The gaming world was shaken (though perhaps not too unexpectedly) by the news that the Guitar Hero franchise has been effectively ended. Competing developer Harmonix caught wind of this downfall, and have released a statement in an attempt to calm any fears fans of the Rock Band series may have.

As spotted on the Rock Band forums, Developer John Drake stated that the team was “sad to hear” the news, and that their “thoughts are with those who are losing their jobs.” He also mentions that the “discontinuation of Guitar Hero is discouraging news for fans of the band game genre,” also acknowledging that retail sales of both series of games have slowed over time. But the company has remained “focused on building a robust digital platform for music gaming and have recently crested 2,500 songs available for play within Rock Band 3.” Mr. Drake goes further to explain that Harmonix is “looking forward to the imminent release of the Fender Squier Stratocaster Guitar Controller, a fully functional guitar which doubles as a Rock Band Pro controller.” The Rock Band Network is also set to undergo a relaunch, which will apparently allow for bands of all sizes to get their content up for sale on the platform in a different way than before. The posting ends as such:

It’s been a wild battle of the bands since 2007, but we respect and appreciate all of the hard work and innovation of our peers who have shared the music gaming space with us, and we look forward to rocking in the future.

So, will a relaunch of the RBN and continued focus on digital content save Harmonix from suffering from the same fate as Guitar and DJ Hero, or has their recent departure from MTV Games/Viacom already sealed their fate? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

© Paulmichael Contreras for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Every so often you come across a gaming deal that just makes you go “Wow”. Well, we have one for you today, and it’s for The Beatles: Rock Band Special Edition Bundle.

We almost couldn’t believe it when we saw it, but Toys R Us is currently running an absolutely insane deal on The Beatles: Rock Band Special Edition Bundle for the PlayStation 3. They’ve gone ahead and marked down the full bundle to $50… you heard me right… $50. That’s every piece of Rock Band equipment, with a game, for less than the price of your typical new release title. If you’ve held out on the Rock Band series, now would probably be the best time to jump into the fray.

And if The Beatles really aren’t your style, grab the bundle and then snag the original Rock Band, which has dropped in price significantly. Note that this deal is valid through February 5th on the Special Value Edition bundle, not the Limited Edition bundle which includes Paul McCartney’s bass and Beatles drum set.

For all the latest and greatest deals in gaming, be sure to stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle!

© Mike Hartnett for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

After fours years of working with one publisher for their music video games, developer Harmonix is singing the lyrics of a different tune. So what will happen to all their games out now?

After first creating the ever-popular Guitar Hero franchise, Harmonix was dropped by Activision and bought by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of media conglomerate Viacom. As the music game genre begins to slow down, regardless of the games’ quality, it looks like Viacom was no longer interested in keeping Harmonix on their payroll. After announcing the sale of the studio, the two companies have no made it official. Harmonix has returned back to “an independent and privately owned studio,” with investment company Columbus Nova now supporting the newly created Harmonix-SBE Holdings LLC.

But what will happen to the ever-growing Rock Band Network, Harmonix’s distribution platform for music? Fret not living room rockers, for while Viacom owned Rock Band, the split has been on amicable terms. Harmonix PR rep John Drake has stated that “the DLC schedule marches on for Rock Band, we will continue our support of previously released titles.” While some doors close, new opportunities arise, and Harmonix definitely looks to be heading toward the future.

[Source]

© Corey Schwanz for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Rock Band 3 is the latest installment into the Rock Band franchise.  This new addition introduces the Keyboard, Pro Guitar/Bass, Pro Drums and Vocal Harmonies.  There are a total of 50 trophies to earn including 33 bronze, 15 silver, 1 gold and 1 platinum.

Rock Band 3 Completionist (Platinum) – Won all Rock Band 3 trophies.

Earn all other trophies in the game.

Tune Up (Bronze) – Calibrated your system for optimal performance with Rock band 3.

Calibrate your audio and video settings.

Self-Made Dude or Lady (Bronze) – Created a Character.

Create you own character.

Best. Name. Ever. (Bronze) – Renamed your Band.

Create a band and change the name from the one given to you.

The Endless Setlist III (Gold) – Successfully completed “The Endless Setlist III”!

The endless setlist can be completed at any time by going to “Play Now” and choosing to play a setlist.  There are 83 songs that you will have to complete in order to get the trophy.  You can pause the game or even change instruments if you need a break.  Just make sure you don’t exit back to the menu or you will have to start over again.

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet (Bronze) – Maintained overdrive for 60 seconds.

This should come pretty easy over time by just playing naturally. Fill up your entire overdrive bar and then deploy it.  Try to chain your overdrive with your band members so that there is a constant overdrive.  Chances are you will hit more white notes during your overdrive and will be able to extend it a little bit.

Millionaire Club (Bronze) – Got 1,0o0,000 on one song.

This will require you to play with a 4 member band.  The higher difficulty you play at the better chance you will have at getting to 1 million points.  Try to keep your multiplier up and chain your overdrive together to keep them going as long as possible.

Rock Band Master (Bronze) – 5 Starred on Medium (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 50 Rock Band 3 songs.

Earn 5 stars on 50 different songs at medium difficulty of higher.  If you are playing on either hard or expert difficulty you only need to earn 3 stars for that song.

Note: This only counts for the songs that come on the Rock band 3 disc.

Rock Band Legend (Silver) – 5 Star every song in Rock Band 3 on Hard.

Earn 5 stars on every son on the Rock Band 3 disc while playing on hard.

Rock Band Immortal (Silver) – 5 Starred the Rock Band 3 disc on Expert.

Earn 5 stars on every song on the Rock Band 3 disc while playing on expert.

Alex’s luggage Combination (Bronze) – Beat a Rock band 3 score of 12,345,678.

Earn a total score of 12,345,678 over the course of your career to earn this trophy.  This will come easily over time.

Hometown Threwdown (Bronze) – Completed the “Hometown Throwdown” Road Challenge.

See Mile High Club.

Real Nor’easter (Bronze) – Completed the “The Wicked Awesome Tour”.

See Mile High Club.

Hell Defrosted (Silver) – Won all rewards on the “Hell Freezes Over” Road Challenge.

See Ultimate Road Warior.

Wilderness Survival (Bronze) – Complete the “Through the Wilderness, Eh?” Road Challenge.

See Mile High Club.

Major Mileage (Silver) – Got 90 or more spades on “The Long Drive South” Road Challenge.

See The Connoisseur’s Connoisseur.

Party Animal (Bronze) – Completed the “Total Debauchery” Road Challenge.

See Mile High Club.

The Connoisseur’s Connoisseur (Silver) – Got 90 or more spades on “The European Connoisseur” Road Challenge.

While playing each song during the road challenges you will need to complete objectives to earn spades.  You can earn a total of 5 spades and 5 stars.  At the end of your setlist your stars will be turned into spades which gives you a total of 10 possible spades per song.  Earn 90 of them during the “The European Connoisseur” road challenge to get this trophy.

Mile High Club (Bronze) – Completed the “Really Frequent Flyers” Road Challenge.

Play all of the songs in each stop of the road challenge to get this trophy.

Ultimate Road Warrior (Silver) – Won all awards on the “Really Frequent Flyers” Road Challenge.

You will win awards by earning spades.  Earn the max amount of spades to earn all awards.

HOPO-cidal Maniac (Silver) – Killed 53,596 Hammer-ons and Pull-offs.

Successfully hit a total of 53,596 of any combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs during your career to earn this trophy.

Bleeding Fingers (Silver) – Get 85% on all Guitar Solos in Rock Band 3 on Hard or Expert.

Hit 85% of the notes in every guitar solo on the Rock Band 3 disc while playing on hard or expert.

Guitar Perfectionist (Bronze) – Got 100% accuracy on Expert Guitar.

Score a 100% on any song while playing guitar on expert.

Guitar Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Guitar ( or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Bass Streaker (Bronze) – Get a streak of 500 notes on Bass.

Get a 500 note streak on bass.  You may need to play on medium or higher to get this.

Most Authentic Strummer (Bronze) – Hit 100% of the notes, only strumming up, on Hard Bass.

Hit 100% of the notes on any song while playing bass and only strumming up on the strum bar.

Bass Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Drum Roll, Please! (Bronze) – Nailed a drum roll.

Successfully complete a drum roll.  Drum rolls only appear on pro drums while playing on expert difficulty.  They will be the notes that are grouped together in an outline.

Faster Feet (Bronze) – Hit 90% of the Kick notes in a song on Hard Drums.

Hit 90% of the kick notes in any song while playing drums on hard.

Note: This must be on regular drums and not pro drums.

Drums Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Drums (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Keys Streaker (Bronze) – Got a streak of 350 notes on Keys.

Get a 350 note streak on any song while playing the keyboard.

Keys Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Keys (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Pro Bass Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Pro Bass (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Drum Trainer Initiate (Bronze) – Completed the introductory Pro Drum Trainer lessons.

Complete the first set of lessons for pro drums.

Drum Trainer Graduate (Bronze) – Completed the final Pro Drum Trainer lessons.

Complete the last set of lessons for pro drums.

Play a Real Guitar already! (Bronze) – Played “The Hardest Button to Button” on Pro Guitar.

Play the song “The Hardest Button to Button” by the White Stripes on pro guitar to earn this trophy.

Pro Guitar to the Max (Bronze) – Maxed out your Score multiplier meter on Pro Guitar.

Get your score multiplier up to 4x and then deploy overdrive while playing pro guitar.

Power Chords (Bronze) – Completed the “Power Chords” lessons in the Pro Guitar trainer.

Complete the ‘Power Chords” lesson for pro guitar.

Complex Chords (Bronze) – Completed the “More Chord Holding and Arpeggiation” on Pro Guitar lessons.

Complete the “More Chords holding Arpeggiation” lessons for pro guitar.

Pro Guitar Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Pro Guitar (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Pro Keyboardist (Bronze) – Hit at least 90% of the notes in 3 songs on Expert Pro Keys.

Hit at least 90% of the notes in any three songs while playing pro keys on expert.

Pro Keys Graduate (Bronze) – Completed the final Pro Keys trainers.

Complete the final set of lessons for pro keys.

Pro Keys to the Max (Bronze) – Max out your Score Multiplier meter on Pro Keys.

Get your score multiplier up to 4x and then deploy overdrive while playing pro keys.

Pro Keys Apprentice (Silver) – 5 Starred on Easy Pro Keys (or 3 Starred on a higher difficulty) 25 Rock band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

Triple Awesome (Bronze) – Got a Triple Awesome while playing with Vocal Harmonies.

While playing on vocal harmonies get a triple awesome rating on a section of a song.

Is This Just Fantasy? (Bronze) – Nailed all triple awesomes in “Bohemian Rhapsody”.

See Triple Awesome.

Vocals Showmanship (Bronze) – Deployed overdrive four times in a single song as a vocalist.

As a vocalist deploy overdrive four separate times in a single song.

Tambourine Master (Bronze) – Hit 100% of the notes in a percussion section.

Percussion sections are when you have to tap the mic against your hand.  Hit 100% of the notes in a percussion section to get the trophy.

Vocal Virtuoso (Bronze) – Earn an Awesome rating on at least 90% of the phrases in 6 songs on Hard Vocals.

Earn an awesome rating on at least 90% of the phrases in six different songs on vocals while playing on hard.

Vocal Apprentice (Bronze) – 5 Starred on Easy Vocals (or 3 Starred a higher difficulty) 25 Rock Band 3 songs.

See Rock Band Master.

© dragon82 for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

Harmonix, the developers behind most of the music video games of the last decade, will be losing their main owner some time in the near future after a financial announcement yesterday.

MTV Games’ parent company Viacom announced that after a 59% drop in third quarter earning, the media giant plans on dropping all Harmonix-related operations. Most likely due to the decline of the music genre in general, Harmonix will soon find themselves on their own. Perhaps Activision will re-buy Harmonix and merge the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises. Will EA absorb the developers entirely? No one knows just yet. This will not however, affect the Rock Band games in their current form. In a statement to Kotaku, Viacom confirmed that the studio will contain all the rights to their games.

As announced this morning, Viacom plans to sell Harmonix and have reclassified Harmonix to a discontinued operation. However, this announcement does not affect the ongoing work at the studio as they continue to support Rock Band and Dance Central. Viacom’s decision to exit this business reflects our strategy of focusing entirely on what they do best: make great branded entertainment content and deliver it through a variety of platforms. Harmonix has and will continue to create terrific video games. But for us, it is about focus. Viacom is in discussions with several potential buyers and will continue to fully support the business until a sale is completed.

While the future of the Rock Band games may be in jeopardy right now, all of Harmonix’s current products will be supported in one way or another. So your Rock Band DLC won’t be leaving the Weekly PlayStation Update any time soon!

[Source]

© Corey Schwanz for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments | Add to del.icio.us

MTV Games and Harmonix are eager to bring new gamers into the fold when Rock Band 3 releases October 26th and what better way to do it then discounting Song Packs and Albums. Starting today and lasting through to the 4th of Rocktober, select songs and packs listed below will be up to 50% off their original price. These songs are available for Rock Band 2 players and will be able to work in Rock Band 3.

Check out the full list of discounted options below.

SINGLES

Content: R.E.M., “Losing My Religion”
Sale Price: $0.99
Original Price: $1.99

Content:Flyleaf, “Again”
Sale Price: $0.99
Original Price:$1.99

Content: Avenged Sevenfold, “Bat Country”
Sale Price: $0.99
Original Price: $1.99

Content: The Runaways, “Cherry Bomb”
Sale Price: $0.99
Original Price: $1.99

Content: Anberlin, “Feel Good Drag”
Sale Price: $0.99
Original Price: $1.99

Content: Stone Temple Pilots, “Interstate Love Song”
Sale Price: $0.99
Original Price: $1.99

SONG PACKS

Content: Slipknot 01
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: Night Ranger 01
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: Foreigner 01
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: Rise Against 01
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: The Offspring 01
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: The White Stripes 02
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: Nine Inch Nails 01
Price: $2.99
Original Price: $5.49

Content: Foo Fighters 03
Price: $3.49
Original Price: $6.99

Content: REO Speedwagon/Styx Tour ’09
Price: $5.49
Original Price: $10.99

Content: Creedence Clearwater Revival 01
Price: $9.99
Original Price: $19.99

ALBUMS

Content: Jane’s Addiction, Nothing’s Shocking
Price: $7.99
Original Price: $15.99

Content: Megadeth, Rust in Peace
Price: $7.49
Original Price: $14.99

Content: Pantera, The Great Southern Trendkill
Price: $7.99
Original Price: $15.99

Content: Rush, Moving Pictures
Price: $5.49
Original Price: $10.99

Rock Band 3 is currently scheduled for a release in October.

© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

There is no doubt that Harmonix and MTV Games helped revolutionize the music genre within video games with their Rock Band series that started back in 2007. There have been countless other imitators, but between Rock Band and Guitar Hero neither can be touched by these competitors.  While we initially reported on the list being leaked at gamescom for Rock Band 3, this is the officially list that has been confirmed to ship with the upcoming title.

The game will feature a total of 83 songs for gamers to enjoy, the list is below.

• Amy Winehouse, “Rehab”
• At the Drive-In, “One Armed Scissor”
• Avenged Sevenfold, “The Beast & the Harlot”
• Dover, “King George”
• The Bronx, “False Alarm”
• The Flaming Lips, “Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1″
• HIM (His Infernal Majesty), “Killing Loneliness”
• Hypernova, “Viva La Resistance”
• Ida Maria, “Oh My God”*
• Juanes, “Me Enamora”
• Metric, “Combat Baby”*
• Paramore, “Misery Business”*
• Phoenix, “Lasso”*
• Poni Hoax, “Antibodies”
• Pretty Girls Make Graves, “Something Bigger, Something Brighter”
• Queens of the Stone Age, “No One Knows”
• The Ravonettes, “Last Dance”
• Rilo Kiley, “Portions for Foxes”*
• Riverboat Gamblers, “Don’t Bury Me…I’m Still Not Dead”
• Slipknot, “Before I Forget”
• The Sounds, “Living in America”
• Tegan & Sara, “The Con”
• Tokio Hotel, “Humanoid”*
• The Vines, “Get Free”*
• The White Stripes, “The Hardest Button to Button”*
• Faith No More, “Midlife Crisis”*
• Filter, “Hey Man, Nice Shot”
• Jane’s Addiction, “Been Caught Stealing”*
• Maná, “Oye Mi Amor”
• Marilyn Manson, “The Beautiful People”
• The Muffs, “Outer Space”
• Phish, “Llama”
• Primus, “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver”
• Rammstein, “Du Hast”
• Smash Mouth, “Walkin’ On The Sun”*
• Spacehog, “In the Meantime”
• Stone Temple Pilots, “Plush”
• Swingin’ Utters, “This Bastard’s Life”
• Anthrax, “Caught in a Mosh”
• Big Country, “In a Big Country”
• The Cure, “Just Like Heaven”*
• Def Leppard, “Foolin’”
• Devo, “Whip It”
• Dio, “Rainbow in the Dark”
• Dire Straits, “Walk of Life”
• Echo & the Bunnymen, “The Killing Moon”
• Huey Lewis and the News, “The Power of Love”
• INXS, “Need You Tonight”
• J. Geils Band, “Centerfold”
• Joan Jett, “I Love Rock N’ Roll”
• Night Ranger, “Sister Christian”
• Ozzy Osbourne, “Crazy Train”
• The Police, “Don’t Stand So Close to Me”
• Roxette, “The Look”
• The Smiths, “Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before”
• Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
• Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”
• The B-52′s, “Rock Lobster”
• Blondie, “Heart of Glass”
• Bob Marley, “Get Up, Stand Up”
• Chicago, “25 or 6 to 4″
• Deep Purple, “Smoke on the Water”
• Doobie Brothers, “China Grove”
• Elton John, “Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting”
• Foreigner, “Cold As Ice”
• Golden Earring, “Radar Love”
• John Lennon, “Imagine”
• Lynyrd Skynyrd, “Free Bird”
• Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody”
• Ramones, “I Wanna Be Sedated”
• Steve Miller Band, “Fly Like an Eagle”
• T. Rex, “20th Century Boy”
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, “I Need to Know”
• War, “Low Rider”
• Warren Zevon, “Werewolves of London”
• Yes, “Roundabout”
• Beach Boys, “Good Vibrations (Live)”
• David Bowie, “Space Oddity”
• The Doors, “Break on Through (To the Other Side)”
• James Brown, “I Got You” (I Feel Good) – Alternate Studio Version
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Crosstown Traffic”
• The Who, “I Can See for Miles”

While the game will initially ship with these songs, there is little doubt that downloadable content will be on the way if the past titles are any indication, stay tuned to PlayStation LifeStyle for any details on the upcoming Rock Band 3.

[Source]

© Joseph Peterson for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us

Rock Band 3′s setlist has jumped off the stage and right into the crowd, though, it might have been an accident…. A staff member at Harmonix was skimming through the setlist at this years gamescom and someone just happened to catch an HD footage and upload it on youtube. Thanks to a few quick eyes we have what appears to be a solid playlist for the upcoming music game.

* Amy Winehouse – Rehab
* Anthrax – Caught In A Mosh
* At the Drive-In – One Armed Scissor
* Avenged Sevenfold – Beast and the Harlot
* B-52′s – Rock Lobster
* Big Country – In a Big Country
* Bigger, Something Brighter
* Blondie – Heart of Glass
* Blood, Sweat, & Tears – Spinning Wheel
* Bob Marley & The Wailers – Get Up, Stand Up
* Chicago – 25 or 6 to 4
* David Bowie – Space Oddity
* Deep Purple – Smoke on the Water
* Def Leppard – Foolin’
* Devo – Whip It
* Dio – Rainbow in the Dark
* Dire Straits – Walk of Life
* Dover – King George
* Echo and the Bunnymen – Killing Moon
* Elton John – Saturday Night’s Alright (For Fighting)
* Faith No More – Midlife Crisis
* Filter – Hey Man, Nice Shot
* Flaming Lips – Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots Pt. 1
* Foreigner – Cold as Ice
* Golden Earring – Radar Love
* HIM – Killing Loneliness
* Huey Lewis and the News – The Power of Love
* Hypernova – Viva La Resistance
* INXS – Need You Tonight
* Ida Maria – Oh My God
* James Brown – I Got You (I Feel Good)
* Jane’s Addiction – Been Caught Stealing
* Jimi Hendrix – Crosstown Traffic
* Joan Jett – I Love Rock and Roll
* John Lennon – Imagine
* Juanes – Me Enamora
* Lynyrd Skynyrd – Free Bird
* Maná – Oye Mi Amor
* Marilyn Manson – The Beautiful People
* Metric – Combat Baby
* Night Ranger – Sister Christian
* Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train
* Paramore – Misery Business
* Phish – Llama
* Phoenix – Lasso
* Poni Hoax – Antibodies
* Pretty Girls Make Graves – Something
* Primus – Jerry Was a Race Car Driver
* Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
* Queens Of The Stone Age – No One Knows
* Rammstein – Du Hast
* Raveonettes – Last Dance
* Rilo Kiley – Portions of Foxes
* Riverboat Gamblers – Don’t Bury Me… I’m
* Roxette – The Look
* Rush – TBD
* Slipknot – Before I Forget
* Smash Mouth – Walkin’ on the Sun
* Spacehog – In the Meantime
* Steve Miller Band – Fly Like An Eagle
* Still Not Dead
* Stone Temple Pilots – Plush
* Swingin’ Utters – This Bastard’s Life
* T.Rex – 20th Century Boy
* Tears for Fears – Everybody Wants to Rule the World
* Tegan and Sara – The Con
* The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations (Live)
* The Bronx – False Alarm
* The Cure – Just Like Heaven
* The Doors – Break On Through
* The Muffs – Outer Space
* The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me
* The Ramones – I Wanna Be Sedated
* The Smiths – Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before
* The Sounds – Living in America
* The Vines – Get Free
* The White Stripes – The Hardest Button to Button
* The Who – I Can See For Miles
* Them Crooked Vultures – Dead End Friends
* Tokio Hotel – Humanoid
* Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers – I Need To Know
* War – Low Rider
* Warren Zevon – Werewolves Of London
* Whitesnake – Here I Go Again
* Yes – Roundabout

Rock Band 3 is due for release October 26th in the US and 29th for the UK.

© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments | Add to del.icio.us

So are you one of the 82K that picked up Green Day Rock Band and was it worth the price of admission? Let us know in the comments

[Source]

© Cameron Teague for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us

I won’t lie: Out of all the PlayStation Move titles I had a chance to play, TV SuperStars was easily my favorite title. I know you’re probably thinking “but Thomas, you can’t be serious!!”, but I am! You and up to four of your friends are battling for the spotlight on 5 different TV shows: Frock Star, Let’s Get Physical, Watt’s Cooking, Fabulous, and Diamond Shopping Channel. I played Let’s Get Physical and Watt’s Cooking. Gameplay was great but I’ll get that in a bit. First things first.

Before you can play, you must create your avatar for the game. The first step is to take three images of your faces. One normal, one happy, and one angry. Next you will choose the color of your skin, hair, shape of your face, etc. Afterwards, you have to record a sound byte for your character. Even though music was playing and people were walking past me, the PS Eye was STILL able to pickup my ‘Hey it’s Thomasio!!!’ line as if I was the only person in the entire room. Impressive!

I had one problem during my time with the demo: My first ‘smile’ photograph wouldn’t work correctly, so for some reason my character’s face looked like I had been hit by a shovel. We think it had something to do with my moustache. Still, It looked horrible, but hilarious at the same time. Me and Mark Hems, Senior Designer for the title,  who was previewing the demo with me, had a ball with my dis-configured smile and could not stop laughing every time my character was happy. Good times!

The coolest part about the avatar creation? The game saves them and you never know who might be cheering you on during a game, with their own unique saying they may have made months ago.

Now to the Gameplay!!  Let’s Get Physical was the first game show I tried and boy howdy did it get my juices flowing. The game consisted of my character running on a HUGE wheel as a monkey with a boxing glove was trying to knock me off. The best part? You had to run in place, as face you can to get the ball rolling and whoa, by the time the minute was over, my fatass was tired! Still, it was very fun and active as where the rest of the mini-games in Let’s Get Physical.

Watt’s Cooking did a perfect job of showing what the PlayStation Move is capable of, however, the demo decided to crash on me. Once it rebooted, Mark recommended that I recreate my avatar… as a girl!  Now imagine my face with nice brown hair and an ‘hourglass’ body and tell me you’re not laughing your butt off.

Back to Watt’s Cooking! The game has you recreating meals and rapping as you try yo’ best to impress the Chef. One part of the demo had you going all ‘Parappa The Rapper’ style with the Move controller, as you would point it in whichever direction the screen demanded plus sing along with the game. While that was cool and all, the really interesting part of the demo was cooking pancakes. I know you probably won’t believe me, but cooking the pancakes really showed what the Move can do. I was able to move into and out of the 3D space of the game, pouring the batter into the skillet and when I tipped the move controller to the floor, the game would realize this and pour faster. Heck, when I cut a banana to help decorate my pancakes, the faster the I cut the thinner the slices. The guys and gals at Sony Cambridge sure know their PlayStation Move technology.

My only complaint is that there isn’t going to be an online mode, however the team has been discussing some DLC shows for the future. I know this though, TV SuperStars is going to be one of the first PlayStation Move titles I will be buying because the demo was great and I can only imagine how the game will be playing with four of your friends. Here’s to hoping I’ll have the chance to review the game once September arrives!

© The Great Thomasio for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

Considered by some as one of the original Punk Rock bands to shape the scene back in the 90s, it was only time before Green Day received their very own music title. With the game being set to release on June 8th, Harmonix has let the cat out of the bag and the track list is now live for you rockin’ pleasure.

The full list of Green Day: Rock Band tracks has been released and is available below. One thing is for certain — the track list of 47-songs is sure to please old school and new fans alike. The track list contains two FULL albums: ‘Dookie’ and ‘American Idiot’, which are arguably their two most popular to date. Take a gander at the list of songs (and locations!) below:

The Warehouse

Dookie (1994)

• “Burnout”
• “Having a Blast”
• “Chump”
• “Longview”
• “Welcome to Paradise”
• “Pulling Teeth”
• “Basket Case”
• “She”
• “Sassafrass Roots”
• “When I Come Around”
• “Coming Clean”
• “Emenius Sleepus”
• “In the End”
• “F.O.D.”

Milton Keynes

American Idiot (2004)

• “American Idiot”
• “Jesus of Suburbia”
• “Holiday”
• “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”
• “Are We the Waiting”
• “St. Jimmy”
• “Give Me Novacaine”
• “She’s a Rebel”
• “Extraordinary Girl”
• “Letterbomb”
• “Wake Me Up When September Ends”
• “Homecoming”
• “Whatsername”

Warning (2000)

• “Minority”
• “Warning”

Nimrod (1997)

• “Hitchin’ a Ride”
• “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)”
• “Nice Guys Finish Last”

Insomniac (1995)

• “Brain Stew”
• “Jaded”
• “Geek Stink Breath”

The Fox Theater, Oakland

21st Century Breakdown (2009)

• “Song of the Century”
• “21st Century Breakdown”
• “Before the Lobotomy”
• “Last Night on Earth”
• “Peacemaker”
• “Murder City”
• “¿Viva La Gloria? (Little Girl)”
• “Restless Heart Syndrome”
• “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”
• “The Static Age”
• “American Eulogy”
• “See the Light”

And if you buy the ‘Plus’ edition of the game, you’ll receive the following six songs, all from ’21st Century Breakdown’, a $12 value, for free!

Downloadable Content (Free with ‘Plus’ Edition)

• “21 Guns”
• “Know Your Enemy”
• “East Jesus Nowhere”
• “Last of the American Girls”
• “¡Viva La Gloria!”
• “Christian’s Inferno”

Green Day: Rock Band rocks out on June 8th. All you Green Day fans best not to miss it or lead singer Billie Joe might just go crazy on you.

[Source]

© The Great Thomasio for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us

Media giant Viacom, parent company of MTV Games, and owner of the profitable Rock Band series, recently released their calendar year 2009 figures. Viacom’s “Media Networks” division (MTV Games and subsequently, Rock Band) saw 2009 revenue drop 5%, to 8.29 billion, and fourth quarter revenue drop 6%, to $2.3 billion.  In a conference call, Viacom’s CEO and president, Philippe Dauman, expressed the company’s take on the numbers, and how they’ll move forward.

Dauman plans to institute a more cost-effective business model within Rock Band: choosing songs or artists that can affordably give rights to MTV Games.

“… It certainly was a challenging year in 2009 for the video game industry in general and certainly for our Rock Band franchise.

“As we go forward, we are continuing to focus more on software than hardware, looking to reduce the cost structure associated with Rock Band, being selective in the music titles that we choose for Rock Band based on their cost. The music industry will assist with this category to make sure that it can continue on a profitable basis in the future and then finally we think we have the best games in the category [and] we’ll continue to roll out exciting products.”

Time will tell whether this business model will work for Viacom. In the meantime, stick with PlayStation LifeStyle, as we’ll keep you up-to-date on this developing situation.

© Kyle for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us

The entire Premium Bundle.

For starters, you can get the software on its own for $36.99. Want the special value bundle? That has been marked down from $159.99 to $126.17. But the largest savings is easily on the Limited Edition Premium Bundle, which includes an exclusive “Höfner” bass guitar controller as well as a Beatles-branded drumset. Originally $199.99, it is now $139.00. This deal has just recently been spotted, and there is no indication as to how long it will last. So act now if you want to save!

© Paulmichael Contreras for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us

ROCK BAND ADDS ALICE IN CHAINS FIVE PACK

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a five pack of songs from Alice In Chains will be added next week to the Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation® 3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

Alice In Chains is among the more than 390 bands currently available through the Rock Band platform. With more than 1,000 songs available, Rock Band is, without question, the industry leader in providing the best selection of interactive musical content, songs and artists.

Rock Band DLC Additions for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 System and Wii
Alice In Chains formed in Seattle in 1987 and has since released four studio albums and sold more than 17 million albums worldwide. The band released Black Gives Way to Blue on Virgin Records Sept. 29, 2009, their first album in 14 years. Black Gives Way to Blue debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and “Alice In Chains Pack 02” features two songs from this album, “Last of My Kind” and “Your Decision,” the latest single from the band’s new album. The pack also includes “Grind” and “Heaven Beside You,” from the band’s double-platinum, self-titled 1995 album; as well as “We Die Young” from their 1990 debut, Facelift.

Available on Xbox 360 and Wii (Jan. 12) and PlayStation 3 system (Jan. 14):

• Alice In Chains – “Grind”
• Alice In Chains – “Heaven Beside You”
• Alice In Chains – “Last of My Kind”
• Alice In Chains – “We Die Young”
• Alice In Chains – “Your Decision”

(All tracks are original master recordings)

These tracks will be available for purchase as “Alice In Chains Pack 02,” as well as individual tracks on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 system, and as individual tracks on Wii.

Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track
$8.49 USD, £4.39 UK, €6.59 EU (680 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “Alice In Chains Pack 02”
$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points™) per track

** Dates for Rock Band game tracks are tentative and subject to change. **

© Kyle for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2010. | Permalink | No comments | Add to del.icio.us

Harmonix and MTV Games today announced that a three pack of songs from Paul McCartney’s latest live album will soon be added to the Rock Band Music Store and LEGO® Rock Band Music Store of downloadable content for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™.

Paul McCartney joins the more than 390 bands currently available through the Rock Band platform. With more than 1,000 songs available, Rock Band is, without question, the industry leader in providing the best selection of interactive musical content, songs and artists.

Paul McCartney’s historic three-night musical christening of New York’s Citi Field, witnessed by 120,000-plus attendees and universally hailed as a concert experience for the ages, was immortalized Nov. 17, when Hear Music/Concord Music Group released Good Evening New York City. This momentous musical experience is available in two formats: a three-disc (two CDs and one DVD) standard edition and a four-disc (two CDs and two DVDs) deluxe version, featuring expanded packaging and a bonus DVD including McCartney’s traffic-stopping, headline-making July 15 performance on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee.

And beginning Jan. 5, Rock Band and McCartney fans will be able to download “New York City Pack 01” in the Rock Band Music Store. McCartney’s solo debut on the Rock Band platform includes “Band on the Run (live),” “Jet (live)” and “Sing the Changes (live).” These tracks will be available Jan. 5 for the Xbox 360 and Wii and Jan. 7 for PlayStation3.

Price: $1.99 USD, £.99 UK, €1.49 EU (160 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) per track

$5.49, £2.49 UK, €3.99 EU (440 Microsoft Points for Xbox 360) for “New York City Pack 01”

$2.00 USD (200 Wii Points™) per track

© Kyle for PlayStation LifeStyle, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us