MusicAndRhythm
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EA announces Wii rhythm and karaoke game, Boogie
With Rayman's musical mini-games and the multi-peripheral DDR franchise already making passes at the Wii, it would seem that Nintendo's system gets along famously with the rhythm genre. The two are like a pair of dazed lovers skipping blissfully through a park, unaware that their uncontrolled flailing and unexpected gyration is leaving everyone in the nearby vicinity with bloody noses and swollen eyeballs. That certainly sounds like the ideal Wii experience, at least according to EA -- they've just announced Boogie, a Wii-exclusive rhythm game that wants you to dance, pose and sing your way to living room stardom.On the heels of XBLA's Boom Boom Rocket and EA's announced intention to bust into music games "sooner than you think" comes a game which, at first glance, appears to be the result of Tim Burton drunkenly colliding with a Singstar demo kiosk. Boogie will see gamers producing the moves and vocals for a music video, presumably making use of that super secret Wii microphone. The nunchuck is also incorporated here, giving rise to the possibility that the microphone peripheral itself may also harbor motion-sensing abilities akin to that of the Wiimote. What's the use of a microphone if you can't twirl it about like a buffoon?%Gallery-2230%
EA busting into rhythm games 'sooner than you think'
Much like its title implies, Guitar Hero arrived as a sort of savior for a rhythm genre that had grown a little too obsessed with hypnotic arrows for its own good. The rocking success of Red Octane's franchise thrust the genre back into the console limelight, with its financial gyrations quickly drawing the fixation of several publishers. According to a recent interview conducted by Stephen Totilo of MTV News, EA is one such a publisher.Upon being asked about EA's plans in response to the success enjoyed by titles such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution, EA's Worldwide Executive of Music and Marketing indicates that the gigantic publisher is already positioning itself on the diving board. "I've been pushing for a long time to be honest with you," says Steve Schnur. "I think you'll see us breaking into the genre sooner than you think."Of course, one could argue that EA is already doing so with the upcoming Boom Boom Rocket, an Xbox Live Arcade title which sees (and hears) players detonating fireworks in rhythm to music. Is the Bizarre-developed title merely the first step in an increasingly complex dance maneuver? And more importantly, will there be an insane peripheral? If anybody's going to exploit the untapped Glockenspiel-breakdancing market, it'll be EA.See also: Electronic Arts mixes on iTunes
Incoming: official wireless Guitar Hero controllers
A technical marvel and a symbolic gesture of freedom shoved into the grimacing face of the everpresent Man, the wireless controller is practically indispensable in this day and age. As a company that's adequately adjusted to modern times, RedOctane has announced that official and, more importantly, wireless Guitar Hero controllers will be hitting store shelves next month. Eurogamer confirms that the gheetarz will be priced at $59.99 and be fully compatible with both heroic strum sims on the PS2. You can also expect RedOctane to not be sued for making these.Whether this announcement affects the currently tethered (or more "realistic," as the back of the box will point out) Xbox 360 version of the controller remains to be seen, though one can hope that RedOctane's designers are gnawing through prototype cables at this very moment. Incidentally, that suggestion leads to the visual image of their employees being gigantic rats wearing lab coats and wielding plastic guitars in an altogether frightening manner. We're not sure how we feel about that yet.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in.]See also: Wal-Mart selling Guitar Hero II early? Guitar Hero makes cameo in Veronica Mars The Ant Commandos counter RedOctane and Activision lawsuit
Guitar Hero coming to multiple new platforms
According to Eurogamer, Activision CEO Robert Kotick let it drop at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XV Conference (that's a mouthful) that Guitar Hero would appear "on every significant new format." We can only guess this means whammy-barring on the Xbox 360 is pretty much confirmed, with Gamestation employees hearing earlier this week that they will be getting Guitar Hero II for that console in early 2007. With the Wii, DS, PSP and PS3 being significant new formats, chances are you might be able to jam just about anywhere.
Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! Getting! English! Release!?
Is Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan! finally getting the localization a game of its musically deranged caliber deserves? Siliconera points us to the delicious rumor that the rhythmic, cheerleading triumph of the human spirit may very well make it to Western shores. According to a Jeux-France article, a Nintendo UK official let it slip that Nintendo was considering releasing the game in Nintendogs-obsessed Europe. But why stop there? The Siliconera author also mentions another internet murmur, indicating that Atlus is looking to procure the game for US release. After experiencing their excellent localization of Trauma Center: Under the Knife, this almost sounded too good to be true. Sadly, after personally contacting and threatening an Atlus staff member, I discovered that it was. "As awesome as the game is, unfortunately Atlus won't be bringing it to you."Bummer. Still, there's a chance (however slight) that Nintendo themselves might deem the game worthy of a witty translation and unleash it upon the masses. If there's anything we've learned from Katamari Damacy, it's that "weird" third-party Japanese games have every chance of success in the US market. Well, that and how to roll up your neighbors into an ever-growing ball of random junk. It's hard to say which of those pieces of knowledge is more useful.[Via Siliconera, thanks Tomm!]
