Harmonix/MTV/EA Announce Rock Band
Four player ‘jam’ game featuring drum, lead, bass and vocals
So that’s what Harmonix and MTV have been cooking up! The winning triumvirate of inspired music-game designers at Harmonix, the music industry moguls at MTV and the gaming industry behemoth that is Electronic Arts are bringing us what seriously promises to be the ultimate music-creation/rock-god-aping title this Christmas – simply, and ingeniously entitled Rock Band.
Rock Band is pitched as a game in which up to four players – be they in the same room or online together in cyberspace - can jam on drums, lead guitar, bass guitar or vocals.
Of course, our Japanese cousins have already had the option of virtually jamming together on lead guitar, bass and drums with Konami's Guitar Freaks/Drummania series, but Rock Band – due on Xbox 360 and PS3 before the end of the year – is the first time the concept has had vocals, plus the option of jamming online, thrown into the mix.
"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.
USA Today, err, today reports that Rock Band will make use of four unique controllers - two guitars, a drum kit and a microphone. SPOnG eagerly awaits further pricing, details and pics of these awesome-sounding gaming peripherals.
Harmonix’s CEO Alex Rigopulos claims that Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold…. It lets you create a complete collaborative band."
MTV is supplying creative and financial support to Rock Band's development, plus hooking up deals with various music publishers, to ensure the songs in the game are, where possible, provided by the original artists and bands.
"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.
Harmonix’s Rigopulos adds, “We'll be covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between."
Michael ‘ubiquitous analyst’ Pachter from Wedbush Morgan Securities opines that, “Socially interactive musical games will work well, especially if they have a 'party game' aspect to them… Rock Band could definitely expand the game demographics."
Harmonix’s last effort Guitar Hero II – the current pinnacle in the ‘rawk-creation’ genre is out this coming Friday on Xbox 360. SPOnG will be turning it up to eleven and rocking out as soon as we get hold of a copy later this week, when we’ll be sure to bring you our full review.
Apparently Guitar Hero II also has the option of a sound effects pedal add-on, according to what the nice PR lady just informed us this morning- full update on this very shortly. Stay tuned.
Rock Band is pitched as a game in which up to four players – be they in the same room or online together in cyberspace - can jam on drums, lead guitar, bass guitar or vocals.
Of course, our Japanese cousins have already had the option of virtually jamming together on lead guitar, bass and drums with Konami's Guitar Freaks/Drummania series, but Rock Band – due on Xbox 360 and PS3 before the end of the year – is the first time the concept has had vocals, plus the option of jamming online, thrown into the mix.
"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.
USA Today, err, today reports that Rock Band will make use of four unique controllers - two guitars, a drum kit and a microphone. SPOnG eagerly awaits further pricing, details and pics of these awesome-sounding gaming peripherals.
Harmonix’s CEO Alex Rigopulos claims that Rock Band "takes the core premise of Guitar Hero and expands it tenfold…. It lets you create a complete collaborative band."
MTV is supplying creative and financial support to Rock Band's development, plus hooking up deals with various music publishers, to ensure the songs in the game are, where possible, provided by the original artists and bands.
"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.
Harmonix’s Rigopulos adds, “We'll be covering a great breadth, from metal to classic rock to Southern rock to everything in between."
Michael ‘ubiquitous analyst’ Pachter from Wedbush Morgan Securities opines that, “Socially interactive musical games will work well, especially if they have a 'party game' aspect to them… Rock Band could definitely expand the game demographics."
Harmonix’s last effort Guitar Hero II – the current pinnacle in the ‘rawk-creation’ genre is out this coming Friday on Xbox 360. SPOnG will be turning it up to eleven and rocking out as soon as we get hold of a copy later this week, when we’ll be sure to bring you our full review.
Apparently Guitar Hero II also has the option of a sound effects pedal add-on, according to what the nice PR lady just informed us this morning- full update on this very shortly. Stay tuned.
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