking of which, the bundled guitar (along with extra guitars that are still being sorted in terms of size, material and color) doubles as a legitimate six string by simply depressing the dampening pad beneath the neck, and while it won't match the crisp tone emitted from your Les Paul Custom, the prototype we heard here in San Francisco sounded just fine for a beginner's instrument. We also learned that existing Rock Band and Guitar Hero guitars will work with the Power Gig titles, and Seven45's guitars will work with existing music band games -- not bad! More after the break... %Gallery-87795%
Seven45 Studios ups the ante for music games, intros fully functional six string controller
We've seen "real" guitars made to "work" with existing music-band titles, and we've even seen MIDI guitars play nice with Rock Band, but we've yet to see a company design a game from the ground-up to work with a legitimate six string. Until now. Here at GDC, Seven45 Studios is making a name for itself by introducing Power Gig: Rise of the SixString (for PS3 and Xbox 360) along with a bona fide axe. The newfangled company is a sister firm to First Act -- the same guys who made that guitar sold with your '07 Jetta -- and the instrument debuting here at the show uses proprietary technology "that can distinguish and recognize gamers' input all along the guitar." Better still, the instrument includes all of the innards necessary to make noise through an amp, so you could theoretically use this to rock out in real life as well. If you're skeptical about the game's ability to actually recognize complicated inputs, get a load of this: "Power Gig also introduces the option to switch on chording, or chord play; chording presents the added challenge of playing the game using chords that require specific finger placement on the strings." The tandem is slated to go on sale this fall for an undisclosed amount, and we'll be snagging some hands-on time with the game and guitar here in just a few hours -- stay tuned! %Gallery-87744%
Impressions: Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring
Can the music genre be revitalized? Can gaming newcomer Seven45 Studios -- a combined publisher, developer and hardware manufacturer -- sway current fans of Guitar Hero and Rock Band to try yet another music game, and one that focuses only on guitar? The odds are undoubtedly against them. At the very least, Seven45's Power Gig: Rise of the Sixstring isn't destined to become another Rock Revolution. It's true that Power Gig isn't fundamentally different from the other band games out there, offering four-player support with guitars, drum and vocals; however, Seven45's twist is the guitar: a fully-functioning electric guitar with real strings and the ability to create real music. At first glance, Seven45's peripheral won't look very different from a standard guitar. In fact, were it not for the colored labels that run along the side of the instrument, and the Xbox jewel embedded on the face of the guitar, it'd be hard to tell it apart from a proper instrument. When not connected to a game console, it can be strummed with a standard pick (or your hand), and it will even connect to standard guitar amps. %Gallery-87728%
