Kotaku: Rock

Konami Announces "Rock Revolution"

fdemarco — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:20:00 MDT

Seems like everyone is jumping on the music rhythm game bandwagon these days and seeing as Konami was somewhat instrumental in starting the whole genre it makes sense that the would come out with their own answer to Guitar Hero and Rock Band. That answer is Rock Revolution. Rock Revolution is mainly centered around the drumming although there will be guitar and bass available as well. There were no guitars in evidence but they were keen to show off their drum kit which features a total of six drum pads and a pedal. They also made sure to show us how quiet the pads themselves were so we could avoid the problem of "annoying family and neighbors with the constant tapping. I'm sure I have NO idea what they were referring to with that...

The game will be coming out for the PS3, Xbox 360. Wii and the DS with each version having it's own distinct features but all will include a career mode and forty songs to play along with. Oddly, the console versions will not include vocals, but the DS version will. There is no official song list yet, so keep your eyes peeled for more announcements regarding that but I did see a few that were available on the demo which were Blitzkrieg Bop, Detroit Rock city, We're Not Gonna Take It and All The Small Things. There are eight playable characters and various locales ranging from garage to county fair to rock arena. Unfortunately, even though they showed off the drum kit at the presentation, they didn't provide any photos of it so keep an eye for that as well.

Is Rock Revolution going to be a Guitar Hero or Rock Band killer? Probably not, but it will be interesting to see how it actually does in the market. I'm afraid however, that this might be a case of too little too late.

Def Leppard In Guitar Hero 4

Mike Fahey — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 08:20:00 MDT

There is no better pick me up in the world than the opening chords of Def Leppard's "Photograph". See for yourself once Guitar Hero 4. During an interview wit the band on the radio show Rockline, a caller asked why none of their songs were featured in Guitar Hero or Rock Band. Guitarist Phil Collen replied, revealing that at least three of their hits would be featured in GH4, including "Rock of Ages", "Animal", and of course, "Photograph". Personally I was hoping they would show up as downloadable content for Rock Band, but that's only because I lost one of my drumsticks. Oh come on, I had to go there. It was a moral imperative.

Def Leppard Songs to Appear in Guitar Hero 4 [Guitar Hero News]

Does Phase Hint Where Rock Band is Going?

geoff — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 08:00:00 MST

Harmonix is a company all about the music. Don't believe me? Well consider this: When you walk into the men's room at the Cambridge, MA headquarters there's a ghetto blaster on the floor so you can listen to tunes while you do your business.

We're all eagerly anticipating Rock Band, but yesterday morning Harmonix delivered one more thing: A surprise iPod music game called Phase. So I jumped on the phone with lead producer Kasson Crooker, who told me about whether Steve Jobs has played it, if we can expect an iPhone version, and, most interesting of all, whether the beat-detecting technology in Phase could soon be applied to a game like Rock Band.

Kasson: We have soundtracks, downloadable content, and this is the next step: re-experiencing your own music in a game. We wouldn't be able to separate out all the instruments and what not, but I think you'll see this kind of technology used in other Harmonix products down the road.

Read the full interview with Kasson after the jump.

Geoff: Hey Kasson, thanks for taking the time to chat. How did this project come about?

Kasson: In the past all our games have forced you to play with a certain set of songs. We've always wanted to do something that would let you pick what kind of music you want to interact with and go from there. Of course the challenge is to come up with technology to analyze a user's songs and turn them into an actual game. About 18 months ago we started working on that technology to look for events in songs, pick up the tempo, the rhythm, and turn all of it into something fun on the fly. We started prototyping based off that technology with no idea where the game would show up. Would it be a console game? A flash game? A cell phone game? It was just about 8-10 of us working on it.

Geoff: So when did the iPod come into the mix?

Kasson: A couple months into it we got introduced to the iPod games guys and it just seemed like such a natural fit. The iPod is where you keep all your songs and it's a piece of technology that everybody has, so it really was exactly the right platform for a game like this.

Geoff: So do we know if Steve Jobs plays Guitar Hero? Rocka Band? Or has he even had a chance to check out Phase?

Kasson: I honestly don't know! His relationship with games is a little bit in question I think. I haven't heard about it if he has indeed played the game.

Geoff: How long did it take to develop the game?

Kasson: About a year. First we had to come up with the beat matching gameplay. It was important to take advantage of the unique interface of the iPod, so that's where we came up with the idea of moving your thumb around the clickwheel to catch things.

There have certainly been a lot of challenges too. We're used to working on consoles with a lot of memory and graphics horsepower. The iPod was never intended as a game device so there's a lot we couldn't do. The graphics are pretty simple. And we couldn't do things like put some audio filtering over the songs to tell you how well you are doing.

Originally the game was just going to be for the 5th generation iPod Video, but once the new Nano and Classic were announced we scrambled to get it to work on those too.

Geoff: This is an obvious question, but any plans for a version that works on iPod Touch or iPhone?

Kasson: Yeah, we've thought about it. One of the things that has been really important to Harmonix is the concept that our games are more platforms than just one-offs. But what I will say is that I don't think we'd ever just port Phase to the iPhone. Every interface dictates something new. There's no click wheel but you could glide things around on a touch screen and interact with the music in different ways. We'd want to re-sculpt the game around that interface.

Geoff: Any plans for a little mini-guitar peripheral that plugs into your iPod port? I had to ask.

Kasson: Not a bad idea! But no plans right now.

Geoff: One early complaint about the game is that you have to create a separate iTunes 7.5 playlist and convert songs to work in the game. In other words you can't just randomly select a song on your iPod and play it.

Kasson: We had a lot of discussions about the right solution and worked really closely with Apple since the conversion software is actually part of iTunes 7.5. When you convert your songs it creates a small little data file on your hard drive. But we didn't want to force people to convert 10,000 songs in their iTunes library. And the iPod isn't powerful enough to do that analysis on the fly by itself. But if you really want every iTunes song to work in Phase you can just convert them all and transfer them over.

Geoff: Now that you've developed this beat detection technology, could we see it applied to Rock Band? I'm imagining a mode where you put a CD in your Xbox 360 disc drive, the game rips the song and then let you play along to it.

Kasson: Totally! We have soundtracks, downloadable content, and this is the next step: re-experiencing your own music in a game. We wouldn't be able to separate out all the instruments and what not, but I think you'll see this kind of technology used in other Harmonix products down the road.

React Brings Guitars For The Holidays

Mike Fahey — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 17:00:48 MDT

After the warm reception their red and black Reaper model received earlier this year, React is introducing two new models of wireless guitar controllers for the PS2. The blue, green and white number is called the Odyssey and is pretty enough, but The Legacy is the one that has me drooling. Not only does it have a very classy wood grain finish, but it also comes with a pair of wireless foot pedals. One pedal controls star power, while the other acts as a whammy bar. Perfect for those of us who constantly screw themselves up while flailing about to get star power going. Both new models should be available from Best Buy in November.

REACT ADDS TWO NEW "HIGH-DESIGN" PS2 GUITAR CONTROLLERS
(MINNEAPOLIS, MN) Adding to their current line-up of charismatic guitar controllers, React will introduce their two newest wireless models, The Legacy and the Odyssey, in time for the 2007 holidays.

The Odyssey conveys a fresh, vibrant, and modern sensibility and is equally accessible to both male and females, while The Legacy is a vintage throwback with a timeless wood grain finish. And as a revolutionary add-on, The Legacy includes a wireless dual-effect pedal that allows the gamer to initiate star power or the whammy bar with a tap of their foot. Use of the pedal is optional, but highly encouraged.

The Legacy and Odyssey, the newest in the line of React "high-design" guitars controllers, will launch in November at all Best Buy locations nationwide.

So Bad It's Good Minibosses Video

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 19:20:27 MST

Since I have such a hard time reading—had a nasty fall off a loading dock as a child—I couldn't quite keep up with the storyline. But who the hell cares? With production values this bad, you just gotta let the music (and cheesy effects) wash over you. Take a break from the PS3 onslaught and enjoy some old school Castlevania III coverage. Michael McWhertor

Real Life Rockers Rock Out To Guitar Hero

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 08 Nov 2006 18:00:54 MST

Celebrities. They're just like us! They buy gelato, shop for groceries, divorce their trophy wives, and wait in line at the airport (note: all celebrity behaviors swiped from Us Weekly). And they play Guitar Hero, even if they're certified, world famous rock and rollers.

Like who? Jonathan "I'm the lead singer of Korn" Davis, the Donnas, that one guy from Incubus, another guy from My Chemical Romance, even SNL funny man Fred Armisen and NIN sad man Trent Reznor—they all love plucking away at plastic baby-sized geetars.

The Wall Street Journal has profiles and honest to goodness quotes from those folks, who, despite being well paid drummers in arena rocking bands, really fantasize about being well paid guitarists in area rocking bands. Michael McWhertor

When Being a Fake Rock Star Is Better Than the Reality

Guitar Hero Controller For Tiny Kid Hands

Brian Crecente — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 15:58:23 MDT

From The Ant Commandos, makers of all things shredding and video game guitar related, comes this new Guitar Hero controller made just for kids.

The Shredder Guitar Controller has a smaller, lighter frame, shorter neck with more reachable buttons for tiny arms, an easier to use whammy bar and the ability to slip into Rock mode with just a shake rather than a tilt.

"We got an overwhelming response from consumers asking TAC to make a guitar just for kids and that's how we created the Shredder Guitar. Unlike other guitar controllers, the Shredder has a smaller frame and lighter weight to help kids reach their rock star potential," stated Lip Yow, President of The Ant Commandos.

I'll be interested to see how well this works. Tristan, my 5-year-old, really wanted to play Guitar Hero, but the guitar it comes with was just too unweildy.Brian Crecente

Guitar Mania

Guitar Hero II Contest

brownlee — Thu, 27 Apr 2006 09:40:57 MDT

Have a bitching band? Well, with the announced release of Guitar Hero II in November comes the announcement that Red Octane are resurrecting their " Be A Guitar Hero" contest. So if you want to have some of your baddest heavy metal riffs immortalized by millions of dorks jumping around in their underpants in their living room, swing by the official site and enter.

Let's hope the winner this time actually gets featured as one of the main bands this time and not just an unlockable.

Be A Guitar Hero II

Never Mind the Bollocks, I'm a Guitar Hero

Brian Crecente — Wed, 09 Nov 2005 11:59:12 MST

Oh... My... God... I can't believe how much Guitar Hero kicks ass. This is my new favorite game. If you haven't heard about it, Harmonix's latest is a rhythm game that features a life-sized guitar with a strum bar, whammy bar and five multi-colored fret buttons. You have to play chords and notes, pull off properly timed sustains and use the whammy to rock out.

This game actually knocked me off the 360! Must unlock all songs and play I wanna Be Sedated until my fingers fall off and then learn to play with my toes.

Now back to practicing my power chords.