Rhythm
Latest
Rock Band platform now has over 1,000 songs
A recent press release has informed us that with the release of today's Rock Band 2 DLC pack, Harmonix has met its goal of having over 1,000 songs on the platform before the holidays. According to the presser, these tracks represent the work of 390 musical artists. The rhythm gaming community has downloaded over 60 million songs from the Rock Band Music Store, which Harmonix has kept alive and kicking with new musical additions for 105 consecutive weeks. To put this achievement in chronological terms, we'd estimate that the average length of these songs is, oh, about four minutes. By our calculations, a full playthrough of the Rock Band catalog would take you two days, 18 hours and 40 minutes. Not accounting for the number of times you'll inevitably fail out on "Painkiller," of course. Congratulations, Harmonix, on this rocking accomplishment! Now, get back to work. That Paul Simon track pack isn't going to program itself.
Video: Beatles: Rock Band's 'Sgt. Pepper's' DLC
The Beatles: Rock Band will get a hot DLC injection tomorrow when Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band releases as downloadable content. In preparation for the arrival of these new tracks, MTV has passed along the above trailer which offers a brief sample of new tracks in the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club album mixed together with some found on the disc. In the end, the video saves us all precious time we would've had to use sampling tracks on YouTube and, inevitably, watching Pomplamoose videos.
SingStar developers working to fix bugs introduced in latest patch
Dave Ranyard, the Game Director for SingStar, recently announced a fairly huge patch for the karaoke-infused rhythm title on the European PlayStation Blog. See, it would have to pretty large in order to completely encompass the game's previous patch, which apparently broke a lot of things. The game's last patch, software update 4.20, is apparently capable of deleting purchased songs off the system's hard drive, crashing the game in the middle of those songs or generally corrupting your media files. Fortunately, SingStar v4.30 is currently undergoing QA testing, and is targeted for a December 1 release. Just in time for the holidays, SingStar owners will receive the gift of not having their stuff deleted any more. Or, as we like to call it, the gift that keeps on giving.
iPhone version of Audiosurf put 'on hold' due to music library restrictions
Though the Zune HD-owning community (whose names are Michael, Alan and Michelle) are now able to play the entrancing Audiosurf: Tilt on their beloved media device, iPhone and iPod Touch owners are still forced to go without. Many were hopeful that the iPhone Firmware Update 3.0, which opened up the device's music library to third-party developers, would allow the game's creator, Dylan Fitterer, to bring the game to the popular media player. Unfortunately, in a brief interview with gaming news site Charge Shot, Fitterer explained that the update "didn't bring enough access." We contacted Fitterer to find out exactly what he meant by this -- he explained, "Apps can play songs, but they can't get at a song's bits (needed to analyze it and build a matching rollercoaster + traffic pattern)." He added that there were workarounds -- for instance, a player could upload a song to the App or through a central server, which would create a level for them. However, he said that system felt inconvenient, and that he doesn't "want to put Audiosurf on iPhone until it can really let you ride your music - all of it." There's still a chance the game could end up on an Apple product -- though Fitterer negotiated directly with Microsoft to get his game on the Zune HD platform, the two parties came to no form of exclusivity agreement. "I'm ready for Apple to call," Fitterer joked.
Dhani Harrison: Rock Band 3 will make you better at actual rocking
In a recent interview with the Chicago Tribune, Dhani Harrison, The Beatles: Rock Band contributor (and son of the late, great George Harrison), spoke about his involvement in future iterations of the popular rhythm franchise. "I'm working on Rock Band 3 and making the controllers more real so people can actually learn how to play music while playing the game," Harrison explained toward the end of the interview. "Give me a couple years, it's going to happen." We wish Harrison and the entire Harmonix crew the best of luck in this endeavor, if only so they can finally stymie the infinitely deplorable "why don't you learn how to play a real instrument" contingency. Man, we hate those guys.
Viacom: The Beatles: Rock Band sales strong, overall RB growth slow
Even though John, Paul, George and Ringo have been rocking the disc tray of your favorite console with The Beatles: Rock Band, its expectation-exceeding sales haven't helped boost overall Rock Band sales. Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman told USA Today the "economics of our Rock Band franchise are improving, though not as quickly as we'd like." There's still hope that Rock Band could at least break even or show a small profit, though Viacom CFO Tom Dooley said that will depend entirely on the franchise's performance this holiday season.Despite tanking sales, the music genre still remains one of the best in the industry and The Beatles: Rock Band shows us that the right approach could still determine financial success in the space. Its September debut was very fortuitous and it even managed to best Guitar Hero 5 in the US -- which not only came with a free game, but is also one of the most recognizable brands to the mainstream. Source - USA Today Source - Viacom earnings report
Margaritaville trademarked for video game use
From the second our feet left the comfort of our bed in favor of the harsh, cold ground this morning, we knew it was going to be a terrible day. What we expected were little accumulative annoyances -- stubbed toes, traffic, cold coffee and the like. What we got was a report from supererogatory pointing us to a terror-inducing trademark filing, which permits "Margaritaville" to be used for video game software purposes. As we see it, there's an infinite number of ways that Jimmy Buffett's tropically-tinted tune could manifest itself in video game form: A near-endless RPG: The Quest for the Lost Shaker of Salt A sailing simulator: Son of a Son of a Sailing Simulator A smooth rhythm game, which is sadly what it probably will be A smooth rhythm game/sailing simulator, which ... which might be kind of magical
Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel game tie-in coming in early December
If there's one wonderful thing we can say about movie game trailers, it's that they keep us on top of what's happening with the kids these days. Take for instance Alvin & the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel -- we didn't even know there was a second film coming out! What we can glean from the trailer above is that there will be some form of illicit chipmunk love affair angle to the film that will play into the game's story. Also, it may or may not be music-rhythm game of some form. As you can imagine, we were so entranced by the slurry of colors and sounds that it was hard to discern any clear information. We did discover, however, that the game will be coming to the Nintendo Wii and DS on December 1.
Use a real guitar to play Rock Band 2 AND get punched while doing so!
Normally when people mod real instruments for use in music-rhythm games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, they don't intentionally include the ability for someone else to play along by punching them. For Norway's Morten Skogly, that choice seemed only natural. On his website, you can see a shot-by-shot breakdown of the process necessary to transform something that creates music into something that plays along with music. In fairness, the entire (ridiculously intricate) process leads to the hilarious video you'll find after the break. You see, rather than strum on the strings of his guitar, the punching gloves (punching him, mind you) approximate a strum for him. That means that every time he pushes a note, he gets punched. It's like penance! [Image credit]
Guitar Hero co-founder expects DJ Hero to have slower initial sales
It's rare that we hear anything but doe-eyed optimism from publishers of yet-to-be-released games -- however, Activision's Kai Huang, co-creator of the Guitar Hero franchise, recently voiced some fairly realistic expectations for the upcoming disc-spinning rhythm title, DJ Hero. "We're expecting this to be the type of game that may come out of the gate a little bit slower, but continue to grow over time," Huang explained during a speech at the PLAY Digital Media Conference in Berkeley. Huang mentioned that while overall sales will be bolstered by the Hero part of the game's moniker, the DJ portion may scare potential players off -- causing Activision to focus on in-store demos to push the product on passersby. If we were unenlightened of DJ Hero's existence, we'd probably be snared by the siren call of the demo unit's mash-up of "Hollaback Girl" and "Give it to Me." Curse you, Stefani/James! [Via VG247]
Q? Entertainment: Music licensing, other issues keeping portable Lumines off PSN for now
Lumines was one of the most popular launch titles for the PSP -- but Q? Entertainment's puzzler is notably absent from the PSP Go's initial lineup. Q explained the reason for the non-downloadability succinctly in a Tweet."We would love to bring Lumines/Lumines II to the PSN store," Q's rep said, "but there are complications, music licensing, was published by Namco, etc." However, "That said, we're obviously looking into it. :)" Q went on to single out the songs "Shinin'" and "Lights" as requiring new licenses for digital distribution, and clarified that it would be Bandai Namco's decision to publish the first Lumines on PSN, since it published the game on UMD (in Japan).While the licensed music in Lumines makes it even harder to republish, this is starting to sound really familiar. As Sony's Eric Lempel told us, it's especially difficult for publishers of older PSP games to go to PSN, because licenses will have elapsed, and won't have covered digital distribution in the first place. And Sony isn't requiring third parties to pursue digital distribution, so unless they see significant revenue potential from, say, PSP Go sales, many publishers just won't. That said, it's hard to imagine a PSP without Lumines, and we're confident it'll happen eventually.[Via PSN Stores; thanks, Kassatsu]
Rock Band available on iPhone: the future of simulated rocking is now
The new iPhone adaptation of Rock Band has arrived on the App Store -- thankfully free of tiny instrument attachments or $189 price tags. Although, now that we think about it, the $9.99 EA Mobile is asking for the music game might be the iPhone equivalent!Rock Band may face an uphill battle against reigning iPhone music game champ Tap Tap Revenge, but the Bluetooth-based full band multiplayer and Facebook-enhanced online, as well as the name, provide some advantages.Rock Band "ships" with 20 tracks, with more available in the in-app store. If, you know, $10 isn't enough. And when downloadable tracks are involved, when is it?Rock Band ($9.99)%Gallery-75139%[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Full Band Hero track list, importable songs revealed
If you've been savoring the slow trickle of track list announcements for Activision's tween-oriented rhythm title, Band Hero, your prolonged pleasure is about to come to a satisfying, yet abrupt end. The publisher has revealed all of the songs that will be available on the generically monikered game, and we've posted them -- along with details about compatible DLC and song importing from other Guitar Hero games -- after the jump in the least confusing manner we could possibly conjure. To help in this endeavor, we've even added a table of contents! Man, we're seriously too nice for our own good.
DS/Wii connectivity in Band Hero detailed
If you're the proud papa (or momma) of your very own Wii and DS, then know that Activision's upcoming Band Hero will have some connectivity between the two devices. IGN got a demo of the new Wii game and informs us of some pretty nifty features, namely the DS Party Play option. Building on the social aspect of the rhythm game experience, DS Party Play allows one to use an empty DS to set up and edit custom playlists while folks rock out on the TV and can even produce some trivia for those wanting to exercise their brains along with their voices, fingers and -- whatever it is you tap to play drums in these games. Gamers will even be able to adjust the difficulty of songs on the fly, with each notification popping up on the TV so that everyone knows it was you who picked that Evanescence song. What? They need to know so they can congratulate you for choosing such a great song. We're not being sarcastic at all!
Runnin' Late with the Devil: Guitar Hero Van Halen delayed on PS3
If you have a PS3 and Guitar Hero 5, you might have noticed that, well, you don't have your free copy of Guitar Hero: Van Halen. While copies of the freebie are shipping out for the other systems, all PS3 owners are getting right now is an apologetic email. "Unfortunately, we made a printing error on the package of Guitar Hero Van Halen," the email explains. "Fortunately, we caught and remedied the error prior to sending your disc. Our effort to ensure a completely positive customer experience has resulted in a slight delay in shipping your copy of the game." Activision promises to begin mailing the game out this week. The good news, we suppose, is that everyone affected by this delay has Guitar Hero 5 to play in the meantime. If you're an insider and can tell us what the printing error was, we have to know. Did the title say "Guitar Hero: Van Helen?" Was it rated "E" for "Eddie"? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Activision: Guitar Hero 5 launch 'probably' franchise's best, DLC sales getting 'interesting' [update 2]
If you want to know anything about Guitar Hero, you talk to Dan Rosensweig, CEO of Activision's Guitar Hero division. (Yeah, it has its own division.) Speaking to GI.biz, Rosensweig offered -- rather candidly, we might add -- some insight into the performance of Activision's latest, Guitar Hero 5, and its DLC. While one might assume that a series' strength starts to wane once it gets around to having the number "5" in its title, that's apparently not the case for Guitar Hero. Rosensweig claims that "the public report suggests that we've outsold 2/2.5/3-to-1 over Rock Band ... and we've probably sold more copies of Guitar Hero 5 than any other Guitar Hero game at launch." Sure, that's a pretty big probably, but Guitar Hero 5 is "fun as hell," after all -- and advertising the game with Playboy Bunnies probably didn't hurt sales either. As for DLC, Rosensweig suggests that it's generating a ton of revenue for the franchise -- funny how that happens when you start to stick to a regular release schedule -- as users appear eager to expand their playable music libraries. While Activision doesn't release actual figures, Rosensweig touts that "each month [in DLC sales] is a record versus the previous month, and it's getting to the point of being interesting." Heck, what'll be really interesting is seeing how much of this financial success makes its way into Kotick's bonus for 2009 ...Update 2: Activision has clarified Rosenweig's statements, saying he was, "Speaking only about Europe. The specific public report he is referring to is the September Charttrack data. For the month of September, GH5 outsold The Beatles: Rock Band by nearly 2-to-1 in the U.K." Update: Dan Rosensweig's "2/2.5/3-to-1" sales comparison between Guitar Hero and Rock Band was a bit ambiguous (Europe? North America? Worldwide?), so we've contacted Activision for clarification.
Activision: DJ Hero's 'diversity' key in attracting 'Hero' newcomers
While the Guitar Hero franchise has ensnared many a casual passerby with its infectious mix of rock tunes, Activision senior brand manager Ian McClellan believes that the publisher's next rhythm release, DJ Hero, will draw in people who have yet to become acquainted with musical protagonists. "With the kind of diversity DJ Hero offers, we expect it to appeal to people who may not have yet discovered the Hero franchise," he told MCV. "The key is that the music – which comprises of over 90 mashups that are unique to DJ Hero – is still very accessible." Of course, they're only accessible through a large turntable peripheral, which doesn't seem to offer the same warm reception that a guitar and a Bon Jovi number might. The game's sales performance later this month should be a good indicator of how music lovers -- some of whom have yet to purchase a music game, McClellan believes -- respond to this Hero's cultural shift. In other news: Nepalese GameStops have begun surveying all customers claiming to be unfamiliar with Guitar Hero games. Their responses are to be documented and shared in November's nationwide educational seminar, "How To Avoid an Avalanche."
Report: More Motorhead coming to Rock Band
During an interview with Public Radio International, Harmonix co-founder Eran Egozy spoke about his current musical inspirations and walked listeners through a tour of his offices. While making his way through the cubicles and sacrificial chambers that undoubtedly inhabit the offices that rawk built, the PRI host stumbled upon one employee playing something that sounded a bit familiar -- something that sounded a lot like Mötorhead."I was working on '(We Are) The Road Crew,' which is an upcoming DLC track," the Harmonix employee responded to inquiries about the track. Of course, Lemmy and his pals are no strangers to Rock Band or games in general; Mötorhead is featured in the upcoming Metal Track Pack, frontman Lemmy has been immortalized in Guitar Hero: Metallica and he was almost Eddie Riggs in the upcoming Brütal Legend.[Via Plastic Axe]
Queen, Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright make for a great combo
It's not often we're at a loss for words, but the potent combo of Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," Elite Beat Agents and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney is too much for our feeble little brain to handle. The gameplay looks incredibly punishing and, quite frankly, we wouldn't mind a few of Wright's cases going down like this. Instead of failing to describe this fan-made mash-up any better, we're just going to direct you past the break, then into the comments section where you can heap on some praise of your own. [Thanks LuigiHann!] Source - osu! - Queen - Don't Stop Me Now [Cruisin'] (Storyboard showoff) Source - osu! (Queen - Don't Stop Me Now [Hard ROCK!])
Ten Queen tracks coming to Rock Band later this month
Say it with us, friends, in a high-pitched, sing-song voice: Queen is coming to Rock Band! A rumor we heard in late August claiming Harmonix is planning to bring a slew of Freddie Mercury-voiced tunes to its rhythm platform is true. In the last week of October, the Music Store will be visited by the following tracks: Another One Bites The Dust Crazy Little Thing Called Love One Vision Fat Bottomed Girls I Want It All I Want to Break Free Killer Queen Somebody to Love Tie Your Mother Down Under Pressure We wonder if they'll be available as a collection called "All The Good Ones Except for Bohemian Rhapsody."
