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'Rock Band' is back with 'Rock Band 4': headed to Xbox One and PS4 in 2015
Remember way back in 2009? Times were simpler then: Pittsburgh's Steelers were Super Bowl champions; Tiger Woods was caught having an affair; and I was playing a lot of Rock Band. You probably were too. Many millions of you were, anyway, and the plastic peripheral market was booming. In a few short years, the world went from zero to dozens of plastic guitars, keyboards, mics and drums per household, all in the name of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. House parties quickly turned into Rock Band parties with surprising frequency. It was only another few short years before those games, and the peripherals they required, fell off a cliff. That was 2010, when Rock Band 3 launched. It's been five years, and the world is apparently ready for more Rock Band. The folks behind the original Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises are back in the development seat and bringing Rock Band 4 to Xbox One and PlayStation 4 later this year.
Harmonix looks beyond Rock Band
Not attempting to become Behind the Music fodder two months after their incoming success, Harmonix is already looking forward to life after Rock Band and keeping their eyes on the prize. Speaking with Next-Gen, Studio Lead Alex Rigopulos says they want to expand the music genre, noting that there are "other instruments that we haven't touched yet" (like cowbell) and more music genres to explore. Harmonix is also playing around with allowing players to make their own music, with Rigopulos labeling his games as "performance simulations." The developer is currently considering "freestyle and creative elements" for future titles.On a related note, he doesn't consider the $170 price tag expensive if you think of Rock Band as a platform with longevity. According to Rigopulos, the game itself will be available separately at launch, allowing people to pool their money with friends for the bundle (remember, this holiday there is only the bundle) and exchanging instruments to play solo. The man also discounts those whining about fake instruments -- apparently, Harmonix has heard anecdotes about games like Guitar Hero inspiring people to get real guitar lessons. All we know is that it's only a matter of time before an actual Real Guitar Hero gets made. Sure, it'd be expensive, but the potential is clearly there -- for profit.
Excited about Rock Band? You will be after reading this interview
In an interview with IGN, Alex Rigopulos (CEO of Harmonix) revealed some details about the development process of Rock Band. Despite remaining tight lipped regarding actual specifics of controller set-ups, pricing, songs or gamplay he still managed to say enough of the right things to get us sufficiently excited for the game. Again. Sounds impossible, right? Read on. When asked whether Rock Band would feature strong single player gameplay for each instrument Rigopulos responded, saying "I can't speak to what Activision has planned for future versions of Guitar Hero, but what I can say is that Rock Band's guitar game alone will be more substantial than any of the prior Guitar Hero releases." He then goes on to remind us that there will be a singing section, a drum section and a co-operative band section on top of the guitar portion of the game. If each of these four game modes are as big as he is indicating then Rock Band is going to be truly immense. I can already hear RedOctane quaking in their boots.As for those potentially bank-breaking controllers, Rigopulos says that making a game like Rock Band requires good quality peripherals to enhance the gameplay experience. As a development team full of musicians, Harmonix is determined to make the controllers for Rock Band feel more authentic than any instrument peripheral we've seen before. As a drummer himself, Rigopulos has seen to it that the new drum controller is "a real piece of hardware."Read the rest of the interview for more info. Also, don't forget to suggest which songs you'd like to see in the game on the official website. Our excitement for Rock Band is peaked (until Harmonix throws some gameplay info our way, at least), how about you?
