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."
TheGamer Writes "Harmonix has proven plenty of times it can make Rock Band work without instruments."
I mean, yeah, but was anyone saying otherwise? The fact is people liked the plastic instruments rather than pressing buttons on a controller. They enjoyed the simulated experience.
"Work"? No, but to be good? It's absolutely necessary. Not having the accessories is like playing a lightgun shooter with an analog stick sure it works, but one experience is completely unique and fun as hell, and other is torture trying to make do playing in a way it was never meant to be played
"trying to make do in a way it was never meant to be played"
I disagree. The accessories were a fun gimmick (and very marketable) but they were added AFTER the genre had been well established with games like Frequency and Amplitude (both also made by Harmonix).
The gameplay formula is different on a controller - there's a focus on switching lanes and contributing to all of the instruments.
Never played Frequency, but Amplitude and Rock Band Blitz were really good. I would love to get more of that kind of game. It's basically a different part of the genre, and stands on its own.
The insurmountable difference in popularity between Amplitude and Rock Band proves my point
Popularity isn't proof of quality. If it was, then Harmonix wouldn't be making music for Fortnite now. lol. Our disagreement wasn't over which one is more popular. Amplitude and Blitz just aren't "torture" to play.
Rock Band 4 and Guitar Hero Live failed to revive their sub-genre, and Rock Band 4 caused Mad Catz to have to file for bankruptcy. Doesn't mean that instrument-based music games are bad.
It does mean that there's too much overhead and risk for anyone to take a gamble on a big budget game that needs instrument accessories now though.
For the genre to thrive, for now, it needs to do so without the instrument accessories. That's just a fact, unfortunately.
VR games like Beat Sabre (a new sub-genre) and traditional music games make more sense and are more viable right now.
*"If quality is always proved by popularity, then Harmonix wouldn't be making music for Fortnite now."
I think CHEAP plastic instruments is THE reason why the instrument-genre ‘died’.
People invested in buying the game AND the peripherals, so the guitar, the dj-set, the drum, whatever, and the experience was absolutely fantastic. Great fun, great music, etc.
But then the instruments would break. A button would stop working, or your hits wouldn’t register, and that kind of hardware failure would end in you not being able to play the game as intended, and thus you not getting the scores you deserve.
So, now you had a great game, but a broken instrument, and nobody is gonna buy a new plastic instrument every 3-6 months in order to keep playing the game.
A solution would have been to release better quality instruments (obviously), at a slightly higher price, so you could have kept the new games coming and the genre alive, but sadly, that didn’t happen.
The only issue I ever had with any of the hardware was the drum pedal on the original rock band set stared to crack in half. The reason I, and other friends I know who played, lost interest is they weren't putting out new tracks that we were interested in anymore. I think earlier this year I looked through the releases for the last 2 years or so, and there was maybe 3 songs I would have bought.
Yeah I had this happen too with my drum controller, I ended up attaching a metal strip to it which fixed it up nicely.
Bust a Groove, Gitaroo Man and Parrapa the Rappa were such good games. Neither needed any extra peripherals
Player 2's long-form feature about kids and video games continues with a look at introducing toddlers to games for the first time.
Music rhythm games dominated the video game market in the mid-2000s. Unfortunately, the genre would fall from grace shortly after finding success.
More like faded away than failed. Failed implies it was new and didnt take off... that is not the case. Rhythm games were hugely popular but the lights dimmed and the show is over.
You would think the current situation would cause a resurgence but im actually seeing more people picking up real instruments and learning to play. My son is one who started out on GH and now he plays real guitar.
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I also got into playing guitar through Guitar Hero and Rock Band. And I know at least three other people who did the same.
Still get Rock Band out a few times a year. I really don't think you can say it failed when they're still bring out DLC every week! They must be making enough money from it to keep the licensing going!
Basically the reason the artist Prince did not want his music on those types of games. As he believed it was better for kids to actually learn to play a real instrument than to play with toys that really did not teach how to read music and how to actually play an instrument correctly.
A lot of music now a days is just done on a sound board and the creator has no real clue if the music was put on a sheet in front of them to play. The term musician has taken on a new meaning in recent times.
I lost interest when they stopped allowing you to use the controller to play with, just couldn't get into playing with the guitar.
Rock band 4 allows controller. Though I just bought RB4 again so I can replay my favorite music rhythm game.
I didn't know that. I haven't played a lot of Rock Band, but have a lot of Guitar Hero, I'll definitely check it out.
Not the sole reason, but over saturation by Activision releasing 5 GH games in one year, charging full price for all of them while only Metallica and GH5 were worth it.
I dont think these games failed at all. People aren't going to keep buying games and peripherals over and over. All songs need to work on either rockband or guitar hero thru updates. Guitar hero live was actually good but rockband with all its songs and same equipment killed it.
I'm sure part of the reason they faded away, at least over the long term, was that you couldn't download them digitally.
Seriously?
How will it work?? Im guessing it only comes with one or 2 instruments at most as Guitar Hero 2 costs $90/£64* on the 360. With one instrument.
For some reason i dont believe this. Im sorry if its true. Nice idea if it is and the multiplayer would be intresting. Cant see it catching on though. The screen in splitplayer will be jam packed and the same with so im guessing no splitscreen meaning no party action meaning no sales? Half the reason people buy these is for a fun get together...doesnt have the same appeal when on your own over LIVE imo.
How would the online element work? Everyone would have the same instruments because they will have all bought the same pack unless they are not instruments-just pads in which case that defeats the point.
If this is true...then it will be interesting to see how this works...and the price.....but i still feel its a late april fool
*Thanks to GameOn for the update on price :)
My god, that will be insanely expensive. Unless they plan to offer separate bundles for each instrument.
i couldnt find it for cheaper than that.
Ill be sticking with guitar hero cos its about to come out and i wont be needind another rythem game.
It'll probably be fun, but all the instruments and equipment to buy seems like it'd cost $130-$150 bucks =(
I think they will sell the game seperated from the controllers.
And then i think you'll be able to use you guitar hero controller for the Lead guitar and the bass. The Karaoke Revolution mic can probably be used for the singing.
So you buy the game, and buy the drum kit or use your guitar hero controller or buy it. The you buddy comes over ans he got the mic, he plugs it in and you go online together. you find to friends on you frindlist and invite them to play. They got the drum kit and another guitar, and you start having some fun.