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Engadget

Konami Sues Harmonix, Viacom, and MTV Over Rock Band

by Nilay Patel, posted Jul 13th 2008 at 10:17AM


Alright, this is getting a little silly. First it was Gibson claiming that Rock Band and Guitar Hero violated a patent covering "simulating a musical performance," and now Konami is suing Harmonix, Viacom, and MTV Game because Rock Band allegedly violates a similar set of patents covering "simulated musical instruments" and "musical rhythm-based matching games."

Filed in good ol' Marshall, the suit seeks the big green in damages and an order preventing the sale of Rock Band's instruments. Interestingly, Gamasutra noticed last year that the fine print on Activision's Guitar Hero homepage says the game is covered by the Konami patents in question, so it appears that Activision's managed to reach a licensing agreement with Konami -- which, if true, doesn't necessarily bode well for Harmonix and company. No one's commenting yet, but we hear Harmonix's lawyers are furiously punching in the old up-up-down-down trying to get this to go away.

Read - Wired article on the lawsuit
Read - Gamasutra article
Read - Konami's complaint (PDF)
Read - Konami patent covering simulated musical instruments (PDF)
Read - Konami patent covering musical arcade machines (PDF)
Read - Konami patent covering musical game machines (PDF)
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Engadget

'Rock Band 2' Out This Fall

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 30th 2008 at 3:28PM


While the original 'Rock Band' is still going strong, Harmonix is already looking towards the next bit of kit that it hopes will be cluttering your place, with it now getting official with Rock Band 2 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

This time around, it seems the Xbox 360 will be getting a jump on things with a launch in September, with the PS3 version set to follow "later in the year." Both of those will, naturally, be coming with all new instruments, including the tasty Fender Stratocaster pictured above, but you will be able to use your current gear if you want to spare the extra clutter and save a few bucks.

What's more, you'll also be able to carry over all your current downloaded content and, as IGN reports, you'll even be able to download and play new tracks on Rock Band 1 once Rock Band 2 is out. Of course, Harmonix is saving most of the details for E3 next month, but you can find a few more tidbits in IGN's interview with Harmonix's Dan Teasdale available at the read link below. [Source: IGN]
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Rock Band (under $250, Gamer)

by Evan Shamoon, posted Nov 17th 2007 at 8:19PM



If you don't already know, now you do: This is the must-have party game of the year. Rock Band takes the Guitar Hero concept (it's made by the folks who created the first two Guitar Heroes, Harmonix), and merges it with Karaoke Revolution and a sophisticated drumming simulation. It comes complete with virtual guitar/bass, drum set, and microphone -- and 58 songs (Blue Öyster Cult's "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", David Bowie's "Suffragette City", and The Who's "Won't Get Fooled Again" to name a few. It's ridiculously fun with four other players -- the $170 version for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 comes with mic, guitar, and drum set peripherals -- and can be even be played online if you don't have enough friends to, you know, form a Rock Band. Welcome to your newest addiction.


From Harmonix
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'Guitar Hero' For Your iPod

by Ryan Rayhill, posted Nov 8th 2007 at 3:40PM

New iPod Music Game for Guitar Hero Geeks


With 'Guitar Hero III' sales posting over $115 in one week and the hype for this month's 'Rock Band' reaching an Axl-esque pitch, it's safe to say that America's hunger for rock n' roll games is damn near insatiable.


So it was a surprising treat earlier this week when Harmonix, developer of 'Guitar Hero', 'Guitar Hero II' and 'Rock Band,' announced that it was releasing a brand new music game for the iPod -- title 'Phase.'

The game is similar to 'Guitar Hero' in the way it is played and only costs $5, but what is most exciting is that the game uses the music you already have on your iPod and converts those tunes into what you see on the screen.


Ever since the original 'Guitar Hero' camer out, fans have longed to not only play the songs that came pre-packaged with the game but also to incorporate whatever songs they wanted into the game's rhythm-based rocking.

The music-recognition software of 'Phase' is nowhere near the depth of a 'Guitar Hero' or 'Rock Band', but Harmonix's 'lil iPod game looks to be the first step towards playing your own selection of tunes on a giant HDTV or, in our case, a crappy Magnavox. Thrilling nonetheless.

'Phase' is available on the iTunes store now.

From Boing Boing Gadgets.

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'Guitar Hero III' Rocks Out to $115 Million Launch

by Tim Stevens, posted Nov 7th 2007 at 4:17PM

'Guitar Hero III' Rocks Out to $115 Million Launch

At this year's Electronics Entertainment Expo, the annual gathering where the global gaming media checks out the hottest games in the pipeline, there was a lot of talk about 'Rock Band' versus 'Guitar Hero III.' Some speculated that the alternative 'Rock Band' would send the aging 'Guitar Hero' franchise back to the club scene. But, after receiving great reviews rocking in $115 million in sales over its first week, it seems 'Guitar Hero' can still hold its own compared to the young guns.

'Rock Band' is developed by former 'Guitar Hero' developers Harmonix, while 'Guitar Hero III' is the first in the series developed by Activision -- this what set up the rivalry. 'Rock Band' adds the ability to jam on the guitar or play drums or sing, which means players can form a full virtual band with friends. This multiplayer aspect is leading many to give it it the nod for winning sim-guitar game this holiday. Meanwhile, others just don't think people are ready to pay $170 for the bundle containing a guitar, drums, and microphone.

We actually think there's room for both games on store shelves, since the same guitars will work in both games.And it's quite possible that most people will prefer the richer graphics and deeper campaign of 'Guitar Hero III' once they get used to it.

Also, when people find out just how uncoordinated they are on the drums, they'll discover there's a reason why there are a lot more guitar players in the world than there are drummers.

From Joystiq

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Grateful Dead Comes to Rock Band Video Game

by Evan Shamoon, posted Sep 6th 2007 at 11:17AM



Now that we live in a world dominated by licensing divisions, nothing is ever freaking sacred. So it's no surprise that MTV and EA will be joining forces with Rhino Entertainment to bring the Grateful Dead to the upcoming megahit video game, 'Rock Band.' The game is essentially a four-person, multiplayer version of the karaoke-esque 'Guitar Hero' that incorporates all the traditional instruments in a typical rock band.

It looks like 18 master recordings will be resurrected from the Dead's back-catalog, and will be made available as digitally distributed files some time after Rock Band's release this holiday season. Among the songs available will be the classic Dead tracks "Truckin'," "Uncle John's Band," "Touch of Grey," "Sugar Magnolia," and "Casey Jones."

Seriously, though, we're excited. There's a big difference between licensing songs to Toyota to hawk its newest SUV, and licensing them to a capable game developer like Harmonix (creators of the superb 'Guitar Hero' and 'Karaoke Revolution' games), which will ultimately allow millions of people to get closer to their favorite music.

(We think.)

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