www.gamespot.com/news/616...lk=topslot
Q&A: Rockin' out with Rock Band
Harmonix's Alex Rigopulos and EA Partners' David DeMartini talk about Rock Band and why neighborhood parties will soon be centered around a PS3 or Xbox 360.
By Tim Surette, GameSpot
Posted Apr 2, 2007 6:02 am PT
Gamers and music fans alike have been eagerly awaiting the details of Harmonix Music System's next project. Today, the development team behind Guitar Hero announced Rock Band, a PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game that expands on the formula of its monster hit by adding drumming and singing.
With MTV onboard as a partner, Harmonix was able to sign deals with the major forces in the music publishing industry and has access to the master recordings of music from popular artists. Electronics Arts is also involved and will use its global reach to help distribute the game.
GameSpot had a chance to chat with Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos and EA Partners vice president David DeMartini to get more details on this ambitious project.
GameSpot: Alex, please explain Rock Band in your own words.
Alex Rigopulos: Sure. I guess what I would say about it is that Guitar Hero is a game that we made with a tiny budget and a fraction of a year to build it. And we're fortunate enough now to be in a position as part of MTV, where basically we're being given the creative freedom and the resources to really make the huge game that we've wanted to make for years, which is Rock Band.
It's essentially taking the core play premise of Guitar Hero but just expanding it hugely along every axis. We're building it out into a complete band experience, with guitar and bass and drums and singing, including very deep and expansive online game play. Huge recording artists are going to be in the game, including original multitrack master recordings in a lot of cases, which has been amazing.
We've also really just amped out the graphical impact on the next-gen consoles in a way that we're just very fired up about, because we think that this game is going to--in some ways--just fundamentally alter the way that people who play it experience music.
GS: There are going to be three peripherals with the game. How will they ship? Will there be different SKUs?
AR: We haven't made final decisions yet about the SKU configuration.
GS: But there will be three distinctly different peripherals, correct?
AR: Yes, there will be a guitar controller for playing the guitar and the bass parts, a drum peripheral for playing the drum parts, and a microphone for singing.
More at source.
I can see this costing at least $150.
sounds kind of cool though.
Uh... who didn't see this coming?
And I thought the people playing GHII in Wal-Mart looked like morons.
Ha! This is going to take college dorms by storm.
Oh dear god, well I guess I better start saving for this one.
~Tobe
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And I thought the people playing GHII in Wal-Mart looked like morons.
You were just jealous because they were rocking harder than you could possibly fathom.
All I ask is that they include some songs from Prince this time around...
Yes, Harmonix. You bring out a home drum game. Keep tapping that market Bemani is afraid to touch. For the love of God, do it!
Harmonix >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bemani, who've done nothing except put out derivative arcade CRAP for the past decade.
And I thought the people playing GHII in Wal-Mart looked like morons.
You already made it clear enough in the Wii thread that you hate fun. We get it. You don't need to remind us.
LOL @ Cyc
Damn, this looks like fun... I'm still hopin for a Wii version. That or I'll pick up the 360 version when the console price drops... or the PS2 version when used PS2s plummet in price.
Used PS2s DID plummet in price...Gamestop has them for like $30.
Edit: Sorry, Cyc, I forgot I wasn't allowed to have tastes that differ from your own.
Whoa, what? >> I've seen used GC's that cheap, but PS2s?!? SX, If that's the case, I might have an errand for you 
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Sorry, Cyc, I forgot I wasn't allowed to have tastes that differ from your own.
There's "differing opinions" and then there's "good god, it's not just bad taste, the man has NO taste!" Your opinion on Guitar Hero not only sits firmly on the latter side of that equation, it has set up a table, placed a full dinner setting and seems to be content to just chow down on heaping helpings of I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT FUN IS until the end of time, washed down with a steady stream of NEVER PAY ATTENTION TO MY OPINIONS ON GAMING juice.
Put bluntly in response to your snide sarcastic comment, SX: no, your taste is not allowed to differ on this issue.
I just played Guitar Hero II on the 360 back at home... it's confusing at times, but overall good fun. Hard to reach Orange, though, but since I was playing on Medium, eh, I guess it's a non-issue.
No idea what that adds to the discussion, just throwing that out there.
'Kay, if headbanging into the glass case and shouting "WHOOP!" in the middle of Wal-Mart is your idea of fun, may I never, ever meet you in real life.
And Hiro, a local place sells them refurbished for 30-40. o_o Dunno about bigger companies. eBay has them from $25 to $400. Saw one for $159 with EyeToy and 31 games. But, that thing had only 45 minutes left, so it's probably too late now.
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'Kay, if playing hundreds of unoriginal cloned WWII shooters and rambling about planes and guns and other stuff nobody cares about is your idea of fun, may I never, ever meet you in real life.
Fixed ^_____^
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'Kay, if headbanging into the glass case and shouting "WHOOP!" in the middle of Wal-Mart is your idea of fun, may I never, ever meet you in real life.
What, did your monocle fly off comically as you exclaimed "Well I never!" at the audacity of that hooligan for rocking out in the middle of that most civilized of retail establishments, Wal-Mart?
Rule #15 of Guitar Hero: if you're standing still, you aren't rocking hard enough.
If it's too loud, you're too old.
Seriously though, GH is the only game where ALL of us young, old, and inbetween gather around and have a blast. Well that and Wii Sports.
~Tobe
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What, did your monocle fly off comically as you exclaimed "Well I never!" at the audacity of that hooligan for rocking out in the middle of that most civilized of retail establishments, Wal-Mart?
I have no opinion on this argument, but I'm sorry, that mental image just cracked me up for some reason. 
Awesome.
Geo, my cannon is bigger than that. D:
Okay, can anyone else who hates fun keep out of this thread, please?
If you can't be a sun, don't be a fun-hating old geezer bent on destroying anything and everything fun he comes across.
Kthxbai.
But I hate this game so everyone else should! :O
~Tobe
Luke3000 fails for posting a comic that pokes fun at a game a year and a half after its release. VGCats is anything but current nowadays (and usually not funny, either).
Also, there hasn't been any indication that Rock Band will play anything like GH, so your whole attempt was fruitless.
And to not make my whole post just a big jab at somebody, Kotaku says that Queens of the Stone Age has been the first confirmed band for both Rock Band and GHIII. I really enjoyed playing "No One Knows" on the original GH, so it's not a bad first band.
I was a nay-sayer once too. Until, you know, I actually PLAYED the damn game. Fact: I f you beat Thunderhorse on expert every woman you meet afterwards will throw their bra at you.
Which has it advantages and its drawbacks...
You lie.
I beat Thunderhorse on expert and nothing happened =(
Being married can do that to you...
Luke3000 fails for posting a comic that pokes fun at a game a year and a half after its release.
Uh. The 360 version only came out about a month ago, and is getting a lot more hype than the PS2 version. And as far as I'm concerned the 360 version is the only one worth playing.
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Being married can do that to you...
=(
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And as far as I'm concerned the 360 version is the only one worth playing.
You're entitled to your opinion, but that's clearly no 360 controller in Scott's comic.
Go back to bed, Buckley.
GUITAR ANNOUNCED:
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/19/rock-band-guitar-shown-in-latest-gamestop-newsletter/
We knew the Rock Band guitar was going to be based on the Fender Stratocaster and now, thanks to a GameStop newsletter, we get the clear internet-ready picture of what it'll actually look like. The ten button controller (you read that right, check out another pic after the break) has five frets at the top and another five frets of the same color below. Considering we haven't seen the in-game interface, we assume these are for the designated solo sections mentioned in the Game Informer info released last week. The button colors can not be seen from the front, but are viewable from the player's perspective when they're rocking out.
The GameStop blurb also says that the guitar will allow players to manipulate sound through "reverb, flange, wah, delay and more." This thing looks great, but there is still absolutely no word yet on official pricing. It's time to talk cheddar and unless EA/MTV/Harmonix got some insane deals in manufacturing, we're starting to be just a tad concerned about the matter. Let's hope we can put a price on this music soon.
Update: Just to be clear about pricing, it's still up in the air. We contacted Harmonix and were told, "We have not finalized any pricing or packaging details for Rock Band at this point. Any speculation at this point is just that -- speculation."
[Thanks Chris]
That is all I have to say about this game.
Except that with that controller if there are no songs with tapping sections someone will pay.
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Artist's rendition of the mic and the drum set
Fixed; the final models haven't been released yet. Which is good, because a lot of people are complaining that the drums only have four "buttons" instead of five.
Stupid Kotaku =
Yeah. Every other place I've seen that pic posted they make sure to point that out. 
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Eds Note: Keep in mind that Harmonix hasn't finalized these mic/drums designs, and that these are prototypes. The guitar, however, is final.
Now the bastards add it ><
I'll get this and learn to play in expert on preformance mode for audiences =0
I just realized what this game needs to make it epic...
A COWBELL!
I don't care what the guitar looks like (Although I personally do own a strat copy anyway, so awesome), or the drums, or the mic.
Paranoid is confirmed. I'm buying this game, any necessary controllers, and any necessary SYSTEMS for Paranoid.
I'm actually excited for this game. It'll be a blast to play.
First gameplay video, Guns 'N Roses - Welcome to the Jungle:
blog.wired.com/games/2007...-band.html
I was personally hoping for a little bit of a graphical advance to completely separate this franchise from Guitar Hero, and with several months to release it may in fact get a face lift. But even so, it could be sent out looking exactly like this and I would still buy it and be glad.
Viacom is hunting down and destroying all the videos of this. The video in Antipode's link is already poofed.
This is the most awesome game that I'll never be able to play.
How many of us have 3 friends who'd play this...
On a regular enough basis to get good at it?
My guess is, single player mode for training,
Multiplayer mode for RAWK.
