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Rock Band 3 keyboard hands-on (video)
The internet at large has been joking about it long enough -- "hey, where's Keyboard Hero?" Well, here it is, and it's pretty killer. We're on the fence on how to describe our experience with Rock Band 3's not-a-keytar, because in many ways it's reflective of your own thoughts on the rhythm genre and pianos in general. Those with actual musical backgrounds are likely to scoff at the easy mode's use of five arbitrary keys for the tune -- not the groupings you see above, but a different set of colors, one per white note in the right half, with indicators just above the notes on that crevice between the top panel and keys themselves (picture's after the break). Even if the actual song calls for a F# note, hitting a F or even a B might be called for instead. It's a mentality that's as old as the genre, that what we're really doing is pantomiming instruments -- or in the case of drums, just hitting key notes and letting the game fill in the blanks on lower difficulties. This, however, is an actual piano. The over-simplification is probably a necessary illusion in standard mode -- or even when the keyboard is used as a replacement guitar / bass -- but having actual proper keys will probably drive the more musically apt insane. Then again, if you're not of that mindset, none of this will probably bother you at all, so feel free to ignore our impressions and bang away. Pro mode, on the other hand is pretty killer, for all the reasons that standard mode can be irksome. Even at the simplest levels, you're actually getting to play proper notation. Perfect for us, no matter how badly we flubbed up "Crosstown Traffic" on Expert. Sight-reading is a challenge, but nothing worse than actual notation. As we've seen before, the main lane doesn't show all two octaves, but the warning we're given before shifting to the right or left is easy enough to follow, but just like when you first grabbed the plastic axe, expect a good bit of adjustment frustration. See more pics below, and video after the break. Update: Clarification added to the different color groupings used for Pro and Standard mode. %Gallery-95363%
Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster plays both real and virtual guitar... at the same time (video)
As unfair as it is, what initially gave us hesitation about Mad Catz and Squier's Stratocaster Pro guitar controller was that, well, it's Fender's second-tier brand. Despite these prejudices from our youth, Harmonix pretty much sold us on it with one pretty badass trick: the ability to simultaneously play Rock Band 3 on Pro Expert and rock the same tune through an amplifier. Bonus: in the presentation we saw, extra notes and added fills didn't seem to affect score. So, that just about turns the uncanny valley of plastic peripherals on its head. Just make sure you crank your TV's sound system to 11 to not be drowned out from what's likely an even worse screw-up sound. See for yourself in the video after the break (caution: a few naughty words contained within).%Gallery-95362%
Rock Band 3's gear priced: keytar and Pro guitar sport MIDI out, adapter lets you use any keyboard / electronic drum set
Has your head cooled from all that rock news this morning? Nope? Well, we'd hate to rile you up again, but Mad Catz -- now the official provider of all Rock Band 3 equipment -- has priced its latest arsenal for the upcoming rhythm revival title. There's also a few new details on each instrument, so without further ado: Wireless Keyboard: That MIDI port many of you spotted is for output, letting you plug the two-octave (C3 to C5) velocity-sensitive keytar directly into MIDI sequencers for non-gaming use. It'll set you back $80, with an optional stand to be sold separately (no price given) alongside the game's launch. Buying the keyboard / game bundle will be $130, or about $10 off individual purchases. Oh, and if you want to feel a bit more techno, this puppy can be used as the guitar / bass input. MIDI PRO-Adapter: Want to use your own keyboard or electronic drum set? Here's the mediator you need, from MIDI to USB to console, and it sports the D-pad and other necessary gamepad buttons as well as velocity sensitivity adjustment controls. Asking price is $40. Pro Cymbals Expansion kit: three cymbals, apparently rejiggered from RB2's offerings for quieter play and a pre-defined 10 degree angle. It's $40 for this hi-hat, crash, and ride pack. Wireless Fender Mustang Pro Guitar Controller: Not the Squier hybrid we saw, this one actually sports a multitude of buttons for each string, spanning 17 frets (102 buttons in all). Actual strings are used for the plucking and strumming, and here's something interesting -- the axe has a MIDI output for software sequencers. This behemoth is $150, or approximately 1.5 Benjamins in your local currency. Pictures of each instrument -- and the yet-to-be-priced Squier -- in the gallery below, as well as a few screen caps of Pro mode so you can get an idea how exactly it'll "correct you" on proper Bohemian Rhapsody finger picking. %Gallery-94999%
Mad Catz reveals Rock Band peripheral pricing
A press release from Mad Catz has revealed pricing on several of the new Rock Band 3 peripherals -- and also revealed an interesting gameplay quirk about the highest-profile new instrument, the keyboard. The keyboard ($79.99 by itself, $129.99 with a copy of the game) can be used not just to play piano or keyboard tracks, but can also be used to play lead guitar or bass. That adds even more variation to Rock Band 3! The Fender Mustang Pro-Guitar Controller (the one with all the buttons, not the real electric guitar) will retail for $149.99, which means that the Squier Stratocaster is likely to be ... pretty expensive. The Pro Cymbals Expansion Kit, which adds three newly-designed cymbals to the existing drum kit, will be $39.99, as will the MIDI Pro-Adapter for connecting any MIDI keyboard or drum set to your game console. In addition, Mad Catz will announce revised versions of the existing Rock Band instruments soon. Essentially, not only will Rock Band 3 have more options than ever, it'll also have more ways for you to spend a lot of money. %Gallery-94903%
Interview: Harmonix's Daniel Sussman on Rock Band 3's new tune
Rock Band 3 is set to introduce a new instrument -- the keyboard -- to the performance simulation genre, and a new, more complex level of simulation in Pro Mode. At a pre-E3 event, we asked the project lead, Daniel Sussman of Harmonix, to provide us with comfort in these times of frightening music-game flux. Well, mostly we asked him to tell us things about the game. Read on to learn about the new Pro instruments and the new keyboard peripheral, and how those will interact with the Rock Band we know and love. Joystiq: First off, what was the major focus for you guys when you were looking to make Rock Band 3? It seems really ambitious, and it seems like it's less about adding more songs -- that's sort of what Rock Band Network does -- and it seems more like expanding the platform out as far as you can take it. Daniel Sussman, Rock Band 3 project lead: Kind of two main drives: one was to do a ground-up rebuild of the Rock Band platform, and rethink some of the ways that people get in and out of game sessions, and experience the music and the gameplay, and then the other big sort of movement was to innovate with gameplay and try to come up with some new experiences that build on the classic fundamentals of music games and also actual musicianship. %Gallery-94904%
Your new Rock Band 3 instruments revealed
Want to see the keyboard peripheral designed for Rock Band 3? How about the new versions of the guitar and drums you'll be strumming and smashing, respectively? Dip into our gallery for glamor shots of the instruments, including both variations of the Pro guitar -- the ridiculously button-ful Fender Mustang controller, and the Squier Strat that is both a Rock Band controller and a for-real guitar. %Gallery-94903%
Rock Band 3 gets 'Pro' mode, real guitar hybrid controller and keytar revealed -- Devo be praised
Wrap your head around this one: a 150-button guitar peripheral. That's for the pro version of Rock Band 3, whose goal is to actually turn the controllers into something more fitting of actual musicianship in a separate, more advanced "Pro" mode (the core game is still intact for those want it). First up is the aforementioned two-octave keyboard / keytar, whose difficulty goes from pressing within one of five ranges to actual dead-on notes. For drums, the three cymbals can now actually function as separate notes, sharing three lanes but given their own shape to know which to hit. Guitar, however, is a whole new beast. A $150 Fender Mustang pro (pictured up top) boasts 17 frets and 6 strings of accurate placement for a total of 102 buttons, and six nylon strings that must be plucked individually. Of course, if that hits the uncanny valley of plastic peripherals too closely, there's a Rock Band 3 Squier Stratocaster that'll be coming out that can actually be used as a real guitar or a Pro model. Vocal melodies from Beatles Rock Band carry over here. No concrete release date; head on over to new Joystiq for the preview, or if you want to see true trendsetters, watch Devo predict this game all the way from 1982 -- that video's after the break.
Hands-on: Rock Band 3
Yes, there is a keytar peripheral (though in the game, it's just called "keys"). Yes, there is a Rock Band Pro mode, complete with its own 102-button guitar, that's more complicated than anything you've ever seen a plastic instrument do. Yes, a full band now consists of seven different instruments: two guitars, three vocalists (harmonies included, thanks to The Beatles), drums and a keyboard. But all of that stuff already reported by USA Today isn't what makes Rock Band 3 worthy of a plus one to the version number. It's everything else. Harmonix has reimagined their premiere title. They've fixed problems with the game (including the most common problem players have faced), smoothed out the rough edges, and added a ton of little extra features and fun. From the menu screen on, Rock Band 3 is very clearly, as the developers said during a pre-E3 event a few weeks ago, "a clean slate design of Rock Band. Nothing was sacred," they told us. "We decided to build the ultimate music game." %Gallery-94904%
Rock Band 3 keyboard revealed, looks like a keyboard!
We've been wondering how a keyboard would look in the Rock Band universe: a row of colored buttons would make it hardly different than the guitar peripheral, while a real keyboard would... be just as hard to play as a real keyboard. Well, it looks like someone smarter than us has tackled the problem, implementing a Hannah Montana-style "Best of Both Worlds" solution. The keyboard spans two octaves of for-serious white and blacks, but there's a row of colored labels above those keys. How narrowly you're required to hit the "real" key corresponding to the note in the song is based on what difficulty level you choose -- on the easier levels you just have to smash into the correctly colored neighborhood. Oh, and for those hoping to play this keytar-style? the keyboard is designed to work on a lap or strapped over a shoulder. Check out the video below the fold to see it in action.
Mega64 gets the lowdown on Rock Band 3's new logo
Oh, Mega64, is there any code you can't crack? First it was the mysterious Kojima teaser last year and now, the comedy troupe ponders on that mysterious new keyboard-like icon in the Rock Band 3 logo. They even find some similarities between Rock Band 3 and F3AR -- er, sorry, FEAR 3. It's some very high-brow deductive reasoning, as indicated in the classy image above. Head past the break to check out the video courtesy of IGN -- "solved 4 good," indeed.
Gibson's Rock Band lawsuit ends in settlement, one way or another
Back in 2008, Gibson Guitar hoped to cash in on the Rock Band craze with a slate of patent infringement lawsuits of dubious quality, and though the firm lost to Activision a year later, its suits against Harmonix, Electronic Arts, Viacom, and six major retailers stirred something in Nashville's rock gods. Though exact terms weren't disclosed, the parties reached a settlement in a Tennessee federal court this week, and plan to bring the lawsuit to an end by June 14th. Meanwhile, we hear Harmonix v. Konami is meeting a similar end; retailers should be able to sell cheap plastic guitars with a infinitesimally cleaner conscience in a little over three months.
Rock Band Weekly: Ozzy Osbourne six-pack
With all of the downloadable tracks available for Rock Band, it's hard to imagine Ozzy Osbourne hasn't snuck in there somewhere. Sure enough, he hasn't, but don't fret: Ozzy's set to make his Rock Band debut next week with a six-pack of songs, including three from his upcoming studio album, Scream. Rock Band fans gain access to three songs from the album on June 15, in advance of the album's release on June 22. On top of that, fans of Ozzy's classic solo stuff will get three of his older tracks, from three separate albums. Head past the break for the full list.
Gibson and Viacom settle guitar patent lawsuit
The patent suit filed by the Gibson guitar company against Harmonix, Viacom and EA over the Rock Band guitar has come to an end. Rather than the clear victory Harmonix seemed to expect, the parties have agreed to settle. According to Business Week, Gibson and Viacom asked a federal court to dismiss the case by June 14, stating that they "had reached a full settlement." Finally, we can all rock out without being racked by guilt over using a potentially infringing device. Gibson originally claimed that the Rock Band guitar violated a 1999 patent for "a system for electronically simulating participation by a user in a pre-recorded musical performance." Gibson lost a similar case against its old Guitar Hero peripheral partner, Activision, in 2009. [Via Edge]
Review: Green Day: Rock Band
Kerplunk: A Play in One Act Lights up. We're in a mid-size sedan somewhere near the middle of the country where friends Seth and Frank are road-tripping to an annual combination conference and competition for the best air guitarists, air drummers and karaoke singers: The Ruby Bridge Concertition. Seth: [polishing off the last bite of a drive-thru roast beef sandwich] Some guys are just in it to pick up chicks at the bonfire or to meet C-Diddy, but the one thing I really can't wait for? Frank: The Concertition? Seth: Hell yes, The RB Concertition! Hours and hours of every decent air musician on the planet rocking until their air calluses bleed? Don't mind if I do. I always liked it when they did a bunch of different bands, but the all-Beatles thing last year? Ho-lee shit, that made a believer outta me. Frank: Dude, didn't I tell you? I saw a rehearsal for this year's show! If you thought The Beatles thing was sick, wait until you see what they've got this year. All night and all morning you're going to be feasting your fingers on the one ... the only – Seth: Tell me! Frank: GREEN DAY! Seth: [a long pause] ... What, are you f**king with me? %Gallery-87997%
Rock Band Weekly: Deftones, Boys Like Girls, Crown of Thorns
Even if you don't love Green Day, you'll be able to pick up some new music to play in Rock Band next week, thanks to Harmonix's weekly delivery of DLC. Next week will see the arrival of a three-pack of songs from Deftones, as well as one track each from Boys Like Girls and Crown of Thorns. If you don't like any of those groups ... this is a good week to practice on the songs you already have, we guess. See the full DLC list after the break.
Rock Band Network Affiliates now making sweet, sweet music together
Yesterday, Harmonix and MTV Games launched an initiative called the Rock Band Network Affiliates Program, the goal of which is to further involve bands, music distributors and promoters in the rhythm title's track creation community. In return, prolific Rock Band Network creators will have more opportunities to collaborate with all sorts of elements within the music industry, which might increase the number of tracks that ultimately end up on the platform. In short, it's kind of a win-win for companies and creators. And for us players, too. A win-win-win. Still, couldn't they have come up with a better, more rocking name for the program? We're imagining David Lee Roth shrilly screaming "are you ready for some affiliaaaaaaates," and it's making us very confused.
Rock Band Weekly: Spoon pack, P.O.D.'s 'Alive'
[Flickr: kk+] What's your "spoon face?" Find out next week with the release of the first Spoon pack for Rock Band, featuring a four-track collection of the indie band's more recent songs -- including a pair off this year's album Transference. Also "in store" next Tuesday is P.O.D.'s life anthem, "Alive." Be warned -- the chorus will get stuck in your head. Head past the break for full details.
Rock Band 3 purportedly gaining keytar peripheral, infinite amounts of our love
Look, we've no qualms with keyboards -- Elton John is permanently embedded in our playlists, it'll be the first instrument we teach our robotic children, and it's easily the most underrated part of Justin Bieber's spectacularness. But there's no arguing that having a keytar peripheral is far, far more awesome in the grand scheme of things. According to the same mole on ArsTechnica that has correctly nailed a new PS3 bundle, the PSP go and Xbox 360 price cuts, Rock Band 3 will feature a new keytar peripheral, which will undoubtedly destroy our productivity for an indefinite amount of time. We're also told that Mad Catz will be taking over the production of RB hardware, leaving Harmonix only responsible for touching up the software. There's still no indication of when this mythical device will be hitting your local Game Stop, but it's certainly safe to slide your pre-order alert system to Orange.
Report: Rock Band 3 features keytar, 'Pro' mode
Given that Harmonix already teased the inclusion of a new instrument in Rock Band 3 -- the keyboard -- we almost feel like we've been taken for a ride. That is, if today's report from Ars Technica's mole on the game is correct and the keyboard is actually a keytar. "What?!" you cry. Much like Frankie, we must say, "Relax!" because, well, we're totally on board with the concept. Just think about the possibilities! The Ars report also alleges the addition of a "Pro" mode "that will require proper technique, and may lead to actual skills on guitar and bass." Perhaps that mode will have some tie to the peripherals, which will all be assembled by Mad Catz, apparently, (as hinted at earlier this year); meaning EA would only handle the distribution of game discs. Though Ars' mole has been accurate with rumors in the past, without confirmation from MTV Games, Harmonix, EA, or Mad Catz (yes, we tried -- only MTV Games responded, saying, "We do not comment on rumors or speculation"), this report is still, unfortunately, unconfirmed.
Harmonix teases keyboards for Rock Band 3
Harmonix hasn't been dishing out a ton of Rock Band 3 details lately apart from confirming that it'll be out this holiday season, but it just revealed a big one in the demo for Green Day: Rock Band. If that not so subtle teaser above is any indication, it looks like Rock Band 3 will be adding keyboards to the equation. Nothing more to go on than that at the moment, but we can only assume this also means that Activision will soon be hard at work on Keytar Hero, and that "Axel F" will be stuck in your head starting right.... now.
