Apart from the lucky few that have received their pre-orders early, 360 owners have yet to get their mitts on Guitar Hero II. It may come as a surprise then, that Harmonix, developer of the GH series, has announced its next project, Rock Band. Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like. According to USA Today, players will interact with one of four different devices this time: guitar, bass, drums, or microphone. Not only that, but the game will support online play, allowing different "members" of the band to play with one another across unfathomable distances. What is more, thanks to Harmonix's new owner, MTV, you can expect more original recordings and fewer cover bands this time around. The game will be published by EA and should debut by the end of the year.
While we love us some Guitar Hero, we do have our questions. First of all, given the absolute timing necessary for a game of this nature, we have to wonder about the quality of online play. Second, if you manage to get your whole band into one room, you'd best hope you have one huge television. We're not sure the gang will love the idea of squinting the night away as they try to decipher the correct set of rapidly moving colors. And, of course, what happens if you and your friends reach some "creative differences?" What if you have to audition a new drummer? Drummers come and go, you know.
Still, the concept is grand, and we can only hope that Harmonix pulls it off. In the meantime, we've got some practicing to do.
[Via Joystiq]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
4-02-2007 @ 10:45AM
Justin U said...
This can only end well. Seriously, as long as the Guitar Hero Controller works with it, they will at least have a couple million guitarists out there.
Now what I"m wondering, is, will it work for people across both consoles? That'd just make everything a lot smoother, you know? Then everyone would have an ample sampling of other's musicians.
Also: Drumkit? Sounds sick.
Someone singing: Not so much.
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4-02-2007 @ 10:56AM
Tony Bowman said...
What did the rest of the band say when the drummer said, "Hey guys, I wrote this song I think we should play?"
"You're fired!"
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4-02-2007 @ 11:11AM
KilgoreTrout XL said...
With 4 peripherals and a game disc, my initial impression was that Harmonix might be dangeously close to pricing themselves above, you know, REAL (albeit crappy) instruments.
But I've played drum simulators in arcades before, and they're fun, so that has great potential. Hopefully they get the price down to a reasonable range.
Also, like Justin^, I'll be taking a pass on that mic no matter what.
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4-02-2007 @ 11:21AM
Matt said...
Awesome! I can't believe it's coming this year! How long has this been in development? If it's been in development for a long time and just kept secret that's cool. Otherwise, I would hate for development to be rushed just to make the holiday '07 shopping season.
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4-02-2007 @ 11:30AM
Jonah Falcon said...
http://www.gamestooge.com/2007/03/29/ea-joins-music-business/
Relevent news. :)
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4-02-2007 @ 12:44PM
Epic said...
I'm just hoping there'll still be a GH3 and that that this new EA cash cow won't spell the end for GH.
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4-02-2007 @ 1:03PM
engadget said...
I'd buy this if there was a cowbell. MORE COWBELL!
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4-02-2007 @ 3:22PM
Sideshow said...
No, drummers usually spontaneously combust.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088258/
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4-02-2007 @ 3:34PM
glenncou said...
As for the Squinting as 4 players are playing, remember that Donkey Konga was able to do this without a hassle (yes, I have four sets of Kongas, my wife loves the game).
She'll be equally psyched about Rock Band.
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4-02-2007 @ 5:16PM
Steve said...
doood. i stink at guitar hero, i love the game.. but i suck. why? because i play drums and only drums. so out of habit i hear only the drums and start to play drum stuff.. its annoying. i'm so down for this.
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4-02-2007 @ 7:52PM
AoE said...
Where's the Theremin? It was good enough for Zeplin, but not good enough for you eh Harmonix? "Rock Band" with no Theremin? pshaw! Pop Band more like!
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4-03-2007 @ 12:12AM
Harhar said...
Happy april foools!
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