Kotaku: Rhythm Games

No Additional DLC for Green Day: Rock Band

Owen Good — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:30:00 EDT

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Point of clarification: The tracklist for Green Day: Rock Band revealed this weekend included six songs labeled "DLC." These have always been available for Rock Band 2. A producer says there won't be any additional tracks released for this game. More »

Green Day: Rock Band's Full Track List

Owen Good — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 15:00:00 EDT

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Entertainment Weekly was given first dibs on the track list for Green Day: Rock Band and while 27 of the 47 cuts are not a big surprise, you now have the complete picture of what's available June 8. More »

A-Ha! ESRB Outs Lips: I (Heart) the '80s

Owen Good — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 18:30:00 EST

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Yes, yes, simmer down, I know you were all dying for another installment of konsole karaoke. Happily, the ESRB issued another of its fabulous spoiler alerts, letting us know we'll be wailing along with one-hit wonders sometime soon. More »

Activision Narrows Music Focus To Guitar And DJ Hero

Mike Fahey — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:30:00 EST

Having released 25 different rhythm game SKUs in 2009, Activision narrows the focus in 2010, with only a new Guitar Hero and DJ Hero 2 slated for release in 2010. More »

Eminem, Jay-Z Tracks Revealed for DJ Hero Renegade Edition

Owen Good — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 22:00:00 EDT

Activision gave Rolling Stone first dibs on the Renegade Edition tracklist for DJ Hero, featuring 12 cuts each from Jay-Z and Eminem - who recently endorsed the game by saying "the s—t is dope." More »

Guitar Hero CEO: Rhythm Gaming Market Not Saturated

Owen Good — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 15:40:00 EDT

CNBC gives a big free ad to Activision for about a minute, then Daniel Rosensweig, the Guitar Hero CEO, gets down to bidness. He doesn't think rhythm gaming's a saturated market. Less than 20 percent of console-owning households have one. More »

Jimmy Page And Jack White Aren't Fond Of Music Games

Mike Fahey — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:20:00 EDT

During a press conference promoting the documentary It Might Get Loud, legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and The White Stripes' Jack White had some harsh words for music-based video games. More »

What Guitar Hero and Rock Band Can Teach Us

Owen Good — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EDT

Contrary to your assumptions, Guitar Hero and Rock Band are not sneered at by all serious musicians. More »

Battle of the Rock Bands Tonight on SPIKE

Owen Good — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 11:00:00 EDT

Disturbed, Judas Priest and Cheap Trick (pictured) are challenging the top three user bands in the nation tonight on SPIKE TV's "30 Minutes to Midnight," the official countdown show for the launch of Rock Band 2. The three bands challenge the users to play their songs, among the hardest in the game, with other competitive twists. There will also be a guy who can finish a song playing all four instruments at once. If you're one of those people transfixed by watching others play this game really well, you might want to flip over. More »

First DJ Hero Details: Turntable Controller, Mash-Ups, Guitar Co-Op

Brian Crecente — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 17:00:00 EDT

Recent Activision acquisition FreeStyleGames is hard at work on DJ Hero, a music rhythm game that will let gamers scratch to the beat of popular mash-ups with a laptop turntable peripheral, informed sources tell us today. More »

Rethinking Kids' Games: Disney Interactive At E3

Leigh Alexander — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 20:20:00 EDT

What determines whether or not a title is a "kids' game" or not? The simplicity of gameplay? Kid-friendly branding, like licensed TV stars or cartoons? Do you associate kids' games with low quality? More »

Actually, Zubo Is Fun For All Ages

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 16:20:00 EDT

Just last month, Crecente checked out EA's DS rhythm title Zubo, and the verdict of the commenters based on his impressions was that it looks like a "bizarre kids' game." I got to give it a whirl myself yesterday, and I actually find it pretty interesting. More »

Take-Two Ponders Entering The Music Game Genre

Leigh Alexander — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 19:20:00 EDT

Would Take-Two ever consider setting Rockstar loose on the music game genre? Last night, during Take-Two's Q1 financial results call, Board chairman Strauss Zelnick addressed an analyst who asked exactly that, "given Rockstar's nature." I guess he meant, "as rockstars"? More »

iNiS Working On 360 Title

Mike Fahey — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:20:48 EDT

I'm a big fan of rhythm games, so the developer of Elite Beat Agents and Gitaroo Man working on a title for the Xbox 360 is pretty big news to me. In an interview with Gamasutra and Microsoft's Gamefest, iNiS co-founder Keiichi Yano confirms that there is a 360 game in the works.

However, when if there were Xbox 360 games that iNiS itself is in development on, Yano guardedly confirmed: "Yeah. We are currently working on a title. I can't really get into it more than, 'Yes, we're working on something!'" No further details on publisher or genre were available for the game.

Considering the most successful games iNiS has created have been rhythm games, I'm going to go ahead and put my money on another one of those, which would be simply peachy. More »

Ouendan! 2 Available for Pre-Order

fdemarco — Sun, 29 Apr 2007 18:00:00 EDT

Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2, the folow up to the truly awesome Ouendan! is now available for pre-order through PlayAsia.com for $48.90 plus $2.80 shipping. The page has it listed as being available on May 17th and I can hardly contain my excitement. More »

PaRappa Creator Wants Less Violence, More Rhythm, Faster TVs

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 19:20:25 EDT

Masaya Matsuura, creator of the PlayStation rhythm hit PaRappa the Rapper, says the industry should stop focusing on "X-rated" violent fare to attract new gamers to the medium, according to a report from Gamespot. Praising Nintendo's philosophy of attracting non-traditional gamers, Matsuura said at the recent Australian GO3 conference, that "making good games that everybody can play is a very high priority." More »

Rhythm Nation

fdemarco — Sun, 25 Feb 2007 13:00:00 EST

Upon looking over the games I've been playing lately, I realized that quite a number of rhythm games have been creeping their way into my collection. Ouendan!, DDR (I'm trying to shed a few pounds, so sue me), Guitar Hero 1 & 2, Donkey Konga, Space Channel 5. Now, these are definitely not games I play all the time, but I like them because they provide a great counterpoint to the often long winded games I love to play like Twilight Princess and Final Fantasy III. After wandering around the same part of the game map for an hour or two trying to level up, it's somewhat of a relief to take a break and pound out the beats on a couple of Ouendan! songs. They are quick (but not easy!) and can be played for a little while and then put down without fear of forgetting what side quest you were on when you saved last. More »

Wicki! Wicki! DDR for DJ's

Michael McWhertor — Sat, 26 Aug 2006 16:01:34 EDT

We were turned onto Wicki! Wicki! by Mike, a turntable controlled student project game built on Flash, a gutted optical mouse, and old Technics hardware. From one of the games designers, Patrik Berg: More »