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Rock Band gets Staind, Testament and more DLC
As announced last Friday, four brand new tracks just arrived to the XBLM as part of Rock Band's "working on 500 by the end of 2008" downloadable content library. This week there are no track packs (awww, shucks) but there is some good music from bands like Scars on Broadway, Staind, Testament and an 80 Microsoft point track from The New No 2. Carefully yet swiftly make your way towards the break to get a complete breakdown of this week's Rock Band DLC.
Rock Band DLC: Scars, Staind, Testament and New
Lyrics are definitely NSFW or children's ears.Hmxsean just posted a list of next week's Rock Band downloadable content over on the Rock Band forums and what a variety we're being treated to. A total of four tracks will be making their way to the XBLM on Tuesday, July 29th including music from Scars on Broadway, Staind and Testament each for 160 Microsoft points and an 80 point track from The New No 2. List of upcoming DLC tracks below, Scars on Broadway "They Say" video above and its lyrics make it totally NSFW. It's too good not to embed, but there are a few f-bombs. You've been warned. "They Say" by Scars on Broadway (160) "This is It" by Staind (160) "Electric Crown" by Testament (160) "Yomp" by The New No 2 (80)
Rush fails Rush on Colbert Report
Normally, watching actual musicians play music-based games is pretty cringe inducing. They don't like feeling like they can't play their own songs, and we don't like being reminded that playing Rock Band prepares us for for absolutely nothing other than playing Rock Band 2.But in this backstage footage from The Colbert Report, we're happy to report that Rush does not completely embarrass themselves on "Tom Sawyer," aside from only making it 31 percent through their song. But hey, back in the drug years, we bet Clapton was lucky if he made it through 31 percent of a verse. Nothing to be ashamed of Rush, hold your heads high. Your old, old heads.
NIN and Shinedown become Rock Band DLC
Just as promised, brand new Rock Band downloadable content has just arrived on the XBLM this morning, adding five new tracks to the ever expanding library of DLC downloads. This week, we're being treated to a Nine Inch Nails three pack for 440 points or individually for 160 points apiece, as well as two tracks from Shinedown including the never before released "Junkies For Fame" track each available for 160 points each. You can view a comprehensive and complete list of all of today's new Rock Band DLC after the break. Now bring on the "Capital G"!
Joystiq E3 sticks-on: Ion premium drum set
click to embiggen Last week, a handful of Joystiq crew got to make fools of themselves on the mini-stage before Harmonix's Rock Band Bash featuring The Who. Set up for us on stage was the new Ion premium drum set for RB2. Over the span of the night, we drummed through a handful of songs to get a feel for the set.
Mad Catz shows off line of Rock Band 2 peripherals at E3
We all know that the talent of a musical performer is less important than the instrument through which they channel their rocking energies -- that's why we were pleased as punch to get a look at Mad Catz's impressive line of Rock Band 2 peripherals during E3. Sure, $200 might sound outrageous for a controller, but after viewing their full-sized (and realistically weighted) wireless Stratocaster and Precision Bass guitars, complete with foot pedals for easier "overdrive" activation, the list of things we would rather drop two Benjamins on quickly evaporated.The heavyweight axes will be available Q1 2009, but Engadget got a sneak peek at some of Catz's less publicized periphs, due out this fall. These include M.I.C. ($30), a microphone with built-in buttons from a standard Xbox 360 controller, Portable Drums ($60), which include four flat pads that can be used on any surface, the "Official Cymbals" ($30 for 3 or $15 each), which will plug into three slots on the kit's center console, and the Kick Drum Screen -- though we're not exactly comfortable calling a circular piece of cardboard you apply to the front of your faux drum kit a "peripheral".
Team PlayStation goes Foo on Rock Band 2
Click for high resolution image. Did you make it to the Joystiq post-E3 super party? If not, you'll have missed a ton of swag that we gave away, not to mention seeing your favorite PlayStation-related bloggers and guests rocking out to Rock Band 2. Andrew Yoon, Jem Alexander, the PlayStation Blog's Jeff Rubenstein and Naughty Dog's Arne Meyer made up the Team PlayStation Band. Our song of choice? The Foo Fighters' Everlong. On medium. Yes, we're that awesome.Check out our gallery for more pictures from the session, including some sexy close ups for you to print out and cuddle.From left to right: Jem Alexander, Naughty Dog's Arne Meier, PS Blog's Jeff Rubenstein and Andrew Yoon.%Gallery-28064%
Different release dates for different versions of Rock Band 2
Yesterday we found out we are getting trophies, and today we might have the release dates. If the official online store for Rock Band franchise rockbandstore.com is to be believed, we have two different release dates for Rock Band 2 on our hands. The regular edition with just the game will be out on November 30th, according to the pre-order page. While first time rockers and those who have the dough for another set of plastic instruments will start jammin' away sooner on October 19th. These dates correspond with what we saw on Amazon before, who also has both versions for pre-order, with the Special Edition even-so-slightly cheaper at $10 off. How do you guys feel about this? The Xbox 360 versions will arrive the same day in September. Is this Harmonix's way of making more money off impatient PS3 owners? Though at least we aren't Wii owners, who will have to wait till November 18th to get any version of the game.[Thanks, Wes!][Update: Looks like Amazon has changed it up again since yesterday -- the regular version of the game now has a release date of October 19th as well.]
Thank you, Harmonix, Nyko, Naughty Dog, and you!
When Harmonix throws a party they get The Who to headline that jam; when Joystiq throws a party, we get Harmonix to headline. The generous devs from Boston brought Rock Band 2 to our E3 afterparty in Santa Monica for the 300 plus attendees to prove their mettle. Take Joystiq superband The Blueberry Muffintops who closed off the night with this rendition of Elvis Costello's "Pump It Up" – take note: by this point in the night, we'd already blown out the setup's speaker. Rawk!So really, our heartfelt thanks to Harmonix for making everyone's night. But we'd also like to thank Nyko for the peripherals, Naughty Dog for the great signed stuff, and of course Mahalo.com for the super generous use of their space. Most of all, thanks to everyone that showed up. We put Joystiq together every day for you guys and it was flattering, and humbling, to see everyone turn out today. This one's for you (hit play now!). Love, JoystiqPS: If you've got any pics, please add them to our Flickr group page.
Mad Catz Rock Band 2 cymbals, portable drums, premium mic, and more: spy shots galore
We promise this is the last Rock Band 2 post of the day (okay, maybe hour), but we were just pulled aside at E3 to peep some less-than over-the-radar product sheets for some upcoming Mad Catz accessories. First off, the Premium M.I.C. ($50) is said to have "studio quality" sound all the while including control buttons -- something we didn't realize was missing from the original Rock Band mic until we thought about it. Then we spotted the Portable Drums ($60), which is great news for those of you who excel at drums but like to play Rock Band on the road. They can be used on any surface and even come with foldable drum sticks. Next up, the Official Cymbals ($30 for a pack of 3 or $15 each) for the new Rock Band 2 drum kit are coming from Mad Catz. Remember those three 1/8-inch plugs on the back of the drum kit head? Yeah, these plug into those. Finally, the Kick Drum Screen doesn't really do much, but it certainly will make you look like a pseudo-real drummer (depending on the angle). Mad Catz says all of these random accessories will hit store shelves this fall. Oh, and apologies for the image quality -- these were literally taken in the corner of a crowded room with maybe two seconds of view time per page.%Gallery-27964%
Live shots of Mad Catz's full-size Rock Band 2 Fender Stratocaster and Precision Bass controllers
While we love Rock Band 2 as much as the next guy, playing that miniaturized plastic controller will forever look a little dorky (or just make us look like giant men, which is kind of cool). Nothing wrong with looking dorky -- heck, we make a living of it -- but Mad Catz's new full-size Stratocaster and Precision Bass controllers for Rock Band 2 are bringing the cool back. They're exactly what you think they are: actual Fender Squire axes turned into Rock Band 2 controllers, with the size, heft, and weight you'd expect from dad's electric guitar. Of special note was the Precision Bass controller, which has a dual flipper and thumb rest to allow fast pickers to do their thing Entwistle-style. They are also wireless, will come with a foot pedal for overdrive, and the guitar controller will have a whammy bar, of course. Unfortunately, Mad Katz didn't add the optical sensor for display calibration, but we'll forgive them for now. Look for these for $199 in Q1 2009 for both Xbox 360 and PS3. We caught them live at E3, and they look as impressive as they sound. Peep the gallery below if you dare.%Gallery-27952%
Rock Band 2 will support PS3 Trophies
Although Rock Band 2 is coming out on Xbox 360 before PS3, Harmonix isn't neglecting PS3 owners. They note that Microsoft "helped us out massively by coming in, helping us to complete features and have given us great marketing support." We wonder if "marketing support" means "money?" Regardless, it appears Sony didn't offer the same "support" as Microsoft.There are still a number of features that Rock Band 2 will support on PS3 that wasn't found on the original Rock Band release. Dan Teasdale from Harmonix told Videogamer.com, "You're going to have voice chat, you're going to have complete integration with rockband.com, you're going to have trophies. We're going to make sure that PS3 gamers have just as great an experience."
Harmonix: No Freezepop in RB2, maybe in the DLC
Bad news for Freezepop fans (like us here at Joystiq) -- the synthpop trio, of which Kasson Crooker, Senior Producer at Rock Band creators Harmonix, is a member, does not have a song in their latest game, Rock Band 2. And that's a shame -- they've had a new song on the disc in every Harmonix game since FreQuency (including Phase, their iPod game), which makes this the first Harmonix game without a new Freezepop tune.Shocked at this revelation, we confronted Harmonix at the Rock Band event this evening, and they confirmed that yes, there is no Freezepop song on the disc in RB2. The reason given to us was that Freezepop hasn't recorded any new music lately, and that they didn't have anything new to put out. But our source at Harmonix did say to look out for some Freezepop DLC -- they may be planning, we were told, a two or three-song downloadable pack of "sweet and cold and fruity and plastic-y" music.There's a rub, though: there is a new Freezepop song in the recently released Guitar Hero: On Tour DS game. Guitar Hero, as you may know, was originally created by Harmonix, but since GH3 has been owned by Activision and developed by Neversoft. Are Liz Enthusiasm and her two compadres jumping ship?Update: Commenter skie reads Liz' livejournal. Apparently the band never got paid for any of their songs in the Harmonix games since Guitar Hero, but they did get paid for the GH:OT appearance. They say they want to open themselves up to as many different fans as possible, and that means showing up in other companies' games.
Overheard@E3: The Who said what?
"We're a Who cover band, we're not nearly as good as all the others." -- The Who guitarist Pete Townshend.The Who, the freakin' WHO, are on stage right now and this is the event of E3 2008. We probably won't be able to liveblog this while we're rockin' out, but check back later for pics of some industry folks off the clock. OK, we're missing the concert ... gotta run. Update: Check out our full gallery here.%Gallery-27916%
Rock Band 2 hands on, live shots, Ion drum kit, first impressions: woot!
If you're jonesing to get your Rock Band 2 on like we are, you'll be all over these new shots of the game's upcoming controllers that we got all grubby on today at E3. First, the new guitars not only look better, but they will include some welcome hardware tweaks. The new axe includes an optical sensor that will make syncing the game to your display a breeze. Rather than go through that annoying tap..tap...tap synchronization scheme, all you'll need to do is hold up your controller to your display and it will figure things out with you based on your screen's refresh rate. In addition, the new guitars have been updated with slicker fret controls that make it easier to slide from one to the other. Meanwhile, the strum bar has been tightened up a bit. No clicking, though -- the guys at Harmonix say no one "dreams of playing a metronome" anyway. A dig at Guitar Hero? Perhaps, but if you're looking for some click feedback from your controller, look elsewhere.%Gallery-27915%
Crank it louder with the official Rock Band 2 website
We mentioned before that Rock Band 2 will allow players to "export most of the Rock Band disc tracks and upgrade them into Rock Band 2 gameplay." Most means not all. So what tracks are excluded? Joystiq got a chance to talk to senior designer Dan Teasdale, who said the final list of importable songs is still up in the air, due to licensing issues. Apparently Harmonix had to re-license all of the tracks from the first Rock Band. Sources are saying the number of songs excluded will probably be around 2 to 3. This is speculated to be caused by the new exclusivity deals with Guitar Hero: World Tour. The official Rock Band 2 website has also been opened. No new information, but there are a couple of IM icons and wallpaper. The website also allows you to pre-order the game on the Xbox 360 on Amazon, but a quick look around also leads a pre-order for the PS3 version, including the Special Edition which includes the instruments. We did notice the Special Edition is has a release date listed as October 19th while the game by itself has it listed as November 30th, but these dates are probably inaccurate. The 360 Special Edition, which already has a confirmed release date of September, also has the release date listed as October here. [Via Joystiq]
Rock Band 2 features no-fail option
Harmonix has made Rock Band 2 much more party-friendly by adding a no-fail option. It's accessible through the Extras menu as an unlockable. Like the name suggests, you can't fail a song when on this mode -- perfect for playing with people who like to stretch themselves too far when playing with friends, or perhaps bars that are hesitant to let people ruin drunken audience singalongs by a tricky bass line. Another, less obvious benefit mentioned in our interview this morning with senior designer Dan Teasdale: People who are unable to use their legs can now play drums.
The Who headlining Rock Band 2 party tonight
Rumors have been flying left and right all day that The Who would be gracing the stage at the Rock Band party tonight. Well, we decided to visit the The Who's website to see if we could glean any clues. Yes, there's a huge clue right there in left hand news feed. "According to REUTERS, The Who are playing a private show at a historic theatre in Los Angeles this evening to help promote the "Rock Band" video game..."It makes a lot of sense, because The Who's Rock Band content just dropped this week, so they should just change that to "according to our official website," but hey, The Who. Live in town to promote Rock Band 2. Now you're talkin' bout my generation. Rock on. Maybe Roger Daltrey isn't so bored by the game anymore. Or maybe all it takes to excite him is the smell of a paycheck.We'll have a full report tonight, or tomorrow, depending on how coherent we are later. If we're lucky, it'll even have video and audio goodies in it.
Rock Band's 'Bandmate' figurines
In the waiting area to see Rock Band 2, Harmonix has a wall-o-merchandise that features products available to purchase related to the game. One particular thing that caught our eye were three 8 - 12" (we didn't have a measuring tape) figurines called "Bandmates." Players will be able to pose their characters from the game on RockBand.com and order themselves the figure. The figures are done by Z Corp and there is currently no price set for the dolls action figures collectible figurine.%Gallery-27875%
Joystiq interviews Rock Band 2's Dan Teasdale
In the madness of E3, we got 10 minutes with Rock Band 2's Senior Designer Dan Teasdale. We rattled off a bunch of questions and jotted down his basic answers. Full quotes? We don't have time for full quotes! Check out the rapid-fire Q&A after the break.
