Harmonix announces next game. ROCK BAND!

[SirFozzie]

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2007-04-01-rock-band_N.htm

Congratulations, Harmonix, you just gave me a reason to buy a 360/PS3.

Music games won't be solo gigs anymore
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By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
Guitar Hero was just the opening act. MTV and the developers of that video game have a headliner in the works called Rock Band, which lets four music lovers gig together in person or online.

Expected in stores for the year-end holidays, the Electronic Arts game (no price set) for the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 will be played with four instrument-based video game controllers: two guitars (lead and bass), a drum kit and a microphone.

In the popular game Guitar Hero, players tap color-coded fret keys and strum a guitar-shaped controller in time with scrolling on-screen notes. Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold," says Alex Rigopulos, co-founder of Harmonix, which developed the game and the Karaoke Revolution games. "It lets you create a complete collaborative band."

MTV is supplying creative and financial support to Rock Band's development, as well as helping make deals with various music publishers.

That means Rock Band will have performances by the original artists. In most previous music games, almost every song is done by a cover band. For Rock Band, some labels plan to supply original recordings. "This game offers a meaningful way for labels to participate in a segment of entertainment they, for the most part, have not been able to," MTV's Jeff Yapp says.

The songs on the new game haven't been revealed yet. Current games include the Allman Brothers, Joan Jett, Kansas, Nirvana and Wolfmother. "We'll be covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between," Rigopulos says.

Online connectivity is a key to the game. The developers envision additional songs for online purchase beyond those in the retail version. And players need not be together to jam. "You could have one guitarist in Germany and another one in Texas, a drummer in New York and a singer from somewhere else, and they can play together online," EA's David DeMartini says.

The music game phenomenon continues its crescendo. 2005's Guitar Hero and this year's Guitar Hero II (both for the Sony PlayStation 2) are top sellers, having sold about 3 million copies total, according to The NPD Group. Research firm Interpret says about 6.8 million have played Guitar Hero II.

A version of the game for Microsoft's Xbox 360 is in stores on Tuesday ($90), and Hands-On Mobile today is expected to announce a cellphone version.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter expects music gaming to grow. "Socially interactive musical games will work well, especially if they have a 'party game' aspect to them," he says. Rock Band "could definitely expand the game demographics."

[Groundhog]

I saw this coming not long after playing GH1 for the first time. Too awesome for words.

[Ksyrup]

So who's going to want to get stuck with the karaoke part of the game each time?

[Mustang]

Love Guitar Hero but, this is chalked up in the 'no interest' category for me.

Like the addition of adding a drummer but, I have no interest logging online and hearing someone sing as part of my 'band'. Not to mention, 50% of the time it is going to be someone singing something that has nothing to do with the song, 49.5% of the time it is going to be someone that sucks and .5% of the time is going to be someone that can actually sing.

Although... if you can turn off the singer, that would be a good thing.

[DaddyTorgo]

imma come to your crib and we can rock out foz

[Ksyrup]

"Dude, but you said I could play guitar next time. I'm sick of being the singer!"

[sachmo71]

Going after the Wii party game market...smart dudes over there at Harmonix.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Love Guitar Hero but, this is chalked up in the 'no interest' category for me.

Although... if you can turn off the singer, that would be a good thing.

Agreed, this falls under the KISS method.

Drums? Great.
Guitars? Great.
Keyboard? Would also be great if they added it.

Singing? Ugh.

[Ksyrup]

Well, I'm sure the game fills in whatever parts aren't being played, so even as a 3-piece game, I'm sure this will be a fun time for some. And there must be a fan base for the karaoke stuff, because there are stand-alone karaoke games. I'm just not sure the same people who enjoy rocking out to GH are the ones who also do the karaoke thing.

[SirFozzie]

remember, Harmonix also does the Karaoke Revolution series of games.

[SirFozzie]

and... it's real!

HARMONIX, MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION AND EA ANNOUNCE ROCK BAND - THE ULTIMATE INTERACTIVE MUSIC VIDEOGAME EXPERIENCE

Creators of Guitar HeroTM Franchise Partners with Major Record Labels and Music Publishers for Unprecedented Access to Artist Catalogs and Original Masters for New Game

CAMBRIDGE, MA – April 2, 2007 – Harmonix, developer of the blockbuster Guitar Hero™ franchise, MTV: Music Television, a division of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), and Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) today announced Rock Band, an all-new platform for music fans and gamers to interact with music like never before. Rock Band will allow gamers to perform music from the world’s biggest rock artists with their friends as a virtual band using drum, bass/lead guitar and microphone peripherals, in addition to offering deep online connectivity. Built on unprecedented deals with the world’s biggest record labels and music publishers, the music featured in Rock Band will span all genres of rock and include many of the master recordings from the biggest songs and artists of all time. Rock Band is slated for release on PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft® in holiday 2007.

The leading music publishers - EMI Music Publishing and Warner/Chappell Music - are allowing unrivaled access to their catalogs of incredible songs for use in Rock Band. The record labels - EMI Music, Hollywood Records, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group's Universal Music Enterprises and Warner Music Group's Rhino Entertainment - have agreed to supply master recordings by their artists for use in the game.

“Harmonix was founded to create new ways for everyone to experience the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from playing music. Our work on Guitar Hero was an instrumental step toward that goal,” stated Alex Rigopulos, co-founder and CEO of Harmonix. “But Rock Band is Harmonix’s most ambitious project to date, and it will take music gameplay to an entirely new level. MTV has given us the freedom and the resources to really swing for the fences and make the game we’ve always wanted to make.”

“Our vision for Rock Band is to completely change the way people interact with and enjoy the music they love,” said Jeff Yapp, EVP, MTV Program Enterprises. “By joining forces with EA and the music industry’s largest record labels and publishers, we are striving to create a groundbreaking new platform that allows people to connect with their favorite music and artists in ways they never have before.”

“Rock Band is a revolutionary new way for gamers and music fans to experience music,” said David DeMartini, vice president and general manager of EA Partners. “The team at EA Partners is thrilled to help MTV and Harmonix launch this incredible game on the global stage and get it into the hands of gamers worldwide.”

As previously announced, Electronic Arts will serve as the exclusive distribution and marketing partner for Rock Band, managing distribution for the game in US, Europe and Australia.

For more information on Rock Band and Harmonix Music Systems please visit www.rockbandgame.com and www.harmonixmusic.com.

[Desnudo]

EA...so we can conclusively declare it will be garbage?

[SirFozzie]

Nah, more like it's Harmonix, so we'll know it rocks ;)

Unless it gets seriously delayed (and gets rushed out to meet holiday/quarter deadlines), I think EA distributing it is a positive, not a negative.

[BrianD]

I'll be curious to see how they handle the drums. Will there be multiple drum pads to use, or just a pair of sticks to smack against anything you have handy?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I'll be curious to see how they handle the drums. Will there be multiple drum pads to use, or just a pair of sticks to smack against anything you have handy?

If you think the Wii remote was destructive, just wait until the drumstick peripheral come out for this baby. Emergency room visits will rise 5% nationwide.

[Ksyrup]

Just keep the dude who broke his leg jumping off the couch while playing GH away from the drum kit.

[Shkspr]

So who's going to want to get stuck with the karaoke part of the game each time?

I'll take "Wives and Girlfriends" for $300, Alex.

[PackerFanatic]

I actually like the Karaoke games they have out there, so this is going to be pretty badass...

[cartman]

So who's going to want to get stuck with the karaoke part of the game each time?

PING: Antmeister...

:D

[kingnebwsu]

Harmonix is awesome. The Karaoke Revolution series and, before that, Frequency and Amplitude. Play Amplitude for the PS2 and you'll see that it's the precursor to Guitar Hero.

More music games makes me :D

[cthomer5000]

more Spinal Tap

[Schmidty]

Singing? Ugh.

That's the only part I'd be good at.

[Icy]

I would be interested if the guitar to play was a guitar with real strings and fretboard instead of some colored buttons, never found the fun of this game.

[Ksyrup]

I would be interested if the guitar to play was a guitar with real strings and fretboard instead of some colored buttons, never found the fun of this game.

But then the game wouldn't be fun for the 98% of the target audience who wanted to play but couldn't!

I look at it as rebuilding my hand/eye coordination. That's my excuse, anyway.

[Pumpy Tudors]

I will buy Antmeister an Xbox 360, a subscription to Xbox Live, and this game if he agrees to sing for my "band."

[SirFozzie]

we should do a FOFC band, the Colossal Squid ;)

[Mr. Wednesday]

remember, Harmonix also does the Karaoke Revolution series of games.

Which I've found to be a lot of fun at a party. Particularly when somebody gets booed off the stage. :D

The only real "problem" I have with it is that they expect you to exactly ape the off-note improvisations of the singer, which I found to be extremely difficult with Superstition.

[sterlingice]

I'm really curious how much this is going to cost. They managed to create a game so good that people would pay twice the normal rate but if we start talking, say, $200- that's going to be a ton of people priced out.

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

That 200 dollar price point might not be far off..


Gamespot's "rumor control" article:


Rock Band to jam on Wii? (http://www.gamespot.com/news/show_blog_entry.php?topic_id=25625124)

Source: A reader reporting on a recent focus group surrounding Rock Band packaging and pricing.
http://img.gamespot.com/gamespot/images/2007/news/logos/mtv.gif

What we heard: A GameSpot reader tipped us off this week to a focus group held for Harmonix and MTV's upcoming Rock Band, and the tip contained a number of interesting scraps for those anticipating the game.

First and foremost, the focus group participant said that testers specifically said the game, already announced on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, would be coming to the Wii as well. On top of that, they were told that the game's set list will feature nothing but original artists, and that the drum peripheral (which Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos promised would be "a really impressive piece of hardware") will feature a drum with a kick pedal and real sticks.

There could be some interesting insight in the questions asked of participants during the focus group. The questions generally centered around packaging and pricing, with participants being asked what they thought of a number of prototype packaging designs, as well as different prices for downloadable songs. The reader said that at one point, the group was asked what it thought about a bundle including the game, a wireless guitar, a drum kit, and a microphone being priced at $200. The notion wasn't terribly popular, but it became slightly more appealing to the group when the price was lowered to $175. At $150, the reader said everyone in the group was on board.

It's no surprise that Harmonix is turning to focus-group testing to determine how best to sell Rock Band to the masses. The developer has already indicated that it will be an ambitious enterprise, and an expensive one at that. Guitar Hero showed that people are willing to pay substantially more than the norm for a game under certain circumstances, but Harmonix is still taking a risk. It is going into the same genre and trying to establish a new brand with an unproven game design that looks to hit the intersecting appeal of games like Taiko Drum Master, Karaoke Revolution, and Guitar Hero.

As for the veracity of the source, the reader in question has proven reliable in the past. However, focus groups aren't always run by people deeply involved with the game, and it's possible speculative information was presented to the participants as fact, either unintentionally or to judge the group's reaction to it.

Despite that, this tip seems legit. However, a full Wii version of Rock Band might not arrive alongside the Xbox 360 and PS3 editions of the game. Given the current lack of third-party online games for the Wii, it seems a stretch that Harmonix could have its robust online features in place for a Wii edition this year. Releasing a stripped-down version without online modes would be possible, although it would be curious, given the developer's emphasis on the feature for the Xbox 360 and PS3 editions.

The official story: "We are conducting consumer focus groups for Rock Band but have not finalized any pricing or packaging details. Any speculation at this point is just that--speculation."--Harmonix representative.

Bogus or not bogus?: Not bogus.