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Rock Band lawsuit settled; Konami and Harmonix dismiss 'all claims and counterclaims'
Konami and Harmonix have settled their dispute originating in a 2008 lawsuit launched by Konami, reports Bloomberg. According to a filing in federal court in Texas this week, the two parties agreed to dismiss "all claims and counterclaims" in the suit, which alleged that Harmonix's Rock Band infringed upon patents owned by Konami. Additionally, a 2009 countersuit by parent company Viacom on behalf of Harmonix was dropped yesterday in a filing in federal court in Boston. The terms of the agreement between Konami and Harmonix were not disclosed -- but we do so badly hope they involved a rooftop, two ninjas and a mean jam session.
Konami none too pleased with Rock Band, files patent suit
Konami is pretty upset. They recently filed a patent suit against Harmonix, MTV and their parent company, Viacom. Apparently, a little game called Rock Band (you've probably never heard of it) violated patents Konami had filed in 2002 and 2003. The suit seeks to block Harmonix from using Konami's "inventions" and also get compensation in the form of lots of money from the company. With Konami having introduced GuitarFreaks (a game utilizing a guitar controller) to Japanese arcades nearly a decade ago, it seems likely that this is what it's all about. %Gallery-19119%[Via Joystiq]
Konami lodges patent suit against Harmonix, MTV over Rock Band
Konami has filed a lawsuit against Harmonix, MTV Networks, and their parent company Viacom alleging that Rock Band violates patents it filed in 2002 and 2003. In the suit, Konami seeks to block Harmonix from using its "inventions" – we're guessing guitar controllers here – and, in addition, is asking for cash compensation. Bloomberg reports that Viacom has not received a copy of the compaint and, as such, could not issue an official comment.Having introduced GuitarFreaks – a music game utilizing guitar controllers – in Japanese arcades nearly a decade ago, Konami has been late to the guitar game party in the States, only recently announcing its own answer to Guitar Hero and Rock Band with Rock Revolution. We've contacted Konami for comment on the legal proceedings and will update when possible.
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.
Konami jumps on the 'band' wagon with Rock Revolution
click to enlarge When Guitar Hero first hit PS2, we thought: "Wow, this is like Konami's GuitarFreaks ... and that's been around since the original PlayStation. Why don't they release it here?" Well, our question was answered at yesterday's Konami Gamer's Night 2008 with the unveiling of Rock Revolution. Taking the "Revolution" suffix naming scheme of its other music genre (bemani) cousins, the game, from SingStar developer Zoë Mode, is set for a fall release on PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, and Nintendo DS. We have the first screens of the HD offerings, along with some salient details:The PS3 and Xbox 360 versions will feature: 40 songs on the disc, with DLC tracks planned Record your own songs in a "Jam Session" (8 separate tracks) Online co-op, versus, and battle of the bands modes Crazy big drum set with six pads, plus pedal The Wii version adds the ability to play "air guitar" using the Wiimote and nunchuck; and the DS version includes a "Vocalist" mode using the built-in microphone. Check back for our hands-on impressions of Rock Revolution for Xbox 360 -- and be sure to peep the debut trailer after the break!%Gallery-22989%
Activision files trademark for 'DJ Hero'
Activision, publishers of Guitar Hero 2 and 3 (and the abomination known as Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s), recently filed for a trademark for the name "DJ Hero". No, it's not an adventure game featuring everyone's favorite character from Full House -- the trademark references software to be released with a special controller, leading us to assume we'll be living out our fondest Mix Master Mike fantasies with a rhythm game, complete with tiny plastic turntables when, and if, the game comes out.Wait a minute -- doesn't that sound a lot like Beatmania, a popular Konami rhythm game using a turntable peripheral that's been around since 1997? Now that we think about it, Konami also came up with Guitar Freaks in 1998, long before the release of the similarly designed Guitar Hero. And that Rock Band drum peripheral looks a heck of a lot like the one used in Konami's 1999 arcade hit DrumMania. We wonder what Harmonix and Activision's next project will be -- Vampire Killer Hero or FOXHOUND Hero?
Joystiq hands-on: Rock Band
In 1999, Konami of Japan unleashed DrumMania on Japanese arcades and with it, the ability to link the machine together with GuitarFreaks for session play. This was considered a novel idea at the time, though it wasn't the most affordable setup. The following year, they released a home version of DrumMania, complete with the appropriate controller. That is, of course, if you had no intentions of playing the game with any sort of accuracy.Jump to the present day and not only has Harmonix solved the problem of session play, but they've also produced a drumming peripheral that challenges the quality of Konami's original arcade beast. Sticks in hand, we sat down behind Harmonix's latest kit, flipped the difficulty to hard and proceeded to lay in like few others have before. If there is any doubt as to the mastery of rhythm wielded by Harmonix, Rock Band surely squashes it.%Gallery-3923%
A postmortem on Accordion Hero (with a little info on Guitar Hero, too)
Just in case you missed the Guitar Hero parody Accordion Hero reported here on Joystiq a week or two back, Gamasutra has now posted a tongue-in-cheek postmortem on the squeezebox simulator. It's cheeky.You'll learn not only "that accordion players get all the girls" (with female players, of course, getting all the guys), but you'll also get a handle on some detailed developer data such as the number of accordions broken during development (none) and the number set on fire during the same period of time (twenty-three).
