Rhythm
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Harmonix requests licensing from Timbaland, other non-rock stars
The rhythm-based games developer has apparently filed for several hip-hop and rap song licenses, indicating something a bit funkier and perhaps a bit fresher is in the works. Scripts may be flipped. We really don't know. Here are the requested tracks (via Royalty Network): "Ante Up" by M.O.P. "Evacuate the Dancefloor" by Cascada "Say Aah" by Trey Songz "The Way I Are" by Timbaland feat D.O.E. As you can tell, these tracks aren't really known for their rocking and/or rolling, so it's not the usual Rock Band fare. Wanton speculation would suggest that Harmonix is working on an extension of its franchise into the hip-hop, R&B and rap segments -- a possible answer to Activision's DJ Hero? [Via Destructoid]
Rock Band Weekly: Megadeth's 'Rust in Peace,' The Who mashed-up
Hey, Rock Band aficionados! Are you ready to spend your hard-earned Microsoft Points, Wii Points or good old-fashioned cash money on tracks which you'll never be able to play without injuring your tender, fragile metacarpals? Brace your bones -- the Music Store is about to get a healthy dose of Megadeth, in the form of the outfit's 1990 album "Rust in Peace." Or, as it's more commonly known, "The one with 'Hangar 18' on it." The nine-track album will be available for $14.99 (1200, bundle not available on Wii), and can also be purchased piecemeal for $1.99 (160, 200 Wii Points) per track. In addition, the Who's "Super Bowl S-mashup" medley will be made available on Sunday after the big game for $1.99 (160, 200 Wii Points). Check out all the songs included in next week's update after the jump.
Rhythm game devs: genre hasn't peaked, user-generated content is key
[Image credit: Jaymiek] In the latest issue of Edge Magazine, Harmonix head Alex Rigopulos and Neversoft project director Brian Bright both speak out regarding the current state of rhythm-music gaming. As you might imagine, neither developer thinks that the genre is flatlining. In fact, Rigopulos even believes that "future music games will exceed the sales success of the last generation." Surprisingly, though, while each heads up their own approach to the genre, the two seem to be in near-direct agreement on the next step for their franchises. "User-generated content will be absolutely critical to the ongoing success of the genre, I think," Rigopulos says. Bright echoes his statement, saying, "I think user-created content is key to the evolution ... if you can't create or edit licensed music due to copyright laws, then you're limited to pretending to play someone else's music." That said, each developer differs in their definition of exactly what that "user-created content" will be. In the case of Rigopulos, he believes the Rock Band Network and its potentially "huge community of power-users -- skilled music creators" will be his company's next "defining moment." Bright is less sure of a plan, simply stating, "I think the key is to create music, but make it compelling to create, so the game is in the creation."
Natsume's Squishy Tank and Cheer We Go available on DS in March
There's bound to be someone else out there waiting for news about Natsume's super-cute artillery puzzle game Squishy Tank, because we know we are. Natsume just announced that both that puzzler and Cheer We Go will be released in March, which is ... unfortunately, so overloaded that these games are likely to founder in even deeper obscurity than they would anyway. Squishy Tank, based on a series of Japanese Flash animations, is a color-matching game with soft, animate tank characters and adorable parody minigames. Cheer We Go is a rhythm-based game in which the player revitalizes a failed town, home to terrible sports teams and widespread despair, with cheerleading! The games will retail for $20 each. %Gallery-64359% %Gallery-83707%
Bit. Trip: Runner is a 'rhythm platformer'
Speaking to Nintendo Life in a podcast, Gaijin Games's Alex Neuse spilled plenty of details about the fourth Bit.Trip game for WiiWare, Bit. Trip Runner. Neuse calls the game a "rhythm platformer," a genre populated, in his estimation, only by Vib-Ribbon. Which means that players will move Commander Video through side-scrolling environments to the beat of new chiptune songs, two of which are provided by chiptune superstars Anamanaguchi. The game's 50 levels will make use of user-submitted fanart, for which the developer is still soliciting entries. The universe of Bit. Trip will also expand a bit: "We're going to be adding a lot more to this game," Neuse said. "There's going to be multiple characters – not playable characters, but we are going to introduce some new characters into the franchise." Runner is around 2/3 complete, and is expected to release on WiiWare sometime this spring.
DJ Max Fever heats up PSN today
DJ Max Fever is being re-released on PSP today via the PlayStation Network. The Korean music game has been a hit amongst hardcore rhythm enthusiasts, but it's been a rather difficult game to find outside of import shops and specialty retailers. The game's re-release on the PlayStation Store should introduce it to a whole new audience. With gameplay similar to Beatmania, DJ Max Fever should help fill the void left by the termination of Rock Band Unplugged DLC. Good news for PSP Go owners: Fever will include 60 songs from the get-go, with no need to buy the game piecemeal. We'll be giving away ten copies of the game on our Facebook page later today, when the PlayStation Store update goes live. Make sure you become a fan so you can get a chance to win. Official rules apply.
Non-profit XBLA game Chime dropping Feb. 3
Between your rampant donations to Child's Play and your support with Haiti recovery efforts, you've been stretching your altruism muscles quite a bit over the past few months. We just hope you're not all charity'd out -- Zoe Mode and OneBigGame's XBLA rhythm title, Chime, is due on February 3. In case you've forgotten, 60 percent of the game's 400 ($5) price tag will go to Save the Children and Starlight Children's Foundation. Best of all, the game actually looks pretty fun! Check out the explanation video above to see the title in action -- it's kind of like Tetris meets Lumines meets the beneficence of the human spirit.
Rock Band Network open beta begins tonight [update]
If you've been tinkering around with the Rock Band Network song programming tools, turning your heartfelt ballads into batches of multicolored gems, you'll be able to place your work in front of an audience for the first time today. Harmonix is launching an open beta of the platform at some point this evening, which will allow musicians with an XNA Creators Club membership to publish their songs, and peer-review the work their fellow artists have contributed. Of course, we won't be able to download the songs until the platform officially goes live -- which Harmonix recently informed Destructoid wouldn't be until "we accrue a good base of content, though we're already really excited by what we have in the pipeline." If you were curious about what that pipeline currently looks like, we suggest checking out this Harmonix forum post, which compiles all the bands who've shown interest in Rock Band-ing their ditties. Update: Okay, the beta is actually live now! Let the rocking commence.
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine says 'high-level' talks with Neversoft, Activision could result in ... something
Megadeth's inclusion as DLC in Rock Band (not to mention past appearances in Guitar Hero games) apparently won't stifle the group from putting together something "over-the-moon" with Neversoft and Activision for the future. In a "Scorpion" feature (read: "Ask the Band") on the band's website, a couple of fans posed the "What about a Guitar Hero game?" question, to which the lead singer/guitarist Dave Mustaine replied: "I have recently had two very important high-level meetings with the people from Activision and Neversoft, and we are talking about a lot of things." He only clarifies a teensy bit, saying a Guitar Hero: Megadeth game "is not attractive" to him and that the Guitar Hero developers have instead offered up a "new idea." Mustaine also laments past legal run-ins, and hopes that no one "stand[s] in the way of this happening." We've contacted Megadeth as well as Activision for more information on the subject, and will be rocking as hard as possible while we wait for a reply. Oh, and yes, we suppose we'll tell you if we hear more. [Via Kotaku]
THQ taking DS to Beat City
Ever wonder what a city built on rock and roll would actually look like? Find out this spring when THQ releases Beat City for the DS. Beat City, developed by THQ Wireless developer Universomo, is a series of 20 rhythm-based minigames in which players "tap, swipe, or hold" to the beat, while the city transforms. Success in minigames will help drive Dame Isolde Minor and her Cacophony Corporation, who presumably dislike music, out of the city. While Universomo isn't quite as glamorous a developer as the Nintendo R&D1 team that created Rhythm Heaven, we're delighted to see someone else taking on the idea of rhythm-based minigames. That enthusiasm may diminish when we see actual screens or footage, but why not enjoy the moment? Update: Three screens of some "funky mannequins" are now in our gallery. %Gallery-82928%
Best of the Rest: JC's picks of 2009
Muramasa: The Demon Blade Muramasa appealed to me in a way that Odin Sphere didn't, thanks to an emphasis on combo-heavy sword action instead of planting and whatever. And the RPG elements that are left, like the sword upgrades and cooking, are not only fun, but simple enough that I can get right back into the game after a long break and still know what is going on. Also, I don't mean to be shallow, but the fact that Muramasa is the most beautiful game of 2009 helps me be positive about it.
The Mobile Mobile is a magnificent and melodious module of merriment
Faced with an agency-wide phone upgrade that left fifty older HTC devices homeless, UK-based Lost Boys International decided to act on instinct in the most natural of ways: by turning each device into a cog in a musical mobile that hangs just inside the entrance of its Brick Lane studio. Even better, all those phones are connected in a way that turns each one into a member of some crazy techno orchestra, the results of which can be seen after the break in an unbelievably fun rendition of a Christmas song you're bound to hear a dozen more times today. If that's not enough, you can also control it live, thanks to a webcam and a flash interface that accepts keyboard commands. LBi Creative Director James Théophane has the project chronicled if you want the full details, but more importantly, just make sure you experience the holiday choral after the break.
Sony reveals SingStar Viewer application for PS3
Though SingStar may not possess the massive community base of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, Sony recently unveiled a PS3 application which offers a great deal of social networking capabilities to the karaoke game's players. Titled SingStar Viewer, the app (which appears under the Games folder of the XMB) allows users to browse and purchase songs from the SingStore, as well as view and vote on videos, photos and profiles uploaded by members of the MySingStarOnline community. This impressive functionality is totally free, and accessible even when the SingStar disc is absent from the PS3's drive. The PlayStation.Blog post, which announced the software, didn't give a firm release date for the app, but suggested you "check the PlayStation Store over the coming weeks." Check out the video after the jump to get a brief demo of the services offered by the application. Then wonder if you're confident enough in your karaoke chops to place videos of you and your friends singing in front of the cruel, cruel internet.
Christmas Light Hero brings rhythm to the holidays
You gotta hand it to this kid's parents, who managed to turn up their boring old Christmas lights to 11 and into quite the Guitar Hero homage. It's not the first time we've seen Activision's franchise mix it up with some Christmas lights, but it's certainly the most unique and inspired. We've embedded the video past the break so put on your favorite Rudolph sweater (the good one with the blinking nose you keep in the back of the closet), pour yourself a hot cup of cocoa and give it a watch.
Swag Sunday: Band Hero for everything Nintendo [update]
Update: We've closed the comments and will contact a winner this week. Check the email tied to your commenter name, folks! For this week's not-quite-the-holidays-yet giveaway, we've got a Band Hero prize pack for the Nintendo Wii and DS lined up for one lucky winner. That's right! Not just Band Hero for your silly old home console, but also for your handheld (that is, unless you have a Nintendo DSi or XXL -- sorry!). Prepare to be embraced by friends and relatives as a genuine American (or Canadian, excluding Quebec) hero while playing along to your favorite Taylor Swift song. In honor of last night's Video Game Awards (and the subsequent flood of news and trailers), we're asking you to tell us what your favorite trailer or news was from the World Premiere-stravaganza. We'll pick one winner at random this week, so as always, be sure to keep an eye on the inbox! Leave a comment telling us what your favorite trailer or news was from last night's World Premiere-stravaganza (the VGAs). You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- likely because of The Kids in the Hall). Limit 1 entry per person per day This entry period ends at 7:31PM ET on Monday, December 13 At that time, we'll randomly select one winner to receive one copy of Band Hero for Nintendo DS ($50 ARV) and one copy of Band Hero for Nintendo Wii ($50 ARV). For a list of complete rules, click here What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. For more info on our policy, click here.
Green Day: Rock Band trailer unveiled, songs will be exportable
One of the least surprising "World Exclusive" reveals during last night's Video Game Awards show was the unveiling of Harmonix's next single-band opus, Green Day: Rock Band. In case you missed out on the late-to-the-party announcement, you can check out the debut trailer after the jump. If you don't feel like watching a streaming video at the moment, we'll summarize: It looks a heck of a lot like when you play those Green Day DLC songs on Rock Band 2. The MTV Games press release that landed in our inbox shortly after the trailer aired contained one particularly interesting piece of news -- unlike The Beatles: Rock Band, all of the tracks in Green Day's outing will be exportable to the core Rock Band games. In addition, all the Green Day DLC released so far for the music platform, as well as the three 21st Century Breakdown tracks that will hit this Tuesday, will be compatible with Green Day: Rock Band. No release date has been given thus far, but the presser specifies that its coming to the Wii, PS3 and 360.
Activision countersues No Doubt, which is likely not feeling 'Hella Good'
Last month, the extremely certain pop-rock outfit No Doubt sued Activision for allowing their likenesses to be used in Band Hero, where players could perform the game's entire catalog of songs as the Stefani-fronted group. According to the complaint, this feature turned the band's appearance in the game into a "virtual karaoke circus act." Earlier this week, The Hollywood Reporter dug up a countersuit filed against the band by Activision, who claimed No Doubt was in breach of a contract between the two parties, and had reaped unjust enrichment as a result. Activision's main response to No Doubt's claim is that that the band requested their likenesses be limited to perform the band's own songs in-game -- however, it made this request "only after the Band Hero programming was finalized." Activision seeks an unspecified amount of damages and interest from the band, as well as court and attorney fees, and a return of all payments dispersed to the band for their initial involvement. Jeez, Activision. Might as well go ahead and ask for the kitchen sink while you're at it. [Via GamePolitics]
Charity XBLA game Chime's gameplay explained in latest trailer
What's the only thing more satisfying than aligning colorful blocks on a rectangular grid while simultaneously recreating pleasant ambient tunes from musical artists such as Moby? Simple -- doing so while simultaneously donating to charity. That's the package that OneBigGame and Zoe Mode will offer on XBLA at some point this winter, when their music/puzzle game Chime lands on the XBLA. Though we've known about this non-profit puzzler for a month now, we've yet to see the title in action. Fortunately, OneBigGame dropped a gameplay demonstration video earlier today, which we've posted above. Yeah, sure, it's got a few aesthetic similarities to Lumines, but considering all the proceeds from the game go to Save the Children and Starlight Children's foundation, we're not going to raise a stink about it. We think saving children is like, the coolest thing you can possibly do.
Standalone DJ Hero controllers now available for $70
If you've been sitting around on your fat stacks of cash, waiting to pick up an extra DJ Hero controller then now is the time, friend. Activision sent along a press release stating that the turntable controllers are now in stock at the Guitar Hero Store for $70 a pop, $40 cheaper than the regular, game-packing bundle. With a weak showing on October's NPD charts and UK retailers slashing prices, we can't say we fully understand Activision's decision to charge so much for the turntables. From our vantage point, it looks like this: if Activision came down on the price a bit, more people would buy a second controller and have their friends try the game. Then, maybe those people would go out and buy their own set-up. Isn't that a novel idea?
Rock Band Unplugged has no more 'planned' weekly DLC
Harmonix has confirmed to Joystiq that Rock Band Unplugged has "run through [its] planned slate" of DLC. Following two weeks of Rock Band Unplugged DLC being absent from our Rock Band Weekly feature, we decided to check in with the developer to see if this was the end of the road for the portable rhythm game's downloadable track support. Harmonix stated it is "very pleased with the performance of the Rock Band Unplugged game on PSP, the Rock Band PSP bundle and PSPgo starter kit" and appreciates Sony's support of the title, which currently has around 100 tracks via disc and DLC combined. The developer states that the DLC team is currently focused on the ambitious "Rock Band Network, weekly console DLC, and unannounced future projects." Harmonix isn't ruling out future Unplugged DLC, as it may be "part of event releases," but it appears that weekly updates are done for now.
