Posts with tag RockBand
by Ludwig Kietzmann Oct 9th 2007 8:30PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
Yahoo! Games has posted a video preview of this holiday's multi-instrument music extravaganza,
Rock Band, paying special attention to the venues you and your faux band will be tearing up, bringing down and
figuratively destroying. Spread across the cities of Boston, Los Angeles and New York, the initially revealed venues (out of the final 41) are divided into three size groups, with your band's surging popularity pushing you out of small clubs and into large arenas.
In an accompanying interview,
Rock Band's senior artist Peter McDonald explains that the fancy venues provide not only bigger crowds, but also more spectacular stage effects and sophisticated camera work (read: "crazy crane shots"). Have a look for yourself at places like "Heebie Jeebie's," "Empire Square Garden" and "The Snake Pit" by clicking that
Read link.
[Thanks,
Whymog]
by Alexander Sliwinski Oct 9th 2007 11:45AM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
MTV's Multiplayer blog has posted answers to
frequently asked questions regarding the corporate fustercluck (MTV/EA/Harmonix) published rhythm game
Rock Band. We could bother to put the question and the answer, but if y'all can't figure out what the original question was you can hit up
Multiplayer:
- No other hardware combinations have been announced yet beyond the standard (guitar, drum, mic) bundle. And yes, the bass guitar is just a second guitar controller which you probably have lying around ...
- ... because Harmonix will keep an "open platform philosophy" and games will be compatible with third-party controllers "that conform to the various platform controller standards."
- If you're short on guitars but want to play head to head, the online play will be both cooperative and competitive.
- The Xbox 360 gee-tar will come with a USB hub (remember the guitar in the bundle is wired).
- A Wii version has not been announced ... yet.
Now, we don't have insta-access to
Rock Band like MTV's Multiplayer blog, but we can try to get some questions answered too -- we're scrappy like that. So if you have some lingering
Rock Band questions (and there are plenty good ones still left), leave 'em in the comments and we'll try to get some answers. And automatic name calling to the people who ask questions already answered by bullet points above.
by Alexander Sliwinski Sep 28th 2007 3:55PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
It's official folks,
Rock Band will be $170 for Xbox 360 and PS3 and release Nov. 23. A Friday ... wait, Black Friday? Yes, more on that in a second. The PS2 version will release Dec. 10 for $160. Our spidey sense started tingling that something was up when we received info that Amazon was listing
Rock Band for $169 -- a $30 reduction from the $199 they've had listed for months. Turns out that they received the official price today. The bundle includes the game (reg. $60, $50 on PS2), the guitar (reg. $60,
but wired on Xbox 360, wireless is separate and $80), the wired drums (reg. $80), and wired microphone (reg. $30).
Now the big question: What were the powers that be thinking with November 23rd? Nov. 23rd is Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, the high holy "oh my gawd we're going to get trampled when the stores open" day of the year. Can you imagine what it's going to be like trying to pick up your game at retail on that day? Don't know about the rest of you, but if there were ever a time to get your game by mail -- this would be that time!
[Thanks to all those that sent info in]
by Alexander Sliwinski Sep 28th 2007 1:00PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
Update:
All has been revealed.
Earlier this week Amazon.com dropped the ball and freaked a lot of pre-order customers out by sending emails saying
Rock Band was delayed until 2008 --
it wasn't true. Interestingly, in their "oops" letter today to those same pre-order customers Amazon says: "'Rock Band Special Edition' [Video Game], Estimated arrival date: 11/27/2007 - 11/29/2007."
The person we received this info from uses Amazon Prime, which gives faster shipping on items, so those dates should be the week of release. Of course, Amazon already screwed up the
year this week, so what's another week? Most guesstimates have had the release the week of Nov. 20. The official
Rock Band release announcement is expected next week. Still no word yet on
official peripheral pricing though.
Update: After receiving more of these letters, it turns out there are apparently two versions. One with an 11/23 date and another with 11/27 date. We spoke with Amazon.com and they say that there is an algorithm in the system that decides these dates based on location, but because there's no official date yet, these delivery estimates are still subject to change. The difference in date are not related to console platform. Boy it'd be nice to finally get a solid release date.
[Thanks Tim]
by Ross Miller Sep 27th 2007 9:45PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Video, Rhythm
There is something inherently wrong with having R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe's voice paired up with a muscular, long-haired man in a sleeveless t-shirt. It just feels wrong. Regardless, that's exactly what we see in the above video that reveals the band's contribution to EA's upcoming
Rock Band.
IGN also
previews the game, noting that we shouldn't expect as many solo-centric songs as one would find in
Guitar Hero, since the game's focus is on enjoyment for an entire band. That said, IGN assures there will be tracks to appeal the budding (virtual) shredder. We tend to think there are more than enough bands out there -- Mastodon, Minus the Bear, Tool, Neil Diamond, etc. -- where every instrument part is an enjoyable challenge. The article also discusses the Fender Stratocaster-inspired guitar controller and its special effects switch.
Rock Band is
(still) due out sometime in November.
[Via
X3F]
by Alexander Sliwinski Sep 26th 2007 4:40PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360
We'll keep this short and sweet. Amazon sent out notices this morning to customers that
Rock Band had been delayed until late 2008. That is just plain wrong says Harmonix's PR. They have absolutely no idea how it happened, but when they asked Amazon to update their information to correct the error, Amazon then
shifted all Rock Band content to 2008.
Rock Band is still planned for this November with an official release date being announced "very soon."
A representative for Harmonix tells Joystiq, "We have asked Amazon to address this and we'll be coming out November of this year. We've requested they update their information. We have no idea where that date came from." So all those preparing to rock, and especially those that pre-ordered their
Rock Band bundle off Amazon, it looks like everything's gonna be all right.
[Thanks to all those who sent this in]
by Ross Miller Sep 24th 2007 9:15PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Rhythm
FCC employees must have had a lot of fun testing out this one. Though the hipsters might call it
Exhibit VFR822151, to the layman it's the Bluetooth-enabled wireless
Rock Band guitar for the PlayStation 3. Shown on the site are some test reports, pictures of the guitar's innards (ew!) and snippets of the manual.
Somewhat perplexing is the picture of a USB dongle (pictured after the break). Because of the Bluetooth technology, the guitar shouldn't need an intermediary device to connect to the PlayStation 3; however, the user manual included with the FCC exhibit clearly show the dongle as part of the setup process. Perhaps it'll become clearer closer to
Rock Band's holiday launch.
[Via
Engadget]
Continue reading Rock Band wireless PS3 guitar gets FCC'd, mystery dongle discovered
by Alexander Sliwinski Sep 8th 2007 1:11PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
In the latest OXM Podcast, Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos
confirms that the Xbox 360 guitars for
Rock Band are
wired in the bundles. There will be wired and wireless versions available for the Xbox 360, but once again, the
retail bundles will come with a wired guitar. The PS3 guitars are
all wireless. The Xbox 360 bundle will also come with a USB hub for all the peripherals to plug into. On both the Xbox 360 and PS3 version the microphone and drum kit will be wired. Rigopulos says, "The cost of wireless technology on the Microsoft side is higher and to be able to offer those bundles at a price point that would be reasonable for consumers it was necessary ... on the 360 side we are also bundling a hub."
And no, there is no official price yet. It's starting to look like the $20 difference between the Xbox 360 wired and wireless guitar
we reported after receiving an internal Game Crazy memo is holding up. So, that's that, the Xbox 360 bundle of
Rock Band has a wired guitar and you'll get a little hub to plug everything in. Now comes the question if Microsoft will loosen their grip on the cost of licensing the proprietary wireless tech if the PS3 version of
Rock Band sells stronger (comparatively given its lower install base) due to its wireless advantage. In the end, we don't blame Harmonix/EA/MTV for this wired issue -- although it was shady of them to hide it this long -- we're more upset that the consumer is going to get an inferior product due to an obnoxious licensing issue. It's
deja vu all over again.
[Thanks sm0ke]
by Alexander Sliwinski Sep 6th 2007 11:30AM
Filed under: Culture, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360
If you've been looking to get your hands on
Rock Band, here's your
best chance before it launches on ... actually we still have no idea on an official release date. The 24-city tour will start in Vegas on Sept. 9, the weekend of the MTV Video Music Awards. The full list of tour stops can be found after the break.
Big trucks, like the one seen above, will travel the country and allow people to play on a "full stage with lights and sound systems." That's much better than what you'll have in your living room. Further, "any rockers ... who play on the
Rock Band tour bus stage will be captured on tape for consideration by MTV casting directors." Two bands will get picked and be flown to NYC to perform on TRL. The winning group will get to open for a "surprise super group" at the
Rock Band launch concert. We don't fear the Reaper, but we do have concerns of what MTV will do to those people. We can only imagine this equation:
Next +
Dismissed +
Parental Control +
Super Sweet 16 +
Rock Band = ???
Continue reading Rock Band tour dates across US
by Justin McElroy Sep 5th 2007 11:50AM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360
Fresh from the news that
Aerosmith is going to be involved with a new iteration of the
Guitar Hero franchise, jam band kings the Grateful Dead have cast their patchouli-caked lot with the rhythm rival:
Rock Band. The band that's the source of more bloodshot eyes than allergies and swimming pools combined will be giving up 18 tracks for download, including "Truckin'," "Uncle John's Band," "Touch of Grey," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Casey Jones."
It's not yet been confirmed if fans will sell their possessions and begin following you around the country if you download the tracks. We'll keep our fingers crossed.
[Thanks, Copa]
by Jared Rea Aug 30th 2007 2:13PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Interviews, Rhythm
Dance Dance Revolution showed that rhythm titles had a life here in the States, but
Guitar Hero proved they could also become full blown phenomenons. No one could have guessed it at the time, but Harmonix's musical masterpiece quickly became the most culturally significant video game since Master Chief became a household name.
The success was long overdue for Harmonix, having already shown off their rhythmic chops with the PlayStation 2 favorites
Frequency and
Amplitude. Teaming up with Konami, they quickly established their dominance of the microphone on this side of the ocean with
Karaoke Revolution. With 2005's
Guitar Hero, they crafted the perfect blend of boyhood dreams and American rock insanity. The next step was obvious, but how could it possibly be done?
Speaking with Harmonix CEO and co-founder, Alex Rigopulos, we look into the history of the great white hope of rhythm gaming and what goes into creating what, if everything goes according to plan, will be considered one of the greatest rhythm titles of all time. From the challenges of gathering licenses to taking on their own success, this is the story of the next great franchise.
Continue reading Rock Band: The next great franchise (an interview with Harmonix)
by Jared Rea Aug 22nd 2007 2:59PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20071010044607im_/http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.joystiq.com/media/2007/08/rb_trailofthedead.jpg)
In 1999, Konami of Japan unleashed
DrumMania on Japanese arcades and with it, the ability to link the machine together with
GuitarFreaks for session play. This was considered a novel idea at the time, though it wasn't the most affordable setup. The following year, they released a home version of
DrumMania, complete with the appropriate
controller. That is, of course, if you had no intentions of playing the game with any sort of accuracy.
Jump to the present day and not only has
Harmonix solved the problem of session play, but they've also produced a drumming peripheral that challenges the quality of Konami's original arcade beast.
Sticks in hand, we sat down behind Harmonix's latest kit, flipped the difficulty to hard and proceeded to lay in like few others have before. If there is any doubt as to the mastery of rhythm wielded by Harmonix,
Rock Band surely squashes it.
Continue reading Joystiq hands-on: Rock Band
by Alexander Sliwinski Aug 15th 2007 3:57PM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Rhythm
According to Red Octane COO Charles Huang "multiple territories ... will not see
Rock Band this Christmas." Now remember, Red Octane makes
Guitar Hero and is the competitor to the Harmonix developed, EA published,
Rock Band. Huang believes Australia and New Zealand are out this year and expects those territories to pay $275
Australian for the game and peripherals.
Speaking with Gamespot AU, he says possible release delays can be attributed to peripheral manufacturing output and that this could reach beyond the Asia-Pacific region. Huang says, "I'm not singling out Australia -- probably it will be multiple territories that will not see
Rock Band this Christmas is my guess." EA Australia won't confirm the information, but GameSpot UK was told by their EA rep, "We don't think [
Rock Band] will be released in Q4."
EA confirmed with Joystiq that
Rock Band is still coming to the US in 2007. Although there is still no announced release date, no confirmed
peripheral price, and we've heard hardly a peep about the game from the corporate side since the
good buzz generated by E3. And we know we were working with "prototype" peripherals that hadn't gone into mass production at E3. We've asked for comment from EA about what's going on with the game and its peripherals. We'll update as soon as we hear back.
Update: EA got back to us and said that "everything is on track to launch the game on time" in the US. They'd also like to clarify that no European or Australian ship dates were ever announced and "at this point everything else is pure speculation." They won't answer specific questions regarding US peripheral supplies, we asked if they can guarantee at least a guitar for every copy of the game, but they do say that they're "working as hard as [they] can to produce as many copies of the game as quickly as [they] can." And finally, in terms of a release date, "We're almost there!
Rock Band will ship this holiday in North America for the PS3 and Xbox 360."
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