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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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Engadget

Bands Selling Singles Via Video Games

by Terrence O'Brien, posted May 27th 2008 at 4:26PMBreaking News

Bands Selling Singles Via Video Games
Sales of digital music have yet to make up for staggeringly low CD sales, so artists have been getting creative about distribution. First it was ring tones, and now artists are getting behind a pair of niche marketing vehicles, 'Guitar Hero' and 'Rock Band.'

The games aimed at wannabe rock stars have helped rejuvenate the careers of classic rock acts. Mötley Crüe certainly had this in mind when last month they released their new single, 'Saints of Los Angeles,' to players of 'Rock Band' before other outlets. According to the band's management, the track was downloaded 47,000 times via the Xbox version of the game alone, significantly more than the 10,000 downloads from traditional digital media outlets like iTunes.

Def Leppard also released a single exclusively through a video game when it packaged 'Nine Lives' with two catalog tracks as a downloadable bundle for 'Guitar Hero.' But 'Rock Band' isn't only lucrative for older, established acts. It's proven capable of breaking new bands like Black Tide, whose single 'Shockwave' saw its sales figures spike after being a featured download for 'Rock Band.' [Source: Reuters]
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Engadget

Rock Band Stage Kit Comes with Smoke Machine and Strobe Light

by Nilay Patel, posted May 27th 2008 at 10:40AM

GameStop leaked the existence of the $100 Rock Band Stage Kit back in January, and it's updated the listing with the first pictures we've seen of the included smoke machine and strobe light. The smoke machine looks fairly ordinary, but the light features controls so Rock Band vocalists can apparently blind themselves while making selections. The kit's listed with a ship date of August 15, but who knows if that's accurate -- and considering you can pick up a real fogger and strobe light sufficient to glam out your living room for all of $50, we're not exactly waiting on pins and needles.

[Via Xbox 360 Fanboy]
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Engadget

'Guitar Hero' to Get Drums, Vocals, and Downloadable Songs

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Apr 24th 2008 at 7:10AMBreaking News



Sure people were excited to see Slash in 'Guitar Hero III,' but 'Rock Band' stole Activision's thunder when it debuted with tons of dowloadable content and additional instruments. But in an interview in Conde Nast Portfolio, Activision CEO, Bobby Kotick, revealed that Rock Band wont be alone for long in the drums and microphone as video game accessory market.

Also, this June will see the release of 'Guitar Hero: Aerosmith,' which should usher 'Guitar Hero III' into the downloadable content era. The potential for downloadable tracks is doubly exciting with the pending merger between Activision and Vivendi Universal on the horizon, giving the guitar game series access to the stable of labels and acts under the Universal Music Group banner. [Source: Joystiq]
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Engadget

Gibson Sues 'Rock Band' Creators, Wal-Mart, and Other Retailers

by Thomas Houston , posted Mar 21st 2008 at 5:52PM



Legendary guitar company Gibson filed a patent-infringement suit against Viacom and Electronic Arts, the makers of 'Guitar Hero,' alleging that 'Rock Band''s unique controller and gameplay are currently covered by a Gibson patent. This news doesn't come as too much of a surprise. Earlier this month, Gibson alerted Activision that its 'Guitar Hero' game infringes on earlier Gibson patents, despite Gibson's licensing deals with 'Guitar Hero.'

Gibson also went on to file suit against retailers Toys 'R' Us, GameStop, Amazon, Wal-Mart and Kmart in order to halt sales of the hugely popular game. 'Rock Band' has been out for about six months now and the 'Guitar Hero' has been around for years, so we're wondering what took Gibson so long.

From Engadget and The Wall Street Journal

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Engadget

Jerry Bruckheimer, MTV To Launch Video Game Studio

by Tim Stevens, posted Dec 19th 2007 at 3:31PM

Bruckheimer Teaming with MTV for Video Game StudioWhile the name Bruckheimer may not inspire much confidence in those who prefer their movies to have deep meanings and thought-provoking storylines, you have to admit that the guy has made some of the greatest action movies of all time. ('Top Gun,' despite all its cheese, ranks up there pretty high on most peoples' lists.) So, it's with mixed thoughts that many will take the news of Bruckheimer forming a video game studio with MTV, a combination that will likely result in some big-budget gaming blockbusters in future years.

The question, of course, is whether the games will be any good.

MTV is spending $500 million on video games in the coming years, with its first big investment being 'Rock Band,' the 'Guitar Hero III' competitor which adds drums and singing into the mix. It's unclear just what Bruckheimer has in store for gamers, except that he says he will not produce games based on his movies.

Ironically enough, Bruckheimer is flipping his rule, though: He's producing a movie based on a game called 'Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time', which is due for release in 2009.

He also says his studio's games won't fit into any existing genres like shooter or role-playing game. Instead, Bruckheimer plans to form new gameplay types and series where none exist today. Lofty goals, indeed.

Will he succeed where other Hollywood to video game crossovers have failed? Time will tell, and while we're not expecting any paradigm shifts in the gaming world to come out of this, a little fresh blood wouldn't hurt.

From Reuters

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Engadget

'I Am 8-Bit' Guitar Straps for 'Rock Band' or 'Guitar Hero'

by Evan Shamoon, posted Dec 12th 2007 at 12:36PM




The folks at I Am 8-Bit (you may remember them from such art shows as this one) and a design company called Couch (great name, eh?) have put their collective pixels together to create some nice Space Invader-inspired guitar straps, particularly for those of you with 'Rock Band' and/or 'Guitar Hero' gee-tars.

The vinyl strap comes in either blue or black, and will set you back $33, or approximately six tickets to see Tesla on its forthcoming reunion tour.

From Couch


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Engadget

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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Engadget

'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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Engadget

'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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Engadget

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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Engadget

After 'Sopranos,' Little Steven Tries Games

by Tom Samiljan, posted Jul 11th 2007 at 7:01PM




Steven Van Zandt, also known as "Little Steven" for his work with Bruce Springsteen's various bands (and, most recently, as Tony's right-hand man "Silvio" on The Sopranos) is getting into video games. Well, music-related video games. The musician-cum-actor-cum-video-game-consultant is chairman of the music committee that's overseeing the tracks to be featured on Rock Band, a highly-anticipated multiple-instrument take on Guitar Hero. In the game, up to five players take up video game controllers in the shape of musical instruments (guitars, bass, drums) and press buttons and sing in time with symbols onscreen (much like Guitar Hero and other music games).

Van Zandt spoke at the E3 press conference for Electronic Arts (EA), the gaming giant that's publishing the title. He also announced some of the tracks and bands that would be featured, all categorized by decade: Black Sabbath, The Who, David Bowie, and the Ramones (the '70s); Rush and Bon Jovi (the '80s); and Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, and Foo Fighters (the '90s).

The game's developer, Harmonix, also announced that new music will be released for download online each week after the game is launched this Fall. The company is going after the music business aggressively, and the music business seems to be responding by offering up an unprecedented number and variety of titles. Besides singles, music on Rock Band will also be released in the form of full albums--in fact, the 'Who's Next' by The Who will be the debut full album release. And Metallica will be offering up its entire catalog.

For a detailed hands-on, check out Joystiq's pre-E3 look at the game.

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