First details on the recently announced Rock Band Unplugged from Primotech describe the peripheral-free game as a beat-matching rhythm title that uses the PSP's directional pad and buttons to play along with guitar, bass, drum and vocal tracks.

Like Amplitude and its predecessor Frequency, Rock Band Unplugged tracks will be broken down into "phrases" which the player must beat-match perfectly to score multipliers.

Guess Harmonix and company found a way around Sony's decision to deny us an Amplitude sequel, eh?

Primotech adds that, unlike Amplitude, there will be no online multiplayer mode. Shame about that. Perhaps Harmonix can work it into a future proper PlayStation 3 sequel?

Primotech Exclusive: EA Publishing Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP [Primotech]

Ars Technica interviewed Rigopulos earlier this week, and in the discussion, both noted that Sony owns the IP, but doing up a sequel remains very much on the mind of the Harmonix boss.

"That game is still close to my heart. I love it. I'd love to do a sequel to Amplitude, actually," Rigopulos said, noting that Harmonix commitments to other projects (like the Beatles title) make it "an issue of prioritization."

But "for us, that lingering question of 'what are we going to do about Amplitude' is still very much out there. I would love to come back and do it right for the PlayStation 3, for example."

Ars asked if he'd talked with Sony about such a possibility. "I think they recognize that the environment for that game is different now than it was six years ago when it was first released. I'd love to see us come back to it at some point."

King of Rock: Ars talks to Harmonix CEO Alex Rigopulos [Ars Technica via Joystiq]

Sony just let Harmonix know that they are taking down Amplitude's online server on Monday, Feb. 26... permanently. Yep, after Monday you will no longer be able to go online to play the amazing music PS2 sequel to Frequency.

It's not clear why Sony is axing the game's online support other than it might be part of a routine culling of older games from their servers.

As word hit the unofficial Amp online community, panic ensued, to be quickly quieted by Harmonix's Sean who promised to try to put together some sort of "online reunion/send-off/Irish funeral for the game" on Sunday, the day before the game's online elements start pushing up daisies.

Sean is shooting to kick the game wake off about 7 p.m. EST and he hopes to have a bunch of the Harmonix folks on that night so they can have their collective asses handed to them by fans.

"I think it will be a cool way to see the old girl off."

If you own the game, or can get your hands on it, and have the PS2 online attachment, then make sure to hit up this one last hurrah for a fantastic and under-appreciated online title.

Who knows, maybe this is the first step toward seeing the game reappear on the PS3 through the store or a disc. Brian Crecente

Rigopulos talks about "the part before that", the dark time for Harmonix, when their original rhythm games Frequency and Amplitude were released. Despite great playtester impressions, positive reviews and many design awards, both games sold, in his words, "mouse nuts."

Rigopulos also discussed the the pros and cons the team pondered while debating whether to take on the Guitar Hero project. They were, in hilarious reverse order...

...punctuating that slide with "Fuck yeah, we wanna do Guitar Hero!"

Rigopulos then teased the crowd with talk of their post-Guitar Hero games "We have really big ideas about where we'd like to take this genre next. The projects we have underway are big, gnarly, challenging. And we need to devote all of our resources to these projects." However, he curbed any hope of new product announcements with "Sorry. We're not quite ready to talk about what we've got in the works." Michael McWhertor

Bummer, but I can't say I'm surprised. The two rhythm games, while fun and critically acclaimed, didn't exactly burn up the sales charts. Despite the fact that Harmonix has found great success with their Guitar Hero franchise, they aren't a household name on par with someone like Rockstar or Nintendo who can shift software based on their pedigree. I consider this a personal loss, but one that I'm coming to terms with.

Maybe we'll see a proper sequel hit the PlayStation Store in the future with bitter tasting musical microtransactions.

Sony hates music games: no Traxion or Frequency? [PSP Fanboy]