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Rock Band Reloaded out now on App Store, Puzzle Quest 2 out soon
Two big sequels have hit the App Store in the past day or so -- as the holidays are here, more big name titles will be forthcoming for sure. First up, EA has released Rock Band Reloaded, a new version of the popular Rock Band music game series for iOS. This one plays generally the same as the first game as you have to tap certain notes on the screen as they slide down the board, but there are quite a few new options, including new songs (15 now, more free tracks coming soon, and more available via in-app purchase) and a new vocal mode that allows you to sing into the iPhone's microphone. The game is also updated for Retina Display, and it has awards and achievements to earn, though strangely, EA hasn't embraced Game Center quite yet. The iPhone version is $4.99, and the iPad HD version is $9.99. And Namco should have Puzzle Quest 2 on the App Store, though at the moment I can't find it out there. The puzzler/RPG title is terrific (I really enjoyed it on Xbox Live Arcade), and it looks like Namco has decided to go with a full release for $9.99 rather than going episodic as they did with the first title. Either way, the game is great -- hopefully it'll be back out on the App Store soon.
TUAW's Daily App: Songatron
You may remember Jonathan Mann as "that guy who wrote that song Steve played at the Apple event," but of course Mr. Mann is a talented and extremely experienced musician and songwriter who's been churning out a song every single day over on his Songatron website. He's released an app with the same name, and of course, he's written a song and made a video, which you can hear and see above, about the app. The app (surprise) also makes songs -- the idea is that it works like Mad Libs, where you put a word in, and then each song in the app plays, inserting your word where it's meant to go. It's kind of kooky, but just like all of Mann's work, there's enough joy and fun put into it that it works -- even if your words don't line up exactly, hearing it all put together is bound to elicit a laugh or two. You can Facebook, Twitter or email songs that get made, and while there are ten songs to choose from right now, the app's description promises five new songs every month (some of those may end up being in-app purchases). Songatron is available as a universal app for US$1.99. And if you're a Mann fan, stay tuned -- we're told that Mr. Mann will be at Macworld, and we're planning to chat with him there. Should be fun.
iTunes song previews will be extended to 90 seconds in US store
Music site Symphonic Distortion reports Apple has sent word that song previews in the US iTunes Store will soon be extended to 90 seconds, up from the 30-second previews the store has featured until now. The only caveat is that songs must be longer than 2 minutes, 30 seconds in order to get a 90-second preview; shorter songs will stay at a 30-second preview. Makes sense. The extension in song preview lengths was reportedly supposed to happen earlier this year, but the complex state of licensing issues in the music industry reportedly held up the process. Either those issues have been resolved, or Apple has decided to play hardball -- the new licensing agreement basically states that by keeping their music on the iTunes Store, labels agree to allow 90-second song previews. Any label that doesn't want 90-second previews of its songs must withdraw its music from the iTunes Store under the new licensing terms ... and since doing so would do serious damage to the bottom line of most music labels, it looks like 90-second song previews are finally here, and hopefully here to stay. [via Mac Rumors]
Extended iTunes song previews delayed, licensing may be to blame
One of the things that was widely rumored to appear but ultimately absent from Apple's music event last week was an extension of song previews on the iTunes Store from their current 30 seconds to 60 or even 90 seconds. According to CNET, we can blame the Byzantine licensing arrangement of the music industry (surprise, surprise). Apple had a deal worked out with Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI), all four major record companies, and a contract with American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) that never limited preview lengths in the first place. Apparently that still wasn't enough to increase preview lengths, because CNET says the National Music Publishers Association objected and basically said, "No, you have to make a deal with us, too." All of which just makes me wonder: how many different licensing associations does this cash cow industry need, anyway? The music industry giants gave up a lot of their power (and money) to Apple in the mid-2000s, and it seems they've learned their lesson. Unfortunately for us users, this obstructionism means we end up losing out on neat features. As CNET notes, the current mini-battle over song previews is likely just a warmup for the headliner bout: Apple's predicted music streaming service. Music industry execs already tried to get Apple to pay "performance fees" for its 30-second song samples; I can imagine Steve Jobs's response to that one was something like maniacal laughter followed by a hearty "No." If Apple does finally manage to get 90-second previews pushed through, it could be a good sign for its music streaming aspirations. [Via MacRumors]
iTunes 10 quick tip: Liking a song in Ping
Here's a quick tip for iTunes that puzzled a few of us this morning: once you've gone ahead and set up Ping in iTunes 10, how do you 'like' a song instead of an album? The albums have those handy thumbs-up buttons, but it's not as obvious for songs. A bit of exploration reveals that the 'Like' command is under the pop-up menu for each song, along with the other song-specific actions like gifting, sharing, wish-list-adding and the 'Other Versions' search. We'll have more iTunes 10 tips and tricks coming right up.
iPod shuffle (2010) first hands-on!
Not much to say here, it's got a click wheel in as few molecules as possible. Pics below! %Gallery-100977%
This is the full 83-track Rock Band 3 setlist
Recording from Gamescom, Harmonix has issued a video response to the alleged Rock Band 3 song list leak from earlier this week. Three members of the studio appear on screen to discredit the -- wait a minute! Is that the entire setlist scrolling in the background? Head past the break for the complete 83-track listing, as seen in Harmonix's tongue-in-cheek reveal.
Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock's song list (so far)
Formerly known as Guitar Hero 6, Warriors of Rock promises the largest on-disc set list so far, with over 90 songs. Here's a look at the list of songs that have been announced to date.
'80s Track Pack available now for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero
As expected, the '80s Track Pack for Guitar Hero 5 and Band Hero is now available for download on all the various consoles, featuring three respectable songs from the decade of New Wave and hair bands. Well, two or three, depending on how you like The Go-Gos. The entire thing is available for 440 on Xbox Live, $5.49 on PSN, or 550 Wii Points, and the individual songs are as follows: "Girls, Girls, Girls" by Motley Crue (160/ $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) "We Got the Beat" by The Go-Go's (160 / $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger (160/ $1.99 / 200 Wii Points) Say what you want about "We Got the Beat," but we won't tolerate hating on the Crue or Night Ranger and, from the looks of those hairstyles above, they won't either. These songs are available now for both games, so get yourself mo-tor-in' on over to the store if you want 'em.
GDC 2010: Hands-on with Superbrothers' Sword and Sorcery
"Superbrothers" is the alias of Craig Adams, a Toronto-based artist who specializes in pixel-based artwork and cinema. He's a big fan of musician Jim Guthrie, and after the two met a while ago (and discovered they were actually fans of each other), he was inspired to create a few music videos of the songs that he heard. Then, a little while back, Adams ran into a few guys from Capy, a game developer (they've made some great puzzle titles like Clash of Heroes for the DS and Critter Crunch for PSN) also from Toronto, and he decided to team up with them to make his first game, and release it on the iPhone. I got to play the game for the first time at GDC, and what I found was an interesting mix of art, music, and gameplay that shows just how amazing a platform like the iPhone can be, both for independent developers and for artists who just want to express themselves (or music they like) in an interactive format. Read on to find out what the game is like, and how it uses the iPhone's assets and Superbrothers' creativity to create a singular experience.
Apple serves up 10 billionth iTune, smiles all the way to the bank
Whether you love it or loathe it, there is now no way to deny the spectacular success of Apple's iTunes Store. The proprietary digital media player, organizer and salesperson has just now recorded its 10 billionth song download, marking a truly unique achievement in the still nascent world of digital distribution. Congratulations to Apple, whose response has been to thank you all for spending so much cash and making El Steve look like the techno pied piper. Hit the source link to find out what the most downloaded songs of "all time" were... you might not be surprised by the top three, but you should definitely be horrified.
Rhythm Racer is big on fun, short on content
Rhythm Racer [iTunes link] is an interesting take on the growing music/rhythm genre, and while it shows some interesting promise, it's currently a little too thin to become a full-fledged obsession. The basic idea is that you're controlling a ship down a track with different colored orbs on it, and as you hit the orbs in sequence, they play music -- basically, it's Guitar Hero where you're driving an accelerometer-controlled spaceship rather than playing a guitar. And that central mechanic of the game is fun -- you move faster the more orbs you hit, there are occasionally ramps to jump off of, and at its best, the game has that "just one more try" feeling that keeps you addicted. The problem? There's only one track to play. The game is free (and the track is good -- it's actually a song by former Nerf Herder Perry Gripp, who's been doing amazing things with his Song of the Week site), but one track? The idea is that, by paying a little more via in-app purchase, you can pick up more to play, but there's still only one other track to pay for right now in the game. It's too bad; while the game is definitely worth the free download, they don't even have in-app purchases for you to follow up with quite yet. Hopefully, that's easily fixed (and hopefully we'll get at least a few more tracks to play through soon). As it is, the game is more sort of a demo -- a demo for what seems like a fun game, but a demo nonetheless.
Robots perform synchronized interpretive dance for the holidays, fill us with cheer
You know what we love? Dancing robots and Christmas tunes. So combining the two and throwing the video up on YouTube would be akin to heaven, right? Well, as you'll see in the amazing video after the break: it doesn't get much better than this. In fact, it might even be enough to clear the "bah humbug" out of us for good.
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.
Three more tunes coming to LittleBigPlanet in Music Pack 1
Is your brain plagued by the infinitely catchy songs in LittleBigPlanet? Do you frequently annoy your friends with your incessant humming of The Go! Team's unofficial LBP theme song? Oh, did we just re-stick in your head? Sorry, we should've thought that out before we laid it on you like that. Maybe all you need to do is add a bit of variation to your LBP soundtrack -- an option which will be made available this Thursday with the release of the "Mm Music Pack 1." The DLC pack will add three original, interactive tracks to the game: "Wise Owl," an ambient electronica song, "Well Trained," a blues-inspired ditty, and "Tea By the Sea," which is undefinable, yet funky. Get a preview of these three tracks in the video after the jump, then decide if they're worth the $2.99 price tag. [Thanks, Chris!]
US SingStore adds Blondie, individual Coldplay tracks
Brace your faces, karaoke fans -- SingStar's US store has added even more content to help you sing the night away. This week the US SingStore has added a Blondie song pack comprised of five hits from the 70s-80s phenom as well as individual Coldplay tracks, originally released together as a package a few months ago.The store is also adding a few international flavors with tracks from (the awesome) Los Delinquentes with fellow Spanish star Bebe and Portugal's ironically named (because he's totally not a giant) Sir Giant. Full track listing can be found after the break.
Activision confirms familiar-looking setlist for Guitar Hero 5
Why, you may be wondering, does the recently finalized setlist for Guitar Hero 5 look familiar? Well, for starters, it looks a heck of a lot like the unofficial track list we compiled earlier this month. Like, a lot. Like, every single track that was on that list is on this one.Yes, the confirmed list of 85 songs (posted after the break) that will be featured in the next installment in Activision's rhythm franchise bears no surprises, except for the fact that it's surprisingly not terrible. Song 2? Elton John? Raconteurs? Double Bowie? Yes, please.
WoW Insider Show Episode 100: Trip down memory lane
We recorded our 100th podcast last Saturday, and it was a doozy. There was so much awesomeness, in fact, that our recording equipment just couldn't handle all of it. But worry not -- below you'll find a kind of a clip show, including all of our looks at the history of the funniest moments in the show (including one moment that we've never before had on the recorded feed), as well as some discussion by our guests John "BigBearButt" Patricelli and Brigwyn (along with Turpster and I) about the Druid and Hunter Q&As last week. We don't have the video coming into iTunes, but just in case you want to see my ugly mug talking, you can watch the archived video over on the Ustream page. Turpster also had video running during the show, but that's what caused most of our lag, and Ustream doesn't record that anyway.The show also includes not one but two different songs we've recorded over the past few years, as well as a short look at what things were like on our very first episode (the very first time Turpster and I were ever on the air together). It's been quite an amazing two years, and thanks again, our listeners, for all your support so far.Enjoy the show -- we'll be back as usual next weekend, to kick off our next 100 shows (and of course BlizzCon is right around the corner: we'll be streaming live from the meetup, and we're planning on doing a special podcast with our staff there every single night after the show, too).Get the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the WoW Insider Show directly in iTunes.[RSS] Add the WoW Insider Show to your RSS aggregator.[MP3] Download the MP3 directly.Listen here on the page:
BlizzCon creative contests open for entries
Attention aspiring artist, songwriters, and machinimators: want to win an awesome Alienware laptop? Sure you do. Well, here's your chance. Blizzard is holding three creative contests at BlizzCon this summer: best fan art, best original song, and best movie using WoW footage (i.e. machinima). Entrants in each category have until July 31 to submit their best work. Various countries and localities around the world are eligible, although not all; this is due to legal issues, and not Blizzard hating Italians and residents of Vermont (which Alex claims are called "Vermites"). For the full rules, see Blizzard's contest page, but the general guidelines for submissions are as follows: Art must be high-res Photoshop files. Movies must be under three minutes and 100 MB, and should be WMVs, AVIs, or MOVs. Music must be either by the entrant or by Blizzard. Songs must be MP3s under 2 minute and 5 MB. Lyrics (if any) should be without profanity, in English, Spanish, French, German, Korean, or Chinese, and if not in English, must come with a written English translation. For second place in each category, Blizzard will be awarding some Razer equipment, and third place will get an unspecified NVIDIA video card. The top two winners in the Movie contest also each get a copy of Adobe CS4, which is pretty sweet. So get creating!
Lyric fetchin' lovin': how to batch fetch lyrics with GimmeSomeTune and Needle Drop
One neat little thing about the iPod and iPhone family of devices is their ability to display lyrics -- supported by all iPod nanos as well as the iPhone/iPod touch, and iPod Classic 5th generation and higher. On the iPhone and iPod touch, lyrics show up when a song is loaded (and can be re-displayed by tapping on the screen while a song is playing); while on the iPod nano, pressing the center button several times while a song is playing will cycle you through to display lyrics. But the real issue isn't so much about displaying lyrics as much as it is obtaining them. PearLyrics was once my tried and true favorite way of getting lyrics, but it passed away some time ago.
