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Amplitude clears funding goal, races toward finish line
Harmonix has successfully matched its $775,000 goal on Kickstarter for Amplitude with 21 hours remaining in the campaign. The Dance Central developer recently admitted that its crowdfunding goal amounted to "less than half of the project budget for the game," the rest of which will come from the studio's wallet. Harmonix held a telethon via Twitch to raise funds for the game, performing songs and playing the original Amplitude for viewers. The original Amplitude achieved cult-hit status after its 2003 release on PlayStation 2. The game was a follow-up to Harmonix's 2001 music game for PS2, Frequency. Harmonix's goal with the new version of Amplitude is to re-create the frenetic action of the rhythm games, where players guide a ship down a colorful highway and press buttons to match notes in line with the music being played at the time.
Harmonix: Without Kickstarter, Amplitude 'goes back on the shelf'
Since Harmonix launched its Kickstarter project for a successor to the Amplitude series earlier this month, one of the pervading questions the developer fielded is just why it opted to go the crowdfunding route for the cherished, cult classic game. While Harmonix developed popular games like Dance Central and the upcoming Disney Fantasia: Music Evolved, the developer reiterated that it is an "independently owned and operated studio" in a recent blog, and that some of its projects are so ambitious in scale that it cannot "responsibly make it completely out of pocket." Normally, that means a publisher foots the bill for the game, but that isn't the case for Harmonix. "We've sought other options out before coming to Kickstarter: there aren't publishing funds waiting in the wings or some third party who's eager to offset our costs – either we fund the game here, or the game goes back on the shelf," Harmonix Director of Publishing and PR John Drake wrote. The Kickstarter project's goal is $775,000, which Drake clarified is "less than half of the project budget for the game," and that even with $800,000 coming from Kickstarter backers, the developer would "be risking more of Harmonix's money than we probably should – all because we want to make this game so badly." As for the developer's choice to turn to crowdfunding, Kickstarter may not be the appropriate route to fund the game, but not because Harmonix is "too big" for the platform. Rather, it may not be big enough: Looking back to our six-month analysis of the video game crowdfunding space ending November 2013, of the 186 projects that were funded on the platform, just eight earned over $775,000 (4.3 percent). As of this writing, the project is sitting at $254,149 with eight days to go before the campaign closes. Meanwhile, Microsoft's recent announcement that it will begin offering the Xbox One without its Kinect camera elicited some strong reactions from Harmonix, which relied heavily on the device's support. [Image: Harmonix]
Harmonix bets Amplitude HD's future on Kickstarter
Rock Band and Dance Central developer Harmonix has posted a Kickstarter to fund a sequel to Amplitude, its rhythm action game from the PlayStation 2 era. The company is currently seeking $775,000 for the project, using the crowdfunding platform to gauge legitimate interest. "Legitimate" in this context being people who put their money where their mouth is. "Our aim with this Kickstarter is to be humble in our expectations. The current goal is to make a faithful Amplitude 'HD' - the core experience from PS2 re-developed for modern gaming devices," the company notes on its Kickstarter page. "We certainly have LOTS of crazy ideas that could blow this concept out. Your contribution, feedback, and community input will decide where this project will land and how many crazy ideas we can incorporate!" If successful, the new Amplitude will be available on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, which makes sense because Sony owns the intellectual property. A cross-buy code will be given to the first 1,000 pledges at the $15 tier and a code is standard with the $20 tier. The game is currently scheduled to drift down the super note highway in March, 2015.
Harmonix announces music shooter 'Chroma,' sign up for alpha testing now
Rock Band and Dance Central developer Harmonix is going full Chris Gaines with free-to-play, first-person shooter Chroma. The multiplayer class-based arena gunner for PC has that Harmonix music twist with bullets on a beat and finding the flow in the music activating jump pads for easier arena traversal. The game is being developed in partnership with Hidden Path Entertainment (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Defense Grid: The Awakening). Chroma's closed alpha will begin this month and sign-ups are available now at PlayChroma.com. The game will continue its development on Valve's Steam Early Access through the year and is expected to be in a publicly playable state sometime this fall. We recently had the chance to try out the alpha and the game is still finding its voice, with Harmonix representatives acknowledging this is the earliest the studio has ever shown a game. If you sign up for the alpha, you are signing up for a game very much in development where feedback will matter. The good news is that if you decide to participate, you're getting involved in one of the more interesting concepts we've seen for a shooter. Players who can find the rhythm to rampage will have a distinct advantage in this game. [Image: Harmonix]
Dance Central 3 routines 50% off until June 3
If you're searching for beauty and a beat, the entire Dance Central 3 downloadable content catalog is on sale through June 3. The routines are 50 percent off at 160 Microsoft Points ($2) apiece, with over 80 tracks featuring original choreography available - don't worry, Gangnam Style still features the horsey move. Developer Harmonix is also offering dance packs for particular tastes. You know, if you only want Fergie, Rihanna or the Biebs at an even greater discount. Some of those tracks are listed after the break, the full list can be found on Harmonix's DC3 site.
Hands-on with the first SmartGlass app, Dance Central 3's Party Time DJ
Since getting outed just head of Microsoft's big reveal, Xbox 360's SmartGlass has been under wraps. When Xbox Live VP Marc Whitten officially introduced SmartGlass soon after at E3 2012, we learned a teensy bit more -- tablets and smartphones (Android, Windows Phone 8, and iOS, even) would get second-screen functionality via an upcoming free application -- and got some hands-on time with it. That application has yet to launch, but Dance Central 3's SmartGlass functionality is already here. Well, almost here -- the game becomes publicly available tomorrow, and the app won't launch for a few weeks still -- but we got our hands on Dance Central 3's SmartGlass companion app a bit early at a New York City review event last week. Being the first SmartGlass application to launch has its advantages, such as setting the bar. By no means is Dance Central 3's SmartGlass application a thorough, necessary accompaniment (for a game that already requires Kinect, that's probably a good choice), but it does add some neat side fun for friends waiting in the wings to get their respective grooves on. "Party Time DJ" allows friends -- employing their iOS, Droid, or WP8 tablet/smartphone, via the Xbox SmartGlass app -- to queue up the next song in the game's neverending "Party Time" mode, or create a playlist. They can also queue downloadable tracks to the Xbox 360 (which thankfully requires approval on the 360 prior to purchase), or swap difficulty settings. Sadly, though the opportunity for real-time griefing presents itself rather clearly here, developer Harmonix chose not to allow song-swapping or difficulty changes mid-song. "Because it would kill them," Harmonix rep Nick Chester told us.%Gallery-168336%
Rock Band World social app coming to Rock Band 3, Rock Band Blitz this month
Just in case there weren't enough ways to bug your friends online, Harmonix revealed "Rock Band World" this morning, a new social app for Facebook. The app integrates with both Rock Band 3 and Rock Band Blitz, allowing players to challenge their friends, compare scores, shop for music, and accomplish social goals. Accomplishing said goals can earn players in-game coins for Rock Band Blitz, which can then be used to purchase power-ups.The app is now available on Facebook. Rock Band Blitz arrives on PSN August 28 and on XBLA August 29.
More Dance Central 3 tracks than you can shake a leg at
Ready to stomp out rhythmic crimes across several decades with some stylish dance police? Yes, Dance Central 3's bizarro storyline is ... well, bizarro, but that just makes us all the more interested in it. Several Harmonix devs are happy to explain the game's kooky story in the latest trailer, revealed alongside several tracks for this fall's DC entry (listed after the break).In total, there are nine new songs revealed, but let's not kid ourselves – the one we're concerned with is Daft Punk's "Around the World." The fact that we've had two Dance Central games without it is the real dance crime.
Dance Central 2's August tracks are down with O.P.P.
Yes, you know them – Jeremih, Kevin Rudolf, and hip-hop greats Naughty By Nature are all headlining this month's Dance Central 2 club bangers. Each artist is bringing a single track for each week of the month, with Jeremih featuring 50 Cent's "Down On Me" getting things started tomorrow. As per usual, each track costs 240 MS Points ($3).
Harmonix has 'three and/or more' new games in the works, and none are Rock Band or Dance Central
There's kind of a lot of stuff going on at Harmonix Music Systems. At least according to Harmonix director of communications and brand management John Drake, who teased a variety of new "Triple A IPs" that the studio has in the works – beyond Dance Central 3 and Rock Band Blitz. "Dance Central and Rock Band are kind of our big established IPs. And man oh man are we working on multiple – like, more than two – new triple A IPs, right now that we can't talk about at all," Drake said on the latest Harmonix podcast.He got even more specific, pointing out that "none of them are Rock Band or Dance Central titles," nor are they re-releases/new versions of Frequency or Amplitude. "It's not a previous game. It's not Led Zeppelin Rock Band. This isn't – I'm not talking about Rock Band 4. I'm not talking about the next Dance Central game. I'm talking about new, crazy stuff."And not necessarily music stuff, either, at least not in the strictest sense. "Some of them are music games, some of them are not full-on rhythm action games. Some of them are brand new things that we created from our gut and brains here at Harmonix. Some are things that we're expanding the universe of," Drake detailed.Though not much concrete information was doled out, Drake was a bit more clear about when we'll hear more. "Crazy stuff to talk about hopefully next year," he said. He worries that one of those projects is more prone to leaking than others, as "There's a lot of people working on one of them." Harmonix? Leak? Never. And it's always possible we'll hear more about those next Dance Central and Rock Band games sooner than the mystery stuff. "There may be some more Rock Band or Dance Central stuff in the works too," he said. The future is unknown.
Rock Band Weekly: Paramore
Paramore's "Brand New Eyes" album may not be so brand new anymore, but Rock Band Weekly is tapping it this week for a three-pack from the operatic rock band.
Pre-Blitz: Harmonix on building a new Rock Band from scratch
Harmonix team members Matthew Nordhaus, Chris Foster, Brian Chan, and Jyllian Thibodeau explained the development process that led to Rock Band Blitz, by way of showing us previous versions and iterations of the game. Collectively, these prototypes were referred to as "Pre-Blitz," and epitomized by a brief video of a version that keeps the social basis of Blitz, but with a very different aesthetic.While the final game ended up featuring a sort of rainbow note highway in a musically reactive city, this version is a much sunnier, somewhat more literal "highway" style environment. Somewhere between these two, the team thought of having the music make the city spring up building by building, but that didn't make it.At one point it wasn't even decided where the music would come from. A DLC strategy was important to the team, but it wasn't certain that the game would be a Rock Band game. When it was decided that it would be, the source of music became obvious. And then the team had to convert all the songs from five lanes per instrument to two -- which, Nordhaus explained, made the game way too easy in lower difficulties. Finally, against his better judgment, the team playtested a game with only one difficulty, and it worked.Senior designer Brian Chan explained that the game lost the "track-locking" mechanic from Amplitude and other handheld Rock Bands, in favor of a system that allows players to build "levels" in individual tracks. This allowed people to play in a much more freeform manner instead of following a prescribed, single best scoring pattern.Even the specifics of the controls were in question, with considerations like gestural controls for each instrument. Above is an idea for keyboard controls that used left, right, and a button press to simulate keys.
Which game development studio head was the top Colbert Super PAC supporter?
There's one man in the northeastern United States who is way, way into making America a better tomorrow, tomorrow, and that man is Harmonix Music Systems co-founder and CEO Alex Rigopulos. He's so into it, in fact, that he donated just shy of $10,000 ($9,600) to Colbert Report host Stephen Colbert's Super PAC in 2011, making his the largest financial contribution that the political action committee has received.Colbert's camp disclosed Rigopulos' name and info along with many others to the FCC this week in a required move for Super PACs with contributors who donate more than $200. Of the $1,023,121 raised since Colbert launched his Super PAC, Rigopulos' donation makes up just under 1 percentage point -- not much in the context of the larger sum, but far larger than the average contributor (under $200).Harmonix confirmed the Rigopulos news with Joystiq, but declined to offer comment, presumably choosing to wait for that better tomorrow (which we're told may arrive tomorrow-ish).
Viacom ordered to pay Harmonix several trucks full of money
When Viacom sold developer Harmonix in November of 2010 for $50, it was really only the beginning of the drama to come. Almost exactly a year ago, ex-shareholders in Harmonix prior to Viacom's buyout of the music game developer sued the conglomerate for failing to pay performance based bonuses, which were agreed upon when Viacom bought the company back in 2006. Then, earlier this year, Viacom sued those same stockholders for $131 million for "contractual overpayment." With us so far? Well, take a deep breath. It gets better. That lawsuit triggered a mandatory arbitration clause in the original contract, and now Viacom has revealed to the LA Times that the private arbitrator in question has ordered the company to pay the former Harmonix shareholders $383 million. The story is still developing, and this isn't the last you'll hear of it: Viacom has filed in a Delaware Court to have the judgment overturned, because of "improperly excluded" evidence and testimony.
Rock Band celebrates Facebook milestone with Stevie Wonder, Coldplay, Breaking Benjamin, and Dream Theater
In honor of the Rock Band Facebook page topping 2 million "Likes," Harmonix decided to let news loose a bit early about some varied, excellent artists arriving on Rock Band 3's DLC service in the "coming weeks and months." We're actually inclined to skip right over two of the groups -- Breaking Benjamin and Dream Theater -- as they've both already had DLC tracks added to RB3 in the past. Here are the two brand new biggies: Stevie Wonder and Coldplay. We simply cannot say "Hooray!" loudly enough. No mention is made of which songs specifically will be launched, but Coldplay, Breaking Benjamin, and Stevie Wonder all have full track packs on the way, while Dream Theater's keeping it more low key with a single. Perhaps if you go "like" the Facebook page we can get Stevie Wonder right now? Maybe just one track, even? [Thanks, libregkd]
VidRhythm adds user-uploaded tracks, has Harmonix eyeing iOS for the future
"Initial reception has been great," Harmonix creative director Josh Randall told me in an email exchange earlier today. He was speaking to Harmonix' latest music creation, VidRhythm, and the success it's seen both critically and commercially on the iOS App Store. "We're at 5-out-of-5 stars on the App store ... in just a few weeks we've seen over 1,000 videos uploaded to YouTube, and we presume over that number to Facebook." And today, Harmonix launched its first major update to the bizarrely delightful application, albeit not one you'll find waiting in your phone as an update. The VidRhythm user-generated content creator is available now from the official site, allowing folks with the technical chops to cut apart their favorite tracks and add them to VidRhythm. "We can't wait to see what people do with it," Randall added. But Harmonix isn't done with the application, nor is it done with the iOS platform. While declining my request for specific sales numbers, Randall said, "Suffice it to say it's doing well enough to keep supporting VidRhythm, and to think about what other experiences we can bring to iOS next." More specifically, he told me the VR team is working on adding "even more songs and video styles to play with" in the "next few months." Get your pets at the ready!
Mad Catz fully responsible for relaunch of Rock Band 3
When Mad Catz re-releases Rock Band 3 this holiday, it'll be acting as sole financier on the Xbox 360-only publishing deal. "They're actually doing the retail distribution as well as marketing support, etc. They're acting as de facto publisher for the title," Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos explained to me in an interview session late last week at the Tokyo Game Show. That makes Rock Band 3 one of the first retail Xbox 360 game to be published by Mad Catz, a long-time peripheral manufacturer who is now getting into publishing on Microsoft's console. The company's second title, appropriately named War Wings: Hell Catz, is due to arrive on PCs some time in 2012. It has yet to be announced for the Xbox 360. Additionally, Mad Catz has a rugby title due out later this year. Rigopulos also noted that the relaunch is aimed at a variety of people, from new audiences who haven't ever played a Rock Band title, to "people who are still playing Rock Band 2 or Guitar Hero players who haven't even entered the genre yet." Rock Band 3 will relaunch with Mad Catz branding and peripherals for the Xbox 360 some time this holiday season.
Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos explains what happened to Rock Band Japan
After announcing intentions to bring its Rock Band franchise to the Japanese market way back in the summer of 2008, Harmonix and co-developer Q Entertainment quietly walked away from the project. "Never say never," Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos said of the project in a group interview session this week at Tokyo Game Show, answering a question asked by Kotaku's Brian Ashcraft. "We were very much interested in bringing that experience in some form to the Japanese market," he explained. "There were a couple of significant challenges." Beyond the whole "manufacturing and shipping hundreds of thousands more plastic peripherals to an island country" ... thing, Rigopulos lamented issues with licensing Japanese music for the game, which he characterized as "very difficult in Japan, relative to other countries." He also pointed to a rather obvious concern: space limitations in Japanese households. "Even for people who have the space, Japanese families tend to not make a lot of noise in their homes. They generally have a quieter lifestyle at home 'cause they're living in closer quarters, and also Japanese families don't entertain in their homes as much." Given the original inspiration for Harmonix' franchises Guitar Hero and Rock Band was the arcade-born Guitar/Drum Freaks franchise, I wondered if Harmonix had looked at Japanese arcades as an option instead of a home console release. "That's something we considered," he admitted. "One of the challenges is that arcades are very, very noisy, and so if you're trying to make something that's really a musical experience and you've got 37 other arcade machines all turned up to full volume, it kind of impairs the musicality of the experience." Again, Rigopulos said Harmonix has yet to give up on the concept of Rock Band in Japan, but from the sound of things, it's not exactly at the top of his priority list. [Image credit: ShonenKnife.com]
Harmonix interested in branching out beyond music with Kinect
Many years ago, before Harmonix was the dev house that birthed Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Dance Central, the company created EyeToy: AntiGrav -- a motion-controlled game for Sony's PlayStation 2 "EyeToy" camera peripheral. Despite strong sales, that was the last time that the Massachusetts-based developer created a project not steeped in music. But it seems that the studio may not have abandoned its one-time interest in non-music motion-based games. "I think we're always open-minded about new opportunities," Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos told me in an interview this week at the Tokyo Game Show. "Certainly our focus always has been and probably always will be on music-themed games," he added, but his company's involvement with Dance Central has rekindled the studio's interest in other types of motion-based gaming. "A perfect example is the Kinect, which I think that through our work on Dance Central we've developed an affinity for -- towards motion gaming." Though Rigopulos wouldn't speak to specifics, he would say that, "It wouldn't be surprising if in the future we took some steps outside of our wheelhouse in music to try some new things in non-music focused motion gaming." Harmonix' latest release, VidRhythm for iOS devices, may also be on the cards for some type of Kinect-based adaptation. "Of course our hope is to keep improving it and expanding it, including bringing it to other platforms, such as possibly Kinect," Rigopulos explained. That said, with VidRhythm having just launched in the past few weeks, he's not even sure of initial sales reports just yet, so it may be a few before we hear more about the application headed to other devices.
'Pxl Pushr' blends Kinect and iPad play to impressive, multicolor results
Among the dozen or so games strewn about New York City's Museum of Modern Art (during last week's Kill Screen-curated "Arcade" event) two titles had their playable debuts: Eric Zimmerman and Nathalie Pozzi's "Starry Heavens" ("a physical game of power and betrayal"), as well as Matt Boch and Ryan Challinor's "Pxl Pushr" ("something akin to a full-bodied theremin blended with a puzzle game"). Considering what the two freshman entries were up against -- critically acclaimed games like Limbo, Canabalt, and Echochrome -- it was impressive that both games had lengthy lines throughout the evening. I mean no offense when I say this, but Pxl Pusher looks like what would've happened if Kinect technology had existed in the Coleco Vision days. In the same way that your Dad's sweet 1973 Lacoste track jacket still looks totally rad, so does Pxl Pushr. The bizarre look is both a measure of the dev duo's style -- their day jobs are as designers at Harmonix -- and of the short-term development cycle. "Over the past four weeks-ish we've been messing around building this game," Boch explained. In Pxl Pushr, one player places dots on an iPad, while another player attempts to catch as many dots as possible by using the contortions of their body (via Kinect). The player contorting their body is scored on how many pixels he/she is able to "push" versus the ones they miss. It's a simple concept for sure, but one that had many attendees smiling while making very silly poses. Not that the crowd's reaction was foreign to Boch and Challinor, two gentlemen who spend their working hours with Dance Central 2.%Gallery-129438%
