Does anyone else think that the Rock Band franchise has gone too far? I understand that Harmonix is going up against Red Octane, but Lego? Beatles, sure. Metallica, oh yeah. But Lego? I guess.
Oh, I see how Harmonix, MTV, Warner Bros. Interactive and TT Games are angling this version of RB by letting you “Build a Band and Rock the Universe.” Because you couldn’t do that with any other version of Rock Band!
Read More
You might me able to spot The Beatles: Rock Band in this clip if you have access to the Hubble. On Friday, Mr. Paul McCartney took stage at Coachella, and belted out a tune or two. In the background, quite possibly the game that will be all over the place come September
If you’re planning on picking up The Beatles: Rock Band full band kit when it hits the shelves on September 9th, clear some space in your rumpus room, boyo. The $249 kit will include the following:
Not content to let Guitar Hero: Metallica hog all the double-bass glory, you’ll soon be able to add a second kick pedal to your Rock Band setup. The recently-announced “Universal Rock Band Replacement Kick Pedal” from accessory maker PDP is available for pre-order on Amazon for shipment June 1st.
Harmonix just announced that RBU for the PSP is launching on June 9 in both North America and Europe. I’m not entirely sure what they mean by my hands being the peripherals, but my tendinitis is already acting up. Like the console versions, Rock Band Unplugged will have World Tour, Band Survival and Warm Up modes along with character creator. It’s also going to feature over 40 masters that includes nine exclusive tracks for the PSP. But how’s all that going to work, you ask?
I have no idea why the world needs a LEGO version of Rock Band and what we could all expect in terms of a track list for the game, but apparently LEGO Rock Band is coming this year.
Here’s one way to increase sales of a dumb game. Oh, I’m sure Lips is a fine game for wannabe singers, but it’s not for me. Today, Microsoft announced that the wireless mics that come with Lips will be compatible with Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: Metallica. Support for RB2 won’t happen until the Summer, but the Lips mic works with GHM now. Microsoft promises additional compatibility with other games later this year.
If you refuse to take up real instruments but insist on showing your love for Guitar Hero or Rock Band AND you have to wear a nice suit or a tuxedo more than two or three times each year, might I suggest these $50 Guitar Video Game Cufflinks?
Suddenly we will all turn into real rockstars when we get our hands on the Headliner Real Digital Guitar. Coming soon, it can be used as a standard electric guitar and as a controller for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band. At a projected price of $250, I can’t imagine real guitarists would be anticipating this thing’s arrival. Maybe Guitar Hero/Rock Band fanatics with money and time to spare will pick this up.
Greg and I got a chance to flail about on ION’s premium Rock Band drum set in the final hours of CES. Greg played Bad Reputation as though he’d been secretly having an affair with Joan Jett for years and I paid homage to my home city of Boston by tearing through Where’d You Go? by the Bosstones.
Long day at work? Rock Band in a truck. Pre-wedding jitters? Rock Band in a truck. Hanging out in a big open field before a Phish concert? Rock Band in a truck + grilled cheese sandwiches.
Want to get people to your CES booth? Rock Band in a truck.
CES was alive that day, my friends. The show-goers were itching for something new, something more, something raw. Enough gadgets, enough booths, enough walking. What we all needed was some good, old-fashioned rock and/or roll.
I wanna rock and roll all nite and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all nite and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all nite and party every day
I wanna rock and roll all nite and party every day
Rock Band 2 has been available for ages on the PS3 and Xbox 360, but the Wii version has yet seen a retail shelf. According to the Harmonix website though, that will change on December 18, 2008. So hopefully, within a few days, you can get your fantasy rock’n on the Wii, but we’ll believe it when we peep the box at Wal-Mart.
We want to apologise for the delay in getting RB2 onto the Wii and to reaffirm that we believe that Wii is an amazing and unique fit for Rock Band 2, and one that we care deeply about getting right.
Those are awful humble words, but still, where the hell is the Rock Band 2 for the Wii!
Activision may have a slight problem on its hands what with Guitar Hero: World Tour not selling too well. The latest numbers, as one analyst from Electronic Entertainment Design and Research has interpreted for us, suggest that Guitar Hero sales may have peaked. (Please note the distinction between Guitar Hero and “music games;” no one is saying that music games are dead.)
This is the bad news, as articulated by the analyst:
Currently, we expect unit sales to decline by more than 50 percent series-over-series for November. This is coming off the October month where series-over-series units declined by more than 60 percent.
A couple reasons for this, maybe. (Who knows for real, in other words.) One is that Rock Band 2 has been reviewed more favorably than GH:WT, suggesting that it’s the better game. (Doug essentially says the same thing in his comparison between the two.) When forced to chose between the two (“you can only have one game this year for Christmas, son, seeing as though mommy and daddy are out of work now”), the rational person is going to pick the better game. Let’s not forget that many stores were selling Guitar Hero 3 cheaply on Black Friday, which could have eaten into GH:WT’s sales. It could also be that GH fans put a premium on guitar play rather than the whole “we’re a fake band, together!” camaraderie of GH:WT.
Short Version: As music games go, both Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour are impressive, fun, and either would make a great addition to any gamer’s lineup. But which one is best for you?
Could it be the flugelhorn?
Official XBOX Magazine found that the orange input on the Rock Band 2 drum set is not an input for a second kick pedal as was previously thought. Harmonix have yet to release information about the functionality of the input but state that the functionality, and details for double-kick will be revealed.
This could be the final unveiling of the rumored and much anticipated keyboard or just another drum set accessory.
My thoughts on Rock Band/Guitar Hero accessories haven’t changed and I doubt they ever will, but Nyko’s Metal Pedal looks bitchin. Or course, my affinity for anything with skulls may be clouding my judgement, but a ‘heavy-duty’ replacement pedal that works for all Rock Band and Guitar Hero titles across all platforms might actually be worth $20. Besides the skull graphics, the Metal Pedal is actually constructed with metal plates and appears to be more durable than the drum pedals that ship with RB/GH.
It won’t be available until after CES, but we’ll get a first look at them in Las Vegas and let you know if it’s worth it.
Spot on, as usual. Well, except for the all the bibbly-babbly about Australia residents not getting Rock Band soon enough. Everyone knows that Australia isn’t somewhere you live – it’s somewhere you fly to every few years for snorkeling and koala petting.
(Man, I miss Australia.)
